Representation by Kevin J. Grewcock
- Date submitted
- 11 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Elmesthorpe is a village which is situated on an arterial road between the A47 Earl Shilton bypass and the village of Stoney Stanton. When leaving the bypass along Station Road you will see a church and village hall on the left with about six houses Opposite the village hall. On the right at this junction leads to what used to be settlement houses built after the second world war ,these homes are a mixture of equestrian, horticultural and private dwellings. Continuing along Station Road for 2/10ths of a mile the pavement is just about 60cms wide and only on the right hand side, this means parents cannot push their pushchair and have a child walking alongside, let alone the family dog. Properties are only on the right hand side for at least half a mile, the pavement widens to around 90cms wide after 2/10ths until the half mile distance. At this point the village becomes a series of crescents and closes on the left and single dwellings on the right. There have been several villagers who have been forced into the hedge with their children as HGV's pass each other particularly on the corners and S bend. At the end of one mile there is a bridge over the Railway line with a right turn to the bridleway leading to Burbage Common a site of SSI. Beyond that turning still on Station Road is a bridge over the motorway and on the right about eight houses . That was Elmesthorpe with a Restaurant and a Public House. We have no shops, no post office, no doctors, no dentists and no bus service. If you live in Elmesthorpe you must walk, cycle, ride your horse or drive to get anywhere. We are told that the proposed site will have access on the A47 for the West and junction 2 of the M69 for the East. The west brings those workers from the villages of Hinckley, Barwell, Earl Shilton and further outlying villages and is their most direct route. However from the East ,Leicester City, Narborough, Blaby Whetstone, etc are more likely to come off the Narborough Road and come into Stoney Stanton as their quickest route but adding to congestion there. They can then choose to navigate towards the access point near the M69 or take the more direct route up through Elmesthorpe to the A47 access which would blockcade our only means of access to all services. There is also the point to be made that if permission were granted then access points would not be in place until the construction were completed, so for years as foundation works were underway with the site being cleared and aggregate being brought in they would use the fastest access they could find which again would prevent our community from seeking services and destroy our quality of life. The final point I would make is that we do not live in an ideal world and despite access points being opened it takes very little in this area for the M69 to shut down with traffic jams caused by accidents and delays at Junction 21 of the M1 which is the main access to Leicester from the M69, M1 and A46 bypass. All of these concerns relating to Junction 21 are detailed in Leicester and Blaby forecast and projections for the future. The drivers wishing to get to the M1 and A5 to return to Felixstowe will follow their satellite navigation to find the shortist route home, we would become part of those chosen routes. There may be a discussion to be had about the future distribution of goods but in this instance I believe the proposal is in the wrong place.This is an investment opportunity seized from a government document outlining National project potential. We can celebrate the success of East Midlands Gateway in a unique position to successfully offer distribution and the West Midlands Distribution Hub. Both of these are expanding and as the proposed rail links are added to East Midlands Gateway they will continue to develop without interruptions to their ongoing capacity. There are environmental issues that need to be scrutinised within the proposal but the village will be ravaged if this proposal is granted.