Back to list Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange

Representation by Burbage Parish Council (Burbage Parish Council)

Date submitted
22 June 2023
Submitted by
Parish councils
    • Consultation The consultation from Tritax was not adequate to fully explain to residents the impacts, particularly on traffic volumes through Burbage. o Blaby District Council (AoC-001) Leicestershire County Council (AoC-007) and Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council (AoC-005) in their adequacy of consultation reports highlighted concerns about the quality of the consultation carried out. o The maps provided showing traffic impacts, during the consultation, were of low resolution and Tritax-Symmetry claimed during the consultation period that improved maps were not possible to provided. o This left Burbage residents unable to fully understand and assess the impacts on traffic through the village. o Residents are at a loss to understand how traffic will reduce if this scheme is implemented. * - Site Selection The work carried out to support the choice of site was basic and did not establish direct need, it drew upon the National Policy Objective of more SRFIs in the UK, rather than demonstrating the need for Leicestershire and hence this site. o The site selection process starts with an assumption that a site IS required in Leicestershire, and therefore only considers sites in this area, based upon a warehousing report for Leicestershire which identified a need for a rail connected site. This report does not provide detail evidence of this need by manufacturers or industry in the area and only draws upon market evidence from estate agents. o As with much of the surrounding area, the concept of a “golden triangle” in the Midlands (the definition of this area having at least three different boundaries), which has led to a ‘development bubble’ for warehousing in this area, which developers appearing to be desperate to achieving consent for development before the bubble bursts. o The concept of this “golden triangle” is now flawed as it was built upon being able to deliver from the area to a large percentage of population of England within 4 hours. A concept which is now at odds with the notion of moving to rail-based carriage taking the good as close as possible to the intended market. This has been recognised by Government in a recent consultation of the National Policy Statement which recognises that there has been a clustering of SRFIs in the Midlands and that this is against the intended objectives of the 2014 Policy statement. o Together with the unnecessary clustering of both huge warehouse estates band SRFIs, the expansion of the number of these sites is proving difficult to recruit the necessary local workforce and employees are required to commute many miles from a number of the surrounding large urban settlements. * - Highway Impacts The highway impacts of this proposal have not been clearly established and communicated to local residents and have not addressed key concerns relating to the impact of the local road network in the event of a closure of the M69 motorway. o Throughout the consultation period we were advised by Leicestershire County Council that a fully developed highways model had been agreed, thus preventing residents from being able to contribute to the assessment process. o We are told that by opening up the South facing slip roads on to the M69 at Junction 2, traffic through the village of Burbage will be reduced – even when the terminal has been fully built-out and operational. Burbage remains to be convinced of the accuracy of this argument. o In trying to understand the modelling which supports this prediction the traffic tables within the application are poorly labelled, and in some cases with seeming bizarre predictions for some of the local roads in Burbage. It is essential that clear understanding of the traffic modelling is achieved, not only by highways engineers, but by the general public. o Locally we are experienced in the impact of unintended road closures. We have the misfortune to have ‘the most bashed rail bridge’ in the country which on average closes the A5 25 times per year. On each occasion traffic in part diverts through the village and hours of standing congestion occurs – We have seen NO modelling of scenarios in which, once fully operational, the SRFI will operate with an emergency closure of the M69. What operational contingency will be deployed and how many HGV movement will be diverted via Burbage village streets. The application considers ‘disaster’ scenarios, but more common motorway closures are not modelled. o Should the development proceed we would urge that the opportunity is taken to introduce an HGV ban of vehicles using the route through the centre of the village of Burbage (B578). This route is already clearly unsuitable for HGVs and only continues due to a lack of alternative. The opening of the south facing slip roads on the M69 J2 would provide that alternative. * - Air Quality Whilst the overall air quality calculations for the nation may be beneficial, these national benefits should not be at the expense of a concentration of pollution in this area, particularly in an area of open space enjoyment. o It is essential that an air quality management plan is part of the scheme of implementation such that there is a defined air quality management plan to ensure that the additional concentrations of air pollution in the local area. Air quality studies around the local area of Magna Park to the east along the A5 showed a significant impact on the local air pollution resulting from the warehousing estate and associated HGV movements. * - Ecology The impact upon the wildlife in Burbage Woods and surrounding areas will cause unacceptable foreseeable disruptions to local habitats and potentially more unforeseeable impacts with such a large 24-hour operation with the associated light and noise pollution. * - Social Amenity Impact Burbage Common & Woods is a significant local amenity which will be reduced by its setting, namely a edge of urban settlement leading to farm land, giving a sense of nature and countryside to visitors. o Our response to the formal consultation stated “The [Burbage] common is the single most important green space in the immediate locality. Without doubt complete mitigation of the impact of having a rail terminal of the planned size next door to this treasured amenity is impossible.” Unfortunately, Tritax Symmetry does not appear to engage in our comment in a positive way, but majored on the fact that Burbage Common and Wood have no national designation or protected status. We sought a recognition that this area of common land and woods, irrespective of national designation, has a tremendous role on the heart of our community. It is our ‘area of outstanding natural’ beauty, and it is used on a daily basis – throughout the whole year. It is essential that this area is protected with the maximum level of mitigation possible. o A development of the proposed scale, albeit on the boundary of the common will fundamentally change forever the nature and setting of this area on the edge of existing farmland. o The love the community holds for this area is enhanced by gifts of Burbage Woods to the area managed as public open space. The Local Rotary Club were instrumental in 1929 and later years in securing the Woods, with newpaper reports of the time declaring “[Burbage Woods] for generations [was] the beauty spot of the Hinckley District”. * - Cumulative Impact of Developments to the East of Burbage. Spatial separation of settlements is a long-standing planning consideration and Burbage residents have adopted a Neighbourhood Plan in 2021 which has a specific sensitivity to protecting the green space to the east of the village. o Residents are concerned about the cumulative growth of developments around junction 2 of the M69. Most notably the development proposals for the SRFI at this location but other developments are being considered on the wedges of land which come together at this junction. The additional slip roads will undoubtedly increase the commercial attractiveness of these developments. o It is essential the knock-on development impacts are taken into account during the considerations of these proposal. o Recognition of the real risk of the urban sprawl of Hinckley/Burbage towards Stoney Stanton and Sapcote and resulting loss of spatial separation of these settlements should be included in the considerations.