Representation by Mr and Mrs Harrold (Mr and Mrs Harrold)
- Date submitted
- 22 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
This representation is from David Harrold and Diana Harrold, a married couple living in Stoney Stanton. We are very worried, and have serious concerns, about the proposed HNRFI development. An outline of our concerns is listed below: Totally overwhelming the area: We have lived in this area since 1979 and moved here because of the easy access to countryside and the peaceful nature of the villages in this area. Such a huge development in a green field position close to Stoney Stanton and other villages will totally destroy the character of the area. Traffic: Stoney Stanton and Sapcote already have problems with road traffic. Employing 10,000 people in a location close to our villages will have a very serious, irrevocable, effect and we believe this has been underestimated. The villages will become even more congested and this will cause safety problems for the schools, surgery, shops, pubs, churches etc. that all face onto the roads through the villages. Airborne pollution: The effect of placing a very large Rail freight Terminal with Warehousing (and consequential large amounts of HGV movements) in an area surrounded by villages and a small town will inevitably lead to very large local increases in airborne pollutants, which will adversely affect the health of residents in the area. Environmental problems: such as noise, light pollution, vibrations. The site will be under construction for 10 years or more, and will, during construction and operation, require ongoing movements of thousands of HGVs, cranes, lifting - moving equipment and myriad construction activities. What is now a peaceful rural area will be transformed into a building site. This will affect people, wildlife, the ecology of the area all in very negative ways. Threats to ecology, biodiversity and SSSI: The fact that the site of the proposed HNRFI is adjacent to Burbage Common and Woods (an SSSI) is of great concern. This is one of our favourite areas for walks and wildlife observations. The RFI would destroy the peace of the woods for the many visitors. The proximity could only have a negative effect on the biodiversity of the SSSI and on the area of the proposed development and its environs. Useful farmland will be lost and rare greenspace will disappear permanently. Once it has gone, it will be gone forever! The need and purpose of the site: We are victims of a concept created by the logistics industry of the “Golden Triangle” whereby most parts of the country can be reached by road (HGV journeys) within 4 hours. A consequence of this is that we now have far more warehousing per head of population than any other area of the UK. We also have a high proportion of Rail Freight Terminals in the area. This does not benefit the country or residents of the area - it benefits the logistics industry alone. The national strategy should not allow this gross distortion of piling everything into one small area, there should be a strategy of distributing these in a way that is more beneficial to the country Employment: From all that we have read, the level of unemployment in our area is lower than average. The creation of jobs, especially warehousing jobs, will not benefit the area. In fact most workers will need to travel in from further afield causing more traffic problems. If anything were to be gained from this, then a location where it could be seen to level up wealth and prosperity would be more suitable (as opposed to making these worse). The Planning Inspectorate state that the purpose of the examination process is to weigh local impacts of a scheme against national need for such infrastructure. In our opinion, the irreversible local impact will far outweigh national need for another RFI in an area already overpopulated with them.