Representation by Dr Janet Iris Dutnall Higgins
- Date submitted
- 22 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
A.1. Macro: Consideration must be given to the value of the purpose of this vast project, and if it will fulfil the reasons given for its development. 2.Consideration must be given as to whether the changes to be caused, or damage and destruction to environment, alterations to long established and stable communities with relevant history, is worth the purpose it is said to be founded on. 3.It is easy to cite "662 acres" as the warehousing hub, with waves of effectual fall- out for miles beyond the initial warehousing, but it is far more difficult to envisage the full scale of what is being proposed. 4.Warehousing for yet more imports from China will be the direction of flow, not exports out from UK , which are largely catered for by other sustainable routes. Politically this concept needs to be understood, grasped and recognised. 5.Consideration needs to be given to whether this is a long term sustainable prospect, or only a short term financial one for the builders of the warehousing on 667 acres on mainly rural land. 6.The medium term may be needing the land more urgently for local food production, more than receiving exports from the far east. B. 1.Infrastructure: The area of Blaby and rural historic villages, south west of Leicester, along the Roman Fosse Way, have rural small roads to match, and a single cross country rail line to Leicester that intersects with a crossing at Narborough village. 2.When the analysis is made of the number and length of proposed new trains to be superimposed on existing rail passenger and freight traffic, the road access to the community at Narborough will effectively be closed off, as the rail will take precedence by volume. 3.Also general access to the train station of Narborough will be impeded for others wishing to take cars off the road by daily commuting by train to Leicester, London and beyond. 4.The wider dissemination of traffic and lorry freight by local roads, from the warehouse hub -terminal, will inevitably block small village roads, most of which carry on-road parking both sides by the nature of the age of the properties. The chicane through Sapcote is one example, another being the long entry to Stoney Stanton and Elmsthorpe. 5.Exhaust carbon production and pollution from this standing traffic will be in opposition to one of the quoted reasons for getting freight on to rail transport initially. Clearly it must be made 100% on to rail if it is to be justified in this category. 6.Each of the local villages have active schools, many of which would be within the dispersant environment of both road and rail pollution. 7.Many of the local schools, including Sapcote have a difficult road crossings for the children already, made possible at present by volunteer crossing managers. It is difficult to conceive how this may work at all in the future with proposed road transport offshoots. 8.At the other end of the age range, many older people continue to live in these stable village communities, walking to the village shop and local club or church. Suffice it to say that the paths are discontinuous and narrow. 9.Many others live in small cul-de sacs from which they may not be able to exit, with traffic flow 24/7, let alone get to key worker jobs on time