Representation by Kevin Bolton
- Date submitted
- 22 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I feel this project is wholly unsuitable for the site chosen. It has been picked by the developer because of its proximity to the motorway and railway, and under the guise of a "Rail Hub", are just trying to build yet another logistics park, without any thought or consideration for the communities they will impact and destroy. All the figures provided by Tritax at the shambolic and ill-prepared public consultation did not support the need or demand for a rail link in this area. They could not even say whether it would be used for rail at all. If the rail link to a logistics hub is so vital, then it would be more cost effective and future proofed (as there is no room to expand this site), to build a rail link to Magna Park instead. The area is completely rural. It is surrounded by countryside and small villages, without any suitable infrastructure to support this development; either in the construction phase, or in the inevitable knock on traffic impacts of employees or HGVs diverting through the villages. Again this was raised at the consultation, where the developers could not answer questions on this, or were not concerned. I queried the estimates of traffic flow, how the traffic would be forced to use the main roads, and the impact of this extra traffic on the M1/M69 Junction 21, but again the developers didn't know and couldn't answer. This showed a lack of understanding and care for the residents that this will impact on a daily basis for generations. The development will also have a detrimental impact on Burbage Common and the surrounding woodland. It is an area of important woodland, home to a huge amount of wildlife, and the development will be built literally next door. This will have detrimental consequences due to noise and light disruption along with destruction of habitats. At the consultation, Tritax said they were putting in green spaces, which is totally disingenuous. Personally, our home looks out over the countryside and farmland that this development is proposed to be built on. It will have a huge impact on us, not only in us having a direct view of a logistics park, but in terms of the disruption of light and noise from construction and daily use. Due to the height of the land relative to our property, we would be adversely affected by any lighting on the site. We raised this at the consultation but they didn't seem to care, and even told us they wouldn't consider using mature trees instead of saplings to screen the site, as it would cost more.