Representation by Michael Walton
- Date submitted
- 23 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The loss of hundreds of acres of farm land (the very land we need for food security in the coming years), miles of hedgerows and dozens of mature trees will devastate the environment and biodiversity that surrounds Burbage common and woods and the loss of public pathways. Hinckley and the surrounding villages will be exposed to ever increasing amounts of noise and air pollution. The existing road infrastructure struggles to cope with the current traffic, particularly around the A5/A47, and with the impending increase in houses and this development the current infrastructure will not be fit for purpose. There are two Rail Freight interchanges, one at DRIFT and the other at East Midland Gateway both within 40 miles of the proposed site and a significant logistic hub at Magna Park, all of which are continuing to expand. I have yet to find funding in Network Rails budget for the rail infrastructure and we do not need a repeat of the saga of the SERCO developing a massive so-called Rail/Road - Road /Rail logistics park in Northants, close to the M1 jct 15 – where Network Rail did not have funding for the rail connection so now SEGRO wants to have & use this development as a road transport only logistic park. I would suggest that a Section 105 order be placed on the HNRFI to make the developers put the rail track connections in first, before a single warehouse is built to prevent a repetition of the SERCO debacle. The HNRF pre dates the pandemic and the war in Europe, the landscape has changed, the fragility of supply networks has been exposed and have subsequently a reassessment of supply chains is taking place and the EU rules of origin for motor vehicles production undermines the original plans to support the midland motor industry, these existing supply chains will need to be reconsidered. The latest survey by Make UK show 50% of companies are looking to return production to the UK. The development will generate an unacceptable level of C02 in its construction and use, potentially 16000 employee vehicle movements per day plus commercial vehicles and 16 noisy polluting diesel loco's far outweighing any savings from moving freight from road to rail and the relaxation on vehicle lengths will result in fewer vehicle movements. Unless there is serious funding in the road infrastructure and tinkering with a few junction will not alleviate the problem, and funding for the rail infrastructure is in place and there is a clear need For the HNRF then the proposal should be at best rejected and at worst delay indefinitely until a full understanding of the need for such a facility post pandemic, Brexit and the current geo-political tensions and future instability in the Far East is fully understood.