Representation by Tiffany Moore
- Date submitted
- 11 May 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The location of the site appears to have been selected as it is within very close proximity to the extant rail network and a junction of the M69. The extant rail network does not have the capacity to enable the number of trains to access the proposed site without adding additional traffic congestion at the level crossing at Narborough. The access and egress of freight from the NRFI by road requires Junction 2 of the M69, which currently only allows access to the Northbound carriageway and exit from the Southbound carriageway, will increase traffic levels if the junction is opened allowing access and egress from either carriageway. The inclusion of a new road from the NRFI complex to the B4668 and onto the A47 will influence motorists and lorries to take different routes to and from surrounding villages as they will be able to maximise the ease of access to the M69 motorway, detrimentally affecting the dynamics of traffic flow. The development will add to traffic levels using Junction 2 of the M69 including lorries that will add to the current volume in and around Hinckley and the congested stretches of the A5 (Junction 1 of the M69) which is already saturated with HGVs day and night due to the existing number of warehouses between Hinckley and Magna Park Lutterworth. Traffic - as already detailed there will be significant changes to traffic levels due to differing ways to access the M69 and surrounding areas due to the changes proposed at the motorway junction. This will affect my commute to work from Hinckley along the M69 to Leicester, especially as there will be additional traffic controls on Junction 2 of the M69 to allow HGVs and other traffic into and out of the site. The impact on Hinckley - the traffic routes into Hinckley is challenging for motorists as there are only two bridges that cross the railway track. This restricts all traffic coming into or travelling through Hinckley from the south, who have to use either of these two bridges. This is already placing a strain on motorists at school and commuter peak times with heavy traffic and elongated travel times. This will only get worse if this proposal is agreed. The concept of taking more lorries off the road as a result of this NRFI is not proven. There is another rail freight interchange approximately 20 miles to the south east of the proposed NRFI that is located near to existing warehouses along the A5. Maximising the use of the rail network to link into this site (DIRFT) would negate the building of the NRFI and associated warehouses and lorry park and continue to use the A5 section between Rugby, Lutterworth and onto Hinckley to for transporting goods to sites by road. There is potential to develop the site near to the East Midlands Parkway which is approximately 25 miles North of the proposed NRFI which is already brownfield. This would link to the Felixstowe line and has good access to the M1 at Junction 24 where a number of large warehouses have been erected. The construction of the NRFI interchange and associated road network will directly impact the environment and serenity of Burbage Common, a place used by many for recreational purposes to promote health and wellbeing. If constructed, it will also disrupt the use of Burbage Common Road and the land adjacent to it, popular with equine activities. The size of the warehouses and rail infrastructure will lessen the beauty of Burbage Common and the noise generated by the operations at the site, whether the additional 16 goods trains a day, cargo transportation, and lorry movements will all add to the pollution in that area. Building further warehouses and developing the road network to accommodate the minimum extra vehicular traffic of at least 1900 articulated lorries a day will only lead to further logistic developments around Junction 2 of the M69 and create even greater levels of freight on the roads in this area, straining the capacity of the main arterial routes. The NRFI will influences various companies to commission the construction of super-sized distribution warehouses eating into swathes of countryside, which in fact drives the need for more lorries on the roads to service the transportation of goods to these warehouses and then further lorries being used to either deliver to customers directly, or onto other warehouses. I believe that the location proposed for the HNRFI fails to address the impact of heavy goods vehicles and associated traffic on the immediate area and the impact that the infrastructure connected with it will have on the ambience of the adjacent public space