Concern over future growth at Magna Park

EXPANSION of Magna Park looks inevitable despite objections and campaigning from concerned residents.

Some 700,000 sq m of land for logistics growth at the hub has been listed as part of draft proposals for Harborough District Council’s updated local plan.

The document, which sets out guidelines for development in the area up to 2031, will be sent out for public consultation before being reviewed by a Government inspector.

Lobby group Magna Park is Big Enough have attacked the decision and pledged to continue the fight against what they see as needless and landscape destroying extension.

This is the latest in a planning saga centred on Magna Park which has been raging for more than two years.

Two major developers IDI Gazeley, which operates Magna Park currently, and rival firm dbSymmetry have both got planning applications lodged for expansion on two separate areas.

A threatened judicial review by dbSymmetry on the granting of an earlier planning permission to IDI Gazeley was dropped in May.

Maggie Pankhurst from the community lobby group said: “The sequence of events is that the judicial review was withdrawn in May, just before the planned hearing in June, and then in July the “political decision” to include 700,000 sq m of expansion of Magna Park was inserted into the local plan 20112031.

“The plan had been in preparation for five years and this was the first time that the figure of 700,000 sq m had been a preferred option. In the consultation period it was rejected by the council as an over provision and since then there have been planning permissions granted for millions of square feet in Leicestershire and surrounding areas.

“The only evidence in the local plan is that the 700,000 sq m is the total of the two outstanding planning applications.

“This area is the size of 100 football pitches and would more than double the size of the existing site at Magna Park.

“The 700,000 sq m would be in addition to the 100,000 sq m already approved, despite the core strategy 2006-2028 stating that there should be no increase in the footprint at Magna Park.”

The two outstanding planning applications are due to be heard in November which will be before the local plan, including comments from the public, is passed onto the Government inspector.

Councillor Jo Brodrick, Harborough District Council’s portfolio holder for planning and regeneration, said: “We fully understand that people feel passionately about the potential for additional strategic distribution development at Magna Park allowed for in the emerging local plan. The local plan enables the need for additional growth to be met in a managed way which ensures that environmental and transport impacts are addressed and potential impacts on other rail based strategic distribution facilities are considered.”