Huge county rail port plan being considered
THE government is considering the latest proposals for the construction of a huge rail port on an 830-acre wedge of land by the M69 in Leicestershire.
According to planners, the controversial rail freight interchange would handle trains three-quarters of a kilometre in length.
The plot earmarked lies between the motorway and the Leicester to Hinckley rail line.
Trains using the complex would travel to and from some of the UK’s biggest ports, including Liverpool, Southampton and the Humber Estuary.
The scheme has been fiercely opposed by nearby residents but, if approved by the government, could create more than 8,000 jobs.
Developer Tritax Symmetry Hinckley lodged its latest proposals with the Planning Inspectorate in a scoping document.
The Secretary of State for Housing,
Communities and Local Government, rather than Blaby District Council, will ultimately approve or deny the project.
A formal planning application is expected at the back end of next year with further public consultation before then.
The latest Tritax proposal reports how the Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange (HNRFI) would have 36 metre-high warehouses with 850,000 square metres of floor space.
It also sets out some potentiallysignificant changes to the road network in the area that would be needed.
The report proposes a dedicated road access directly from Junction 2 of the M69, with a northbound offslip and a southbound on-slip added to this junction, which currently caters only for motorway traffic heading to and from the north.
It also suggests a link road through the site over the railway line to the B4668, including the demolition of an existing railway bridge and construction of a replacement to provide a new highway.
Potentially, a two-lane road could be built connecting the B4669 to Coventry Road, bypassing the village of Sapcote, subject to assessment and agreement.
It would include junction improvements at the north and south ends of the bypass where the new road would join the existing highway.
Tritax is also proposing improvement works at M69 Junction 3/Junction 21 of the M1, subject to assessment and agreement with Highways England and Leicestershire County Council.