Warehousing complex plan set for approval
OBJECTIONS TO £30M SCHEME THAT COULD CREATE 1,000 JOBS
PLANS for a huge warehousing complex that could create around 1,000 jobs are set to be approved, despite objections to the scheme.
North West Leicestershire District Council is due to discuss the proposed G Park scheme, on the former UK Coal Lounge Coal Preparation and Disposal Point, when its planning committee meets next week.
Developer Gazeley, which owns Magna Park, near Lutterworth, is behind the project, which it says will create between 880 and 990 fulltime jobs if it is built, as well as up to 510 more positions indirectly.
However, there have been nearly 40 objections to the £30 million proposal to redevelop the 68-acre site, off Corkscrew Lane, east of Ashby.
Planning officers at the district council have recommended councillors on the development control committee approve the scheme.
The plan includes an agreement that would see Gazeley pay more than £750,000 to upgrade nearby roads, including between Ashby and Markfield.
Among the chief objectors is the Ashby Civic Society, which has said the scheme would “swallow up” more fields in open countryside, replacing them with visually intrusive six-storey-high warehouses.
In a letter of objection, the society said: “There is no economic sense in this project.
“The jobs provided by this facility would not go to employees in the local area.
“And there are many large distribution centres within eight miles of Ashby offering over 10,000 jobs.
“Why, then, proceed with this monstrous, ugly building if there is no chance of locals filling the vacancies?”
A Gazeley spokesman said: “The proposed development is in a location close to major road networks and therefore is easily accessed. “The proposal will facilitate a significant new commercial investment and the creation of jobs which will have a major benefits for the local economy.
“It reflects a commitment to bring forward new investment opportunities to a priority area and provide much needed jobs in the wider area and thus inject growth into the local economy.”
The planning committee meets on Wednesday, January 13.
Why proceed with this monstrous, ugly building if there is no chance of locals filling the vacancies?
Letter