The refusal of the proposed Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange (HNRFI) has been welcomed by Leicestershire County Council.
Yesterday (Monday, March 10), the Secretary of State for Transport confirmed the rejection of the proposal following the “minded to refuse” letter issued in September which had granted the applicant time to resolve the issues raised.
Picture credit: HNRFI
Throughout the application’s six-year history, the county council had raised significant concerns with the proposals. It was originally concluded that the plans submitted by Tritax Symmetry had serious gaps including:
Only half of local junctions needing detailed assessment had been modelled
• No detailed assessment of impact on M1 J21/M69 J3
• No detailed analysis of the impact of the development on Sapcote village
• Significant impact on public rights of way and lack of proposals for new walking and cycling routes
Following the Secretary of State’s delay, Tritax Symmetry were given more time to resolve the identified issues. However, it was disappointing that the responses sent in December failed to properly address the concerns raised, including:
• Failing to produce an appropriate model for traffic at the M1 J21/M69 J3 junction
• Failing to mitigate the highways safety risks on Sapcote Village
• Inappropriate mitigation at Narborough Level Crossing, which also bizarrely suggested those with mobility issues should walk further to the station platform and wait for barriers to be lifted
• Refusal to proactively engage with the county council on elements of the scheme despite repeated requests to do so.
Councillor Ozzy O’Shea, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “This is a landmark day and we welcome this decision from the Secretary of State.
“It’s also pleasing that our detailed and lengthy list of significant concerns were listened to. This was a totally unacceptable scheme, and it was even more disappointing that, despite being given more time, Titax Symmetry simply failed to address many of the issues we raised.
“Whilst we are not against the principle of a rail freight interchange, any proposal must be supported by appropriate infrastructure to mitigate its impacts on our communities and highway and transport network. Unfortunately, this was not the case with this proposal.”
Documents submitted by the county council to the Planning Inspectorate can be found on the website at: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/
