The developer behind a controversial £750m rail freight hub in the Leicestershire countryside has resubmitted its planning application.
Earlier this month Tritax Symmetry withdrew its application for the 440 acre Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange on the Leicester to Birmingham railway line.
It said it temporarily pulled the application following discussions with the Planning Inspectorate so that it could add an additional minor piece of information relating to a greenhouse gas emissions and carbon assessment for the construction of offsite highway works.
The developer said that had been completed and said the plans would now go into a pre-examination period, with the Planning Inspectorate expected to respond within 28 days.
Nick Payne, development director at Tritax Symmetry, said: “We have resubmitted our Development Consent Order application with additional information assessing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon during the construction of offsite highway works.
“We remain committed to bringing forward this application which will deliver thousands of jobs and opportunities for people across Leicestershire, as well as major carbon savings for the region too.”
The plans have attracted criticism from MPs, councils and people living in the area who are concerned about the scale – the buildings would cover more than 9 million sq ft and be up to 91ft high.
In 2019 South Leicestershire MP Alberto Costa wrote to 11,000 constituents for their views. He said that almost 1,600 people – of 2,000 that replied – were against it.
The huge complex would have a new slip-road to the M69 and be big enough to accommodate up to 16 half a mile long trains a day. The developer says it could eventually create 8,400 jobs.
Last month Blaby District Council said the plans had been poorly presented to people living nearby.
Neighbouring Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council also criticised the time available for the consultation as inadequate and said some of the information provided was incomplete – which it said meant the process fell short of government guidance.
The scheme falls mainly within the Blaby district boundary, but the council will not make the final decision due to its scale and significance – instead it will be determined by the Secretary of State, with the Blaby and Hinckley councils acting as consultees.
