Developers Tritax Symmetry have submitted their application for the Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange (HNRFI) to the Planning Inspectorate.
Blaby District Council now has 14 days to comment on whether it believes the developer’s consultation on the plans was adequate.
The Planning Inspectorate will then have until 6 March to decide whether to accept the application. If the application is accepted, the Planning Inspectorate will begin assessing the developer’s plans.
There will be a six-month-long examination phase, including hearings, towards the end of the year, and a decision is expected by the middle of next year.
The scheme, earmarked for 440 acres of land between the M69 and the Leicester to Birmingham railway line, falls mainly within the boundary of Blaby District Council, south-west of Elmesthorpe village.
The scheme is of such scale and national importance that the application for its development will be ultimately decided by the Secretary of State for Transport.
Blaby District Council has no power to veto the project but is instead a statutory consultee in the process.
The Council will be carefully scrutinising the developer’s proposals, commenting on the scale, scope and location of the scheme and how it will affect local residents and the District as a whole.
Tritax Symmetry are already aware the Council has significant concerns about the impact the development will have on the District.
Councillor Terry Richardson, leader of Blaby District Council, said: “This application has been a long time coming and the source of great concern for many residents in our District. Since it was mooted, the Council has worked tirelessly to engage with the developer and critique their plans, for example raising strong concerns during the consultation period last year.
“There will be lots of information to review and comment on throughout this year. However, I can assure residents that the Council has dedicated significant resources to assessing these proposals and we will not shy away from making our views known in the strongest possible terms; starting with commenting on the adequacy of last year’s consultation process.”
The scheme is part of the Government’s long-standing plan to divert container transport traffic off major roads and onto the rail network for the bulk of its journey after arriving at major sea ports.
To provide for this the HNRFI will incorporate new rail sidings from the existing Leicester to Birmingham lines to accommodate up to 16 trains per day, of up to 775m in length which can link into warehousing and storage areas.
The warehousing and ancillary buildings themselves are expected to total up to 850,000m2 and reach up to 28m in height. There will also be a lorry park, energy services area and associated landscaping with new access routes, a major new link road from the M69 to the B4668/A47 Leicester Road at Hinckley and southern facing slip roads at Junction 2 of the M69.
