Proposed expansion to Magna Park is unsound for these reasons:-
Research reports indicate that there is currently a surplus of distribution warehouses as witnessed by those standing empty in the area for a long period of time. Rail head storage a few miles away is obviously preferred.
Consultants advised H.D.C. that the size of development at Magna Park was a political decision and could disadvantage other parts of the county regarding employment opportunity.
There are 2 outstanding planning applications for the same acreage of warehousing as the proposal indicating that the proposal is opportunist, not strategic, nor based on the needs of the area.
Employees of the present Magna Park businesses commute because there is very little unemployment in the local area so more commuters would create traffic problems on the country roads and in the local villages,
The range of employment opportunity in distribution based operations is limited to low skilled, low paid and lack of secure jobs with little provision for higher skilled local people.
Constant movements of H.G.V.s and commuters will congest the A5 route which at present experiences bottlenecks and pollution especially when there is a closure of the M6 motorway.