The evidence for the need of 700,000 sq mts of warehouse/distribution land at Magna Park is based on the two outstanding planning applications to build around this area. The purpose of the Local Plan is to provide appropriate employment for local residents and the expansion of Magna Park will not do this. In fact it will do the reverse - it will provide more employment for people outside Harborough District and Leicestershire and therefore increase traffic congestion and increase prosperity elsewhere.

It will not contribute to the vision of "a diverse and thriving economy". Again it will do the opposite by bringing a greater concentration of low/unskilled, mainly low paid and insecure, jobs to the area. This again contradicts the objective in the LP of providing a breadth of employment alternatives.

The LP states that it will reduce out commuting - but if people in HD wanted the type of job that will be created at MP they would already have taken them up at the existing MP which continually struggles to recruit staff.

The distribution sector employs a limited number of people with high skill levels. The expanded Magna Park will be partly managed by managers at the existing site and so the number of high skilled employees required will be limited. Again this does not contribute to achieving "more opportunities for higher skilled residents".

The Lutterworth area has very low unemployment - less than 50 people on JSA when last checked. The vast majority of employees at MP are from outside the Lutterworth area (and outside HD and Leicestershire) with a high percentage of people from the EU. The advent of BREXIT calls into question the ability of employers at MP to recruit to the 10,000 jobs that will be created by the expansion.

There is therefore a non-alignment between the purpose of the Local Plan and the inclusion of 700,000 sq mts of expansion at Magna Park.