My response below is organised according to the required criteria, but first I would like to comment on the undemocratic nature of this Local Plan consultation:
1. While I accept it has to address complex issues, it requires completion of a vastly over-complicated form and process which local people are in many cases struggling to respond to. Thus the decision-making reverts to a mystifying process conducted by a select few who are 'in the know' where it is very difficult for those most affected to interrogate and influence the decisions made.
2. The Department for Communities and Local Government states that the Local Plan should a)'set out a vision and a framework for the future development of the area' and b) provide 'a critical tool in guiding decisions about individual development proposals, as Local Plans ..... are the starting-point for considering whether applications can be approved' (my italics). Alarmingly, the cart seems to have been put before the horse: local district councillors will be expected to make a decision on the 700,000 square feet of new strategic distribution space in the Magna Park area very shortly after the Local Plan public consultation period ends. This would be before the Inspector can adjudicate on whether the proposals are even sound/appropriate as part of the Local Plan. This makes a mockery of HDC's Statement of Community Involvement.

I do not think that the proposal to expand Magna Park by 700,000 square feet is sound for the following reasons:

It is not positively prepared:
See my comment at 2 above. Additionally, the 700,000 sq ft significantly exceeds the requirement for non-rail warehousing for the whole of Leicestershire, (without taking into consideration the large amount available nearby along the A5 corridor), and does not therefore represent a strategic response to employment need.

It is not justified:
The strategy of concentrating so much Strategic Distribution resource in this one area seems misguided from various points of view:
a) there are very low levels of unemployment in this district, and we know that recruitment is already a problem at other distribution centres in the vicinity. As a result, this would become a highly congested hot spot, with thousands more commuters entering the area from considerable distances, in addition to the vastly increased lorry traffic.
b) the road network (in particular the A5) is not built to accommodate this traffic increase, and the Midlands Connect Strategy, which acknowledges the inadequacy of the A5, does not promise a major upgrade in the foreseeable future.
c) such a concentration of logistics-based jobs would not provide the variety needed for a thriving local economy.
All of these factors fail the condition of a Local Plan that is sustainable and appropriate.

It is not effective:
The huge increase in the size of Magna Park appears to be disproportionate and does not appear to be part of an overall regional development strategy, but smacks of being primarily a profit-driven enterprise:
a) it would create an OVER-supply of distribution jobs and sites in the vicinity,
b) it would create a severely clogged road network which would be playing catch-up for many years beyond the Local Plan period while having a hugely detrimental effect on the lives, environment and sustainability of local communities.