I wish to register my objection to the inclusion of 700,000 square feet of new warehousing space at Magna Park in the new Local Plan.
My concerns are as follows:

This proposal is not positively prepared:
The LLEP SDSS 2017 reports that this amount of non-rail distribution resources are not even required throughout the whole of Leicestershire. It would therefore be totally strategically inappropriate to locate so much warehousing at Magna Park.

This proposal is not justified:
One of the Local Plan goals is to reduce out-commuting. If there is such a high concentration of similar distribution-based jobs at Magna Park, and also such a low level of unemployment in this area, then out-commuting to access a wider range of employment opportunities is bound to increase. The proposal does nothing to enhance the economic health of this part of the district if it merely provides thousands of predominantly low-paid, low-skilled jobs filled by thousands of employees from outside the area. We need a varity ofjobs, including those which are skilled and pay higher salaries.
The knock-on effect of the above would be a rapid worsening in the congestion on the A5, which in places is already at a standstill for significant periods during peak hours. This has been acknowledged by the Midlands Connect Strategy 2017-2030. The environmental cost would be huge, given the loss of countryside, damage to small roads and villages, and pollution levels, and there are no proven economic benefits to outweigh these costs.

This proposal is not effective:
The amount of new warehousing approved in the vicinity of Magna Park in recent years (in addition to the recently approved extra 100,000 square metres next to Magna Park) will create an OVER-supply of these kinds of sites, to the severe detriment of the local economy and environment, and at no benefit to the distribution industry. Warehousing should be distributed across a wider geographical area.