BE2 clause 1

The allocation has not been tested through consultation as it differs fundamentally from the proposals in Harborough's consultation document.

not being strategic, not focused on meeting the employment needs of the area, leads to the over population of warehousing, which is not linked to railway connectivity within Leicestershire
-pollution due to increase traffic, the impact of this site has not been factored into the midlands connect strategy. the increase volume of HGV and commuters will have adverse impacts on the already over crowed roads.
-Will only increase in-commuting due to the low levels of unemployment in the area
-adverse effect on the countryside+natural beauty of the area.
-it will disturb / ruin the character of the area

Why do we need more greenfield building when already built warehouses are empty
Surely we must consider that we will need all the farmland to grow own crops to sustain our growing population and our trade deficits.

This will not significantly increase employment, either in terms of numbers or increase to non-minimum wage roles. Residents of the Lutterworth area seeking professional roles will in the most part will still have to commute to Rugby (& London via Train), Coventry, Northampton, Leicester and Birmingham.
The road infrastructure around Lutterworth does not currently support existing traffic volumes. The plan does not address the A426 south of Lutterworth, (route from M1 south to M6 North). Since changes to A14 junction, this road is congested, and any incident on M1 south of junction 20 results in gridlock.

I object to the expansion of Magna Park for the following reasons
1 The increase in traffic, particularly Heavy Goods Vehicles
2 the resultant air pollution, noise pollution and light pollution
3The destruction of green countryside and resultant damge to flora and fauna' upsetting the already fragile ecosystem
4 the extra strain on housing schools and medical centres where there is already a shortage of GPs
5 Problems on the M1, M6, M69 or A5 wi;; inevitably lead to increased traffic through the local villages
THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTIB;LE

Pollution, insufficient road networks around villages used for cut through to Magna Park, loss of green space, A5 not fit for purpose, Over a thousand local people have objected to this proposal for very valid reasons and yet no-one listens.

The proposals are unsound they fail to account for approved developments at the rail connected site at DIRFT. If approved the proposals would lead to an erosion in the quality of life for the residents of Lutterworth and surrounding villages due to (A) the lack of proposed investment in the infrastructure of the A5 and A426 which have congestion issues already (B) The area has very low levels of unemployment therefore employees for future developments will be drawn from surrounding areas the addition of thousands of additional vehicle movements on the village "rat runs" will be detrimental .(99)

1. The Magna Park plans are immense in scale. If these plans were approved, it would be the equivalent of building 7 new O2 Arenas or Millenium Domes upon existing farmland in rural South Leicestershire. One single new warehouse alone could house 16 full-sized football pitches!

2. It's more intelligent to build logistics centres at more appropriate locations with railheads (like DIRFT, which is only 10 miles away) or at motorway junctions (like Rugby Gateway only 3 miles away). Magna Park has neither of these two important strategic advantages.

3. The road infrastructure around Magna Park struggles badly to cope with the existing traffic volumes. Traffic congestion and road traffic accidents would inevitably increase if these massive Magna Park plans were approved.

4. Leicestershire is one of the worst counties in the country for road fatalities.
6th= out of 43 counties. We do not want South Leicestershire to become the most dangerous road death area in the country.

5. The A5 and A426 would clog up more often with the extra traffic created by these plans that would significantly increase the size of the existing Magna Park. Blocked roads with lengthy queues at junctions and small roundabouts would result in even longer journeys and commutes, and more lost productivity.

6. Some HGVs do not currently follow approved routes; travelling dangerously through small villages on minor rural roads.

7. It's smarter to build warehouses nearer to the people who would take up the new jobs being created. The area around Magna Park has almost zero unemployment. The thousands of new jobs would therefore have to be filled by those having lengthy commutes into the area, generating even more traffic congestion around Magna Park, Lutterworth and surrounding villages like Cotesbach.

8. Lutterworth already has some of the worst air quality in Leicestershire, alongside that of Leicester City Centre and East Midlands Airport. It doesn't presently meet EU standards for air quality.

9. Logistics sites that serve the nation should be planned strategically in the Midlands rather than be approved in a fragmented and uncoordinated way by a large number of different district or borough councils all vying for extra business rate income.

10. There were over 1,800 written objections to the Magna Park plans, including those submitted by our local MP, Alberto Costa. I would contend these Magna Park plans could well be the most unpopular plans in HDC's history.

11. Approving the three Magna Park plans could however generate over £16M a year for the local authorities. HDC currently spends about £30M a year. Is this really all about greed (more money for Harborough District Council and the developers) rather than about need?

12. Opposing the expansion of Magna Park is most certainly not "NIMBYism." We already have Europe's biggest dedicated distribution centre in our backyard!

A development of this size far exceeds the forecasted need for non-rail served warehousing and distribution space for the entire Leicester & Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) area for 2031. In addition, no consideration appears to have been given to planning consents given by councils in Leicestershire since 2014 or consented sites currently under construction, which combined, amount to a minimum of 577,000 sq. m. Further development of 700,000 sq. m potentially contributes to a huge over-supply of non-rail served warehousing and distribution space in the local area, it does not allow spread across the LLEP area. This potentially leads to a huge influx of workers from further afield exacerbating local congestion and traffic issues, further over-loading local villages with additional commuter traffic and conflicting with available housing in the area.

My concerns with the plan start with its title. It cannot be retrospectively applied to year 2011. By the time it is adopted we could well be in year 2019 if not 2020. 2011 is already 6 years past. Events have overtaken it.

Secondly there is a complete imbalance in the proposals. It would appear that a line has been drawn across the district following the route of the A6 road and all "hard landscaping" development proposals concentrated to the west of this road with the consequential loss of agricultural land particularly in the southwest corner in the Lutterworth area and very little to the east of this road. Times change, circumstances alter; the plan leaves little room to accommodate such events.

Policy H6
Consistent with the above observation of imbalance, all the existing and proposed traveller sites apart the site at Keyham are concentrated around the Lutterworth and Market Harborough areas. Another site between Ullesthorpe and the Claybrookes is not needed nor is it desirable. Additional provision should be made in the eastern half of the district where at present there is a shortage.

Policy BE2 (Magna Park)
It is noted that the plan allows for the expansion of Magna Park subject to certain criteria, one of which is the effect of traffic flows on the local roads and A5. The area around Magna Park does not have an unemployment problem consequently any expansion will create commuter traffic to and from the site as well as increase the flows of HGVs servicing the site. The plan should state emphatically that no expansion of the Magna Park be entertained until, i. there is an unemployment crisis in the Lutterworth district and ii. The A5 trunk road is majorly improved along its whole length from the M1 to the M42 with a dual carriageway and safety improvements at all its junctions with the minor roads with which it interconnects.