Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange (HNRFI)

 

The Chairman informed the residents of the newest developments in regards to the Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange, which were as follows;

 

·         Tritax Symmetry Hinckley Ltd (TSH) the developer, have indicated that the formal 8 week public consultation on their proposal will commence in October 2021. TSH initially proposed that this consultation should be done virtually but following pressure from both Blaby District Council and Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council they have now agreed to hold some public presentations to augment the online consultation. TSH are legally required to give the local residents 2 weeks’ notice of the formal start date of the consultation. Until such time that TSH publish the supporting data for this latest proposal, including traffic data, it is difficult to comment further.

 

·         As and when the consultation does take place it is imperative that people do take part and formally make their views known. It is not a “done deal”.

Following the consultation, the developer may refine their proposals before deciding whether to formally apply to the National Infrastructure Planning Inspectorate for a “Development Control Order”.

 

·         An Examiner is appointed to review the application, after which the Examiner will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Transport (SST). The developer has to demonstrate to the Planning Inspectorates Examiner that he has taken due regard of all the comments from the public consultation. Assuming the public consultation does start in October 2021, the developer is likely to submit his DCO application in March 2022, the examination & report will conclude around March 2023 and the SST’s decision made by July 2023.

 

·         There is currently a combined parishes action group, that is made up of the 10 fosse village parishes, Burbage Parish Council, Earl Shilton Parish Council, some Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Councillors and the ‘Save Burbage common’ action group. The action group is meeting informally but is currently working to organise a meeting with the two local MP’s to share their concerns.

 

Councillors and parishioners discussed this item at length and agreed that it

was important for everyone to voice their opinions, especially to the Planning Inspector.

 

Cllr. Maggie Wright informed parishioners that she and Cllr. Mike Shirley have requested an extension of the current radius (3km) as to which the developer will be sending letters to regarding the consultation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fosse Villages Neighbourhood Plan (FVNP)

 

The Chairman informed parishioners that after 8 years the FVNP has now been completed (June 2020) and covers the 10 Fosse villages. He informed parishioners that the policy will be used by Blaby District Council when considering future developments within the area.

 

 

Possible Solar Power Farm

 

The Chairman provided an update in regards to the possible solar power farm and informed parishioners of the following:

 

·         Elgin Energy (EE) have agreed a long term lease with the (Anglican) Leicester Diocesan Finance Board for former Glebe land within the Ecclesiastical Parish.

 

·         The Chair advised that 95% of the proposed land is within the Blaby District Council area and 5% rests within Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council therefore the developer will have to apply to both Councils.

 

·         St Peter's Church has benefited directly from this agreement, and as a Church warden of St Peter's, the Chair declared his interest.

 

·         As far as he is aware EE have not yet submitted a planning application to Blaby District Council & Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council. Because of the declared interest in the project the Chair will wish to delegate the Parish’s consultee view on such a planning application and advised parishioners to inform him if they wish to take up the role of consultee for this application.

 

Blaby District Council & Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council New Local Plans

 

The Chairman advised parishioners that both local plans were in the process of being extended and this is so the Councils can give a 15 year visible plan. Blaby District Council’s local plan will be advising up to the year 2040 and have undergone the call for sites, which takes proposals from stakeholders on areas of land open for development within the district. Blaby District Council have published the list of received site proposals and are currently assessing the list together with the Government’s housing requirements and planning reform rules.

 

The Chairman advised that the housing need in Blaby District Council was stated as approximately 18,000 houses, however, 10,000 of those were down to unmet needs delegated from Leicester City Council of which Blaby District Council have to accept. Parishioners were advised that Leicester City Councils latest figures showed a need for 35,000 houses, however, this is likely to change in the coming months.

 

Development proposals on land West of Stoney Stanton

 

The Chairman advised parishioners that the development is proposed on land reaching from M69 Junction 2 down to Sapcote garden centre and into Stoney Stanton. The proposal is for approximately 4,000-5,000 new homes that would be built with community facilities such as a school. Part of the land is owned by Leicestershire County Council (17%) and they have voted and agreed to develop the M69 Junction 2 as a strategic development area.

 

The Chairman informed parishioners of an email he had received from the developer Pegasus which included an invitation to a key stakeholders visionary workshop being held on Wednesday 13 October from 10:00 to 16:00 at Stoney Stanton Village hall. The workshop is for Pegasus to listen to residents’ concerns and visions. Pegasus have requested that 2 representatives of the parish attend and the Chairman requested that if any parishioner wished to attend, to inform him.

 

Speeding Traffic

 

The Chairman presented the following update on speeding traffic in Aston Flamville:

 

The various lockdowns have seen a significant increase in the number of walkers, cyclists and horse-riders on our roads, many of which do not benefit from having pavements and are subjected to the national speed limit for single carriageway roads of 60 miles per hour (MPH).

 

Significant danger exists for anyone leaving properties closest to the start of the existing 30 MPH limited area, particularly on Hinckley Road and Sharnford Road where vehicles entering the village have not slowed sufficiently (or at all) before leaving the 60 MPH area.

 

Advance visibility of the 30 MPH signs is poor, which may be a contributing factor, but the root cause of the problem is bad driving by some motorists.

 

Leicestershire County Council are the Highways Authority and it is proposed that the Aston Flamville Parish Meeting lobbies this Authority to make the following changes;

 

1.    The 30 MPH limit on Hinckley Road should commence at the M69 bridge and the 30 MPH limit on Sharnford Road should extend to the Sharnford side of the entrance to the Powner Waste Recycling Facility.

 

2.    The existing 60 MPH areas on Aston Flamville Road: Aston Lane: Hinckley Road: Sharnford Road and Lychgate Lane should be reduced to 40 MPH.

 

The meeting discussed the proposal and agreed that the Chair should try and progress this with LCC Highways Authority albeit that experience suggests lots of barriers will exist.

 

Cllr. Maggie Wright advised that as part of an LCC initiative she had a potential fund of £2700 which could be used for a Highways initiative within the Parish.

 

It was agreed that any proposal should include signage at the Aston Flamville Road/Aston Lane point to make it clear that the Aston Lane properties are part of Aston Flamville and Blaby District.

 

Discussion surrounding this issue also led to the suggestion of Dragon Teeth or a gateway affect when entering the village.

 

The Chair agreed to consult with Sharnford & Burbage Parish Council’s and seek their support on the speed limit change proposals.

 

Cllr. Maggie Wright informed the Chairman that she would contact him regarding speed enforcement efforts from Leicestershire Police.