Alberto Costa, MP for South Leicestershire and Dr Luke Evans, MP for Hinckley and Bosworth, have welcomed the government’s decision to reject plans for controversial 650,000 sq. m Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange. Labour’s new Transport Minister Heidi Alexander announced the decision today (March 10th). Due to its scale, the proposal was considered a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and, as such, had bypassed local planners and gone straight to the government for the final decision.
In September 2024, under the previous Secretary of State, the Department for Transport said it was ‘minded to refuse’ the application, after the Planning Inspectorate’s report recommended against granting development consent. The developer, Tritax Symmetry, were given the opportunity to address some of the major shortcomings of the application and the deadline for the final decision was moved to March 2025.
Mr Costa and Dr Evans today welcomed the government’s decision having themselves expressed serious concerns about the project's environmental impact, health implications, and the strain on local infrastructure. They emphasised that the proposed development would exacerbate existing challenges in the region, which already hosts significant industrial sites such as Magna Park and several nearby rail freight interchanges.
Alberto Costa and Dr Luke Evans, represent the two constituencies affected by the proposed development and have campaigned tirelessly against the proposals. Their concerns include the inadequate traffic modelling conducted by the applicant in respect of the M1, increased safety risk to pedestrians in Sapcote as well as environmental factors such as noise, vibration and the impact on Burbage Common. The MPs also worry that the proposal is just a fig leaf for more large-scale warehousing.
The MPs also highlighted overwhelming public opposition to the proposals. A survey conducted by Mr. Costa's office found that 94.5% of respondents opposed the HNRFI plans.
Alberto Costa Member of Parliament for South Leicestershire said:
“This is the right decision from the government. Residents, councillors and the Planning Inspectorate all recognised that the cost of the proposals outweigh any benefit. While I know the new government wants to push new development through, there was no real basis to give HNRFI the green light.
“This decision is a huge relief for residents and a great result for everyone who has scrutinised the proposals closely and given evidence to the Planning Inspectorate and the government.
“The local response has been incredible and in particular I would like to pay tribute to Blaby District Council for their thorough examination of the proposals. Cllr Terry Richardson, Cllr Ben Taylor, Cllr Mike Shirley, Cllr Maggie Wright and the outstanding planning team at BDC have left no stone unturned in their efforts to scrutinise Tritax’s proposal. Friends of Narborough Station and John Harrison have also been hugely significant throughout the examination process” Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, said
“What a huge success for our community! After years of this hanging over us, and all the hard work from everyone in our area, we’ve finally had confirmed what we knew all along; this project is inappropriate.
“This will be a huge relief for many people across our area. Any perceived benefit of the Hinckley NRFI was clearly outweighed by the construction and operation of this site, and I’m so pleased to see it has been rejected.
“The impact this would have had is so significant I am pleased the Government has finally heard the concerns from Councils, infrastructure groups, the Planning Inspectorate, environmental campaigners, the public and local MPs, and seen sense to turn down the proposal.
“While the developers still have a chance to appeal the decision, I hope they choose not to given the strength of feeling and the substance of the Planning Inspector's report.
"I would personally like to say thank you again to everyone who gave their time and effort to make their objections known, I know it’s been a long road but we finally did it!"
