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Stanground warehouse protesters vow to fight on
PROTESTERS have vowed the fight against plans for a £500 million rail-based distribution park will go on even if it is enshrined in a council planning blueprint.
PROTESTERS have vowed the fight against plans for a 500 million rail-based distribution park will go on even if it is enshrined in a council planning blueprint.Logistics giant Gazeley wants to build seven warehouses and a rail freight interchange between Park Farm, Stanground, and the Felixstowe to Nuneaton railway line. It would be called Magna Park
It is estimated that the development would create 5,400 jobs and attract more big name companies to Peterborough.
The proposals have sparked fears among residents over the impact of extra traffic, noise and light pollution, among other concerns.
They have been making their feelings known during a consultation run by Peterborough City Council on a document called the Core Strategy, which will help guide the long-term development of the Peterborough area.
Chairman of protest group Stand Up For Stanground – Residents Against Magna Park Chris Harper said he hoped to convince the council to drop Magna Park from the strategy.
Speaking yesterday, just hours before the deadline by which members of the public had to submit their views on the document, he vowed the campaign would go on even if it is included.
Mr Harper said: "We need to make sure our voices are heard all the way along the process, and it would be nice to see that Magna Park isn't in the strategy at all. But we will fight it as it develops.
"The ideal is that we make Gazeley think a bit more and they decide it isn't worth the hassle and look for other sites.
“That’s the message we want to get over to them.”
Gazeley wants to build the rail-based distribution hub north east of Stanground on a 334-acre site.
It is intended as a means of cutting congestion by allowing the quick transfer of freight from trains, with some of it stored in the warehouses until needed for delivery and some moved onward by rail.
Gazeley says Magna Park would create 4,000 jobs on-site, plus 800 knock-on jobs in the surrounding economy and 600 during building work.
But residents are trying to get it deleted from the Core Strategy, which will set the overall approach to how Peterborough develops up to 2021 and beyond.
The current version of the strategy does not endorse the proposals, but lists pros and cons, it says, “to try and open a platform for debate in an impartial way”.
The strategy lists possible advantages of Magna Park as offering a “sustainable logistics development” which would reduce HGV traffic “within the wider region and beyond”.
But it also notes it has “the potential to impact adversely on the natural environment” and would “have a major impact on the landscape and views from houses in Stanground”.
Mr Harper said: “This isn’t nimbyism – it’s just right on top of houses and isn’t in a suitable place.”
With the consultation on the strategy closing yesterday, it will now be prepared for submission to the Government.
Director of planning for Gazeley UK, Don Morgan, said a letter to residents addressed concerns over traffic, flooding, light pollution, and even the possible effect on TV reception.
He said: “You can tell from this that we take our responsibilities seriously.
“Quite apart from it being the right thing to approach development in this way, we plan to invest hundreds of millions of pounds into this project.
“As a major, responsible development company, we will not commit to this level of investment without first having total confidence in all aspects of the project.”
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