Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has rejected a proposed £750 million rail freight interchange in Hinckley, Leicestershire.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has rejected a proposed £750 million rail freight interchange in Hinckley, Leicestershire.
Developer Tritax Big Box Developments had wanted to build a rail freight interchange on nearly 700 acres of farmland near the town, claiming that it would be able to handle up to 16 freight trains per day and significantly add to the area’s freight capacity.
Alongside nine warehouses, the Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange (HNRFI) would have had access to the Felixstowe- Nuneaton freight route.
In September 2024, previous Transport Secretary Louise Haigh had said the Department for Transport was “minded to refuse” the project over multiple concerns, but extended the deadline for a decision until March 2025, to seek further information from both the developer and other stakeholders.
Owing to its scale, the proposal was considered a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. As such, it had bypassed local planners and gone straight to the government for the final decision.
In a letter outlining the decision, Alexander cited concerns with traffic on the nearby M69, stating that Tritax’s traffic modelling was “inadequate”. As part of its proposal, Tritax had proposed paying for junction upgrades.
The letter also said that “concerns remained” over the lack of highways infrastructure in local villages, including Stoney Stanton and Sapcote, and that the developer’s plans did not allay those concerns.
There were also concerns for the local landscape, despite the developer’s pledge to plant 20,000 trees. Burbage Common Country Park adjacent to the land was highlighted as likely to be harmed significantly.
Dr Luke Evans, MP 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.”
South Leicestershire MP Alberto Costa 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.”
In September, Tritax had been asked to provide further details on the impact to local rail services in the area, specifically on the level crossing at the nearby village of Narborough.
To help alleviate concerns that an increase in traffic would result in a longer period of downtime at the station, Network Rail had agreed to contribute £350,000 towards any mitigation work on the station, should the project be approved. Further modelling conducted by NR showed the interchange would have had minimal impact on capacity.
While the scheme attracted concerns from local stakeholders, many in the rail freight sector had backed the project, with its potential to significantly contribute to the rail freight growth target. This included Maritime Transport and the Network Rail Freight Team, both of which had urged the Transport Secretary to approve the scheme.
In September, Haigh had also raised concerns that the developer did not show any emphasis for sustainable travel for the new interchange, given its employment estimates of 8,400 people. She criticised Network Rail’s answers as “lacking rigour”.
In response, NR conducted a feasibility study into reopening Elmesthorpe station near to the proposed site, but deemed its potential as “unviable”.
Dr Evans added: “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.”
A spokesman for Tritax Big Box Developments said: “We are disappointed by the Transport Secretary’s decision to refuse the Development Consent Order for HNRFI. We are seeking legal advice on the next steps available to us and will review our position when that advice is received.
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