The Planning Inspectorate has given permission for a developer to argue its case for a controversial £750m rail freight hub.
Tritax Symmetry wants to build the 440 acre Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange on greenfield land alongside the Leicester to Birmingham railway line.
MPs, residents and local councils have objected to the plans which they say will have a huge impact on the local environment. Buildings would cover more than 9 million sq ft and be up to 91ft high. Consultations into proposals have also been criticised as inadequate and incomplete.
Because of the scale of the scheme it will be determined by the Secretary of State, with the local Blaby and Hinckley councils acting as consultees.
The councils had hoped the inspectorate would throw the proposals out during a pre-examination period, but Blaby District Council said the government department has given the green light for the developer to go through to the next stage of the planning process.
In a statement the local authority said: “The council raised major issues with the consultation, saying it had not been adequate.
“It said there were failures to provide accurate detail and mitigation on impacts on highways and the landscape, as well as the extra barrier down time at Narborough Level Crossing in terms of its effects on both traffic congestion and air quality for residents.
“However, the Planning Inspectorate decided to accept the application and will now begin assessing the plans, with the project moving into the pre-examination phase.”
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It said that during the process residents, businesses and local politicians will be asked for their views with a six-month long examination phase following later this year.
The council said the development would be three times the size of Burbage Common which it would run up to, with a railport able to deal with as many as 16 trains every day, each stretching almost half a mile long.
Cat Hartley, planning and strategic growth group manager at Blaby District Council, said: “We are disappointed the Planning Inspectorate have decided to accept this application in spite of our long-held and ongoing concerns.
“We will continue to scrutinise Tritax Symmetry’s proposals and present our views to the Planning Inspectorate as the application process continues.”
Tritax Symmetry has previously said the development will take HGVs off the roads, create thousands of jobs, and represent £750 million of private investment into Leicestershire including £70 million in local infrastructure.
The business said rail freight produces a quarter of the CO2 emissions of HGVs, and the scheme would remove up to 300,000 lorry trips per year from the roads.