A Rail Freight Interchange for Spalding

Transcription

1 A Rail Freight Interchange for Spalding Consultation by South Holland District Council on a proposed development site option for a Rail Freight Interchange facility March 2010

2 About the proposals Introduction Fresh produce is one of Spalding s major sources of local employment, but also generates a large volume of goods vehicle traffic on local roads, moving fruit and vegetables to and from local processors and distributors. South Holland District Council ( the Council ) is keen to encourage further employment and investment in this sector, but not if this leads to unsustainable growth in lorry traffic and associated impacts. This consultation relates to an opportunity to create a new Rail Freight Interchange (RFI) for use by fresh produce and other companies in Spalding. The RFI would also include a number of value-added processing and storage operations on site, integrated with the interchange facilities, providing a range of employment opportunities for the local area. This aligns with the results of Regional studies undertaken in 2002 and 2005, which identified scope to move more food and drink traffic by rail, particularly from the Spalding area. The UK s major retailers already use trains on a daily basis to import fresh produce from mainland Europe and move a range of goods around the country. Each train typically removes between 25 and 40 long-distance lorries from the road network, using around one-quarter the fuel (and equivalent CO2 emissions) as the same number of lorries. Yet like many towns, Spalding lost its rail freight facilities many years ago. Responding to requests from the retailers (the principal source of demand for the food industry in Spalding) for better local access to the rail network, the Council and other public-sector organisations engaged the University of Lincoln and specialist consultants Intermodality to carry out feasibility studies during These studies have confirmed the potential scale of the opportunity, to move freight by rail instead of road, and attract further employment to the area through improved RFI facilities. The studies have also reconfirmed significant interest from the major retailers and local suppliers. The opportunity to create a new RFI in the local area also coincides with Network Rail s upgrading of the main line between Peterborough, Spalding and Doncaster (the Joint Line ). This will not only provide a route bettersuited for carrying freight traffic, but will also offer an unique opportunity for the new RFI to be linked to the rail network as part of the upgrading works. Yet it appears that development of such a facility is unlikely to be an open-ended opportunity, as the current level of interest cannot be sustained indefinitely. Without rail access, local business will either increase use of road haulage, or look elsewhere to a growing number of regional distribution parks which have better rail and road access. The Intermodality feasibility study concluded that there was an urgent need to determine whether a new facility should be developed, not only to capture the current market interest, but also to secure the necessary rail works within Network Rail s upgrade programme for the Joint Line. In order to achieve this, Network Rail will need more detail on any local RFI s location and rail access arrangements by Summer This means that the process of identifying a suitable site has to be undertaken in advance of the forthcoming Local Development Framework (LDF) process. The Council s Role In view of the findings of the feasibility study and the interest generated amongst the business community, in December 2009 the Council requested officers to undertake a site-selection process to identify a preferred site for the RFI. It should be noted that the identification of a preferred site by the Council is only the first step in the possible development of a Rail Freight Interchange. Any detailed proposal for such a development will still require planning permission.

3 This would need a significant amount of supporting information (which has yet to be produced). This would include an Environmental Statement describing the likely significant effects of the development on the environment, and proposed mitigation measures. Dependent on the site area and other considerations, any planning application may not be considered by the Council as local planning authority, but instead by the new Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), an independent body that decides applications for nationally-significant infrastructure projects such as major Rail Freight Interchanges. Purpose of the public consultation Since December 2009, Council officers have been working on the process of site identification and have identified several options, one of which has been identified as a preferred option. The purpose of the public consultation is to seek your views on the preferred option and any other comments you may have relating to the process of site selection. Selecting the right site The process of selecting a site has been based on identifying a number of locational criteria, drawn principally from the feasibility study work. This identified a number of primary operational and commercial criteria likely to be critical to successful development of any site, including: Within 5 kilometres (km) of the centre of Spalding, as a reasonable distance to address requirements from existing and prospective companies; Within 2 km of the main line rail network, to minimise the costs, lead time and potential environmental impact of any rail link into the site; Within 5 km of suitable primary roads (subject to satisfying the 2 km rail criterion above) with capacity for the anticipated level of vehicle traffic; A footprint of Hectares (Ha), preferably in a single ownership (however, a smaller footprint with the ability to expand may be acceptable); and The ability to accommodate metre (m) length trains wholly within its boundary, equating to a rail frontage of at least 1,100m for stabling 750m length trains. Having regard to the built form of Spalding and the nearby village of Pinchbeck to the north, it was decided to revise the first criterion proposed in the feasibility study, to be: Within 7.5 km of the centre of Spalding (i.e. Red Lion Street). The other four criteria were accepted for inclusion in the selection process. In order to protect the amenity of existing and proposed residential areas on the edge of Spalding and Pinchbeck, an additional criterion was included requiring that: No site should lie within 1 km of the designated settlement boundary of Spalding (including Pinchbeck) as shown in the South Holland Local Plan. This extra criterion also seeks to accommodate the possibility - albeit extremely remote at the present time - of a rail bypass for Spalding, in view of Network Rail s plans to increase the use of the Joint Line, with the impact this could have on level-crossing activity and consequent highway congestion within the town. These six criteria were then used to inform a sieve mapping technique which led to the identification of two areas of search with the potential for accommodating a site (see Plan A overleaf).

4 Site selection Plan A Search Area More than 2km from main line railway 7.5km radius of Spalding Within 1km of Spalding boundary 5km radius of Spalding Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey mapping with permission of the Controller of Her Majesty s Stationery Office. Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence No More than 5km from highway network Plan A shows how applying all the criteria led to the two areas of search (shown shaded ). One of the areas was situated north of Pinchbeck, adjoining the east side of the railway and lying west of the A152, the other situated between Spalding and Deeping St Nicholas adjoining the west side of the railway. At this point it was decided that it was inappropriate to consider the possibility of locating a facility in the vicinity of the railway line at Donington. The Council then consulted Network Rail on these locations to explore their suitability for connecting to the main line, site layout and highway access. This resulted in Network Rail identifying three, more detailed, operational areas where a RFI could be developed. The Council then asked Intermodality to review these three areas against more detailed knowledge and experience with this type of RFI development, which resulted in the suggestion of a fourth option.

5 Plan B Site Options Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey mapping with permission of the Controller of Her Majesty s Stationery Office. Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence No The four options are named below and identified on Plan B above. They are: 1.Deeping Fen, Southerly Orientation (a); 2.Deeping Fen, Westerly Orientation; 3.Gosberton Cheal; 4.Deeping Fen, Southerly Orientation (b). Maps showing all four options were then sent to the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board, the Environment Agency and the Highway Authority, to seek the initial views of these bodies in respect of the general acceptability of the options, insofar as they affected their interests.

6 Responses to preliminary consultation The four options, and the initial comments made by the Highway Authority, the Environment Agency, the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board, Network Rail and Intermodality, were discussed at the Council s Local Development Framework (LDF) Working Party at its meeting on 24 th February. The Members of the LDF Working Party appraised the options having particular regard to the following considerations, set out in Table 1 below. The LDF Working Party and officers reached a consensus on the respective merits of each option and identified Option 4 (see Plan C opposite) as the preferred option, subject to seeking the views of the public on the matter. Table 1 Comparison of Options Option 1: Deeping Fen, Southerly Option 2: Deeping Fen, Westerly Option 3: Gosberton Cheal Option 4: Deeping Fen, Southerly Considerations Orientation (a) Orientation Orientation (b) Land Drainage Issues Preferred location Preferred location Preferred location Flood Risk Issues Preferred location Preferred location Preferred location Agricultural Land Classification Grade 2 Grade 2 Grade 1 Grade 2 Highway Issues Least favoured Potential for facilitating Deeping St Nicholas Bypass Network Rail Benefits 4 level crossing closures 2 level crossing closures 1 level crossing closure 4 level crossing closures Potential for vehicular access via roundabout at junction of A16/B1172 Part of site within 1 km of Local Plan settlement boundary for Spalding Visual impact Demolition of buildings Location to south of Spalding would minimise additional rail traffic through Spalding Least impact by virtue of squarer shape

7 Plan C Option 4 Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey mapping with permission of the Controller of Her Majesty s Stationery Office. Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence No

8 What happens next? Public Consultation In consulting the local community, the Council would particularly welcome comments relating to the following issues: Whilst the aim of such developments is to increase the transport of goods by rail, it is unlikely that the benefit of reduced goods vehicle movements will be felt locally, as produce will still need to be transported by road from farms and other local processors to the site; Regardless of whether the RFI is ultimately developed, Network Rail s plans for the upgrade of the Joint Line mean that rail traffic along it will increase significantly; Are there other options which the Council needs to consider as realistic alternatives; The ability of the local road infrastructure to cope with a new RFI e.g. some Members of the LDF working Party have identified potential issues with the junction of the A151 and the A16 and in traffic moving from the old A16 to the new A16; Given that a RFI would, like other local industrial sites, operate on a 24/7 basis, how should potential noise and light pollution issues for neighbouring properties be addressed; What sort of screening/landscaping should be required of a detailed proposal; If an option in the Deeping Fen area is chosen, could a passenger station be built as part of the scheme, to serve Deeping St Nicholas? Should a bypass for the village become a long-term aspiration of the Council (see Plan C); As with any major development, opportunities may exist to secure improvements to local community and other facilities in association with the proposal, provided they do not impact on the overall viability of the project. Are there any issues that the proposed development should address? Comments relating to the process of identifying a preferred site for a Rail Freight Interchange in Spalding should be submitted in writing, using the response form, to: The Head of Planning & Development South Holland District Council Council Offices Priory Road Spalding Lincolnshire PE11 2XE Marked for the attention of Gary Alexander, Planning Policy Team Leader by Friday, 22 nd April Alternatively, you can comments to ldf@sholland.gov.uk We look forward to receiving your views. Next Steps The results of the public consultation exercise will be reported back to a meeting of the LDF Working Party on 22 nd April, to enable a decision to be made on recommending a preferred site to Cabinet at its meeting on 11 th May Failure to make sufficient progress on this initiative, to enable Cabinet to formally identify a preferred site at its meeting on 11 th May, could significantly impact on the costs of developing such a facility in future. However, the achievement of this timetable will not impact on the formal process of securing planning permission for any such proposal.