A plan to build warehouses on 80 acres of fields at the edge of a Leicestershire village is still on the table despite delays. The plan for the Enderby Logistics Hub was first submitted to Blaby District Council's planning department in February 2019.
Four years on, however, villagers are still waiting for a decision that could see the swathe of fields at the edge of their community concreted over. The district council told LeicestershireLive the application was still live and under consideration, and that the wait was "perfectly normal" for developments as large as this.
If approved, four large warehouses would be built on the site next to the Enderby Park and Ride, off St Johns. The development could create 1,500 jobs on site and support hundreds more in the local community, according to applicants Drummond Estate and The Inverock Trust.
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The delay was a result of additional traffic modelling – which tests the possible impacts on the surrounding roads – being necessary, a spokesperson for Blaby District Council said, adding that, "as it stands, the application is still live and under consideration".
The spokesperson said the applicants had "taken time to discuss their proposal in detail with the planning department at Blaby District Council", and that the discussions had involved other key parties such as National Highways and the highways department at Leicestershire County Council.
This resulted in the applicants "needing to undertake a substantial amount of additional traffic modelling work", which had taken "considerable time" to prepare, they added.
They said the applicants were preparing additional information for "formal submission to Blaby District Council for further consideration". People would have a chance to comment on the application when submitted, said the spokesperson.
When the application was first submitted to the council in 2019, the response from the community was overwhelmingly negative. All of the comments received by the council from would-be neighbours objected to the plans.
The scheme still appears to be unpopular with the local community. Enderby residents recently discussed it on the Spotted Enderby Facebook page.
“What about the lorries collecting and delivering to the site?” one asked. “Congestion now between Fosse park and Enderby already causes long delays, with people travelling to Whetstone, Narborough, Enderby and surrounding villages.”
“This is disgusting,” another added. “More loss of green space and more pollution and traffic chaos. The villages are already grid locked this will just make it worse.”
However, others pointed out the benefit of more local jobs for the community. One said: “Hopefully brings some decent paid jobs to the local area.”
LeicestershireLive approached the development team for a comment, but did not receive a response.
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