Residents fear 'absolute eyesore' if Hinchingbrooke Logistics Park is built
A decision on the plans has already been delayed
People in Huntingdon are fearful for the future if controversial plans to build a massive logistics park go ahead.
Councillors are set to decide tonight (Monday) if plans to turn 205,000 square metres of land near Hinchingbrooke Hospital into industrial, storage and distribution space can go ahead.
The plans - for Brookfield Farm next to the A1307 and A141 - drawn up by Newlands Property Developments (Huntingdon) Ltd also include buildings up to 24 metres high.
"They're going to be visible for miles around; they're going to be an absolute eyesore," John Greenhalgh, chair of the Hinchingbrooke Residents Association (HRA), said.
"All that's happened is there has been more building and a logistics park is going to add to that, and people are very concerned it's going to make things worse and affect their daily lives even more."
Developers hope work can start on the logistics park later this year, with the first buildings to be occupied in 2028.
Newlands Property Developments claim there is a "clear need" for the scale of the plans, which it says will "address underlying issues" such as improving access to training, skills and employment in the area.
"We support investment in the area, but what we don't support is something on a greenfield site that is existing good quality agricultural land getting taken over to build cruise-ship scale warehouses in an area that doesn't need it," John said.
Traffic fears
Huntingdonshire District Council were due to meet about the plans in February, but this was delayed in order to give developers time to look into the potential impact on local roads.
More than 7,000 light goods vehicles, including vans, are expected to travel to and from the logistics park each day on top of more than 1,000 heavy goods lorries.
There have been more than 50 formal objections to the plans, with concerns around increased congestion in and around the area and because of this, longer waiting times for patients needing to go to Hinchingbrooke Hospital.
"We're very concerned about the impact on everybody trying to get to and from the hospital and lots of local residents have already experienced those difficulties," John said.
"The last thing we need is anything that has the potential to make that worse."
In planning documents, the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust said it has no concerns around the logistics park as "we do not believe lorries will impact the traffic leading out of Hinchingbrooke Park Road and surrounding roads."
While in an email to Huntingdonshire District Council, Deborah Lee - senior responsible officer for the Hinchingbrooke Hospital redevelopment programme - was cautious around the proposals.
Ms Lee said transport analysis showed the plans "did not indicate the development would generate additional traffic impacts on Hinchingbrooke Park Road or Views Common Road, which would have directly affected hospital operations".
Huntingdon MP Ben Obese-Jecty has previously the development "could have huge potential if done properly, but any build must be sympathetic to the current environment and be an overall benefit to local people."