Gailey Freight Hub: Traffic tops fears as new images revealed at consultation
Villagers’ concerns over thousands of extra cars, vans and lorries on their roads dominated a consultation meeting on a proposed freight hub.
Hundreds of residents packed out the Hailing Dene Centre in Penkridge, less than three miles north of the proposed site in Gailey – to view artist’s impressions and reports on the SRFI (Strategic Rail Freight Interchange) scheme.
Many remained unconvinced by developer Four Ashes Ltd’s ideas to mitigate the predicted traffic chaos – which include fining HGV drivers who head towards the village and a new public road through the 700-acre scheme.
Susan Wright, of Croydon Drive, Penkridge, said: “I don’t think it is suitable for Penkridge. When the M6 shuts it is bumper to bumper traffic. This will definitely create more traffic going into town.”
Jackie and John Fowler, aged 78 and 81, of Marsh Lane, Penkridge, welcomed the fact 8,500 jobs would be created but questioned whether it would be local people employed.
Mrs Fowler said: “Where are all of those people going to live? We haven’t got the schools for one thing. It will be people coming from outside. This will benefit people but it won’t benefit Penkridge.”
Meanwhile mother Chloe Burns, 27, looked at the exhibition boards with her one-year-old daughter Valentina. She said: “I chose to stay here and bring up my children. But now I am concerned about the asthma and air pollution.”
Stop The Gailey Freight Hub action group members were at the meeting to lobby support – and funds. They hope to raise £100,000 for their campaign and to hire a senior planning lawyer, saying the development will ‘decimate’ the area.
Donna Gilmartin, from the group, said: “We represent people from Gailey, Calf Heath and Four Ashes. It is going to decimate these areas. Those villages will no longer be there.”
Peter Frost, managing director for Four Ashes Ltd, said: “We have looked at a lot of other sites and gone into a lot of detail but they all lack in some aspect.”
He added: “We will stop right turns on to Station Drive and our biggest investment will be to create a new public road through the development reducing traffic at existing pinch points.
“All our occupants will have agreements not to go through Penkridge via the A449 and we have said we will put up Automated Number Plate Recognition cameras to detect them. In terms of jobs we want as many people as possible from the local area.”
