Local resident, Chris Love, questions whether we should be destroying valuable wildlife habitat around the Park and Ride, just to provide yet more industrial units locally (19/0164/OUT).
Wildlife: I firmly believe there is high biodiversity on this land, including rabbits, foxes, badgers, bats, breeding birds, ducks, sparrowhawks, herons and swans. I have observed all these using the site and feel this development will harm both protected and non-protected species. There is also a vast biodiversity of plant species which act as a natural native habitat and cleans the air for the people of Enderby.
The planning document ‘Planning Consultation’ states ‘The loss of hedgerows within site…do contain a range of species and are a valuable habitat and loss of arable field boundaries also contributes to loss of foraging habitat’. This statement shows the importance of the habitat/ecology to the wildlife on the site.
Similarly, this document indicates that no badger sets were found, not that no badger sets are present. It’s not clear if a repeat survey was performed, as recommended, but evidence states a ‘holding objection’ recommendation.
Ecology: This report also states that trees/plants planted on the site must derive from ‘local native species only’. I don’t believe this is feasible due to the lack of appropriate resources locally. There is also a pond in the middle of the site full of algae and plants; there is no evidence that this has been surveyed for protected animal or plant species.
Pollution: Most of the supporting evidence, including background pollution concentrations, traffic data, noise monitoring, transport figures and soil reports, was published in 2019. These are four years out-of-date and are not representative of current levels, especially after events such as the pandemic, BREXIT, the expansion of Fosse Park, the addition of Park-and-ride, which would increase traffic volumes. It seems all pollution levels recorded in the Environmental Statement are only predictions and estimates and are not representative of current baseline levels. I feel this site will increase congestion on the roads in Enderby (in particular St. Johns Road/Leicester Road), increasing pollution and general commuting/travelling time and road demand.
Enderby contains several vulnerable populations, including adolescents at schools/ nurseries and older adults at assisted living homes, all less than a mile from the proposed site. Currently, 1,766 minors and older adults are also cared for. This makes 28% of Enderby’s population (6,410 in the 2021 census) vulnerable to respiratory illnesses, including Asthma, COPD and recurrent infections, if exposed to unnecessary pollution.
Government data says that chronic exposure to air pollution could exacerbate coronary heart disease, stroke, asthma, and lung cancer – leading to premature morbidity and mortality. The Environmental statement (2019), shows predicted pre-construction baseline levels of around 18 ppm NO2. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention states that concentrations capable of causing immediate danger to life or health are ’20 ppm NO2 based on acute inhaled toxicity data in humans’.
Flooding: The proposed planning is built on a flood zone, acknowledged in the ‘flood assessment’. Although this statement is correct, the assessment occurred in May 2018 and March 2019, respectively and is not representative of the flooding months in Leicestershire. Therefore, I feel it has underestimated the amount of water the site accumulates. Flooding typically occurs in the ‘wettest’ months in Leicester, October to January (projectbritian.com).
While walking on the site, I also noticed that water currently runs off from the park-and-ride and surrounding areas onto the site, which has also not been acknowledged. Therefore, if this site were built upon, either the proposed area would get flooded, posing a risk to health and safety, or the surrounding houses would get flooded, negatively impacting flood insurance, mortgages, the housing market and health and safety.
Historic: Fosseway is a 1,900-year-old, 230-mile historic Roman road spanning from Exeter to Lincoln. It has Roman features, Iron age features and previous medieval findings, which are essential to Enderby’s history and identity. Archaeological Evidence states, ‘the proposals are likely to have a detrimental impact upon heritage assets present’ and ‘Historic integrity cannot be guaranteed’ or safeguarded, which means Enderby’s historical links and identity could be destroyed, which would negatively impact future generations. It also recommends ‘No demolition/development shall take place/commence until a staged programme of archaeological work’ – There is no evidence this has been achieved.
Walkway: This site is an established ‘yellow posted’ public footpath frequently used by commuters and walkers, especially dog walkers. This improves mental health, encourages exercise, and manages anxiety/stress. Age UK states that walking outdoors in a native, green environment can have several benefits, including reducing cancer risk, type 2 diabetes, and dementia. Therefore, this nature trail benefits the people of Enderby, the local healthcare model that supports them and the vulnerable population mentioned above. Mind.UK estimates one in six people in the UK will experience mental health issues, with Leicestershire having a 19.0% referral rate to mental health services in 2020/2021 with a waiting list time of 50-75 days (House of commons statistics). This trail will help this statistic and the people of Enderby.
Local resident, Chris Love, questions whether we should be destroying valuable wildlife habitat around the Park and Ride, just to provide yet more industrial units locally (19/0164/OUT).
Wildlife: I firmly believe there is high biodiversity on this land, including rabbits, foxes, badgers, bats, breeding birds, ducks, sparrowhawks, herons and swans. I have observed all these using the site and feel this development will harm both protected and non-protected species. There is also a vast biodiversity of plant species which act as a natural native habitat and cleans the air for the people of Enderby.
The planning document ‘Planning Consultation’ states ‘The loss of hedgerows within site…do contain a range of species and are a valuable habitat and loss of arable field boundaries also contributes to loss of foraging habitat’. This statement shows the importance of the habitat/ecology to the wildlife on the site.
Similarly, this document indicates that no badger sets were found, not that no badger sets are present. It’s not clear if a repeat survey was performed, as recommended, but evidence states a ‘holding objection’ recommendation.
Ecology: This report also states that trees/plants planted on the site must derive from ‘local native species only’. I don’t believe this is feasible due to the lack of appropriate resources locally. There is also a pond in the middle of the site full of algae and plants; there is no evidence that this has been surveyed for protected animal or plant species.
Pollution: Most of the supporting evidence, including background pollution concentrations, traffic data, noise monitoring, transport figures and soil reports, was published in 2019. These are four years out-of-date and are not representative of current levels, especially after events such as the pandemic, BREXIT, the expansion of Fosse Park, the addition of Park-and-ride, which would increase traffic volumes. It seems all pollution levels recorded in the Environmental Statement are only predictions and estimates and are not representative of current baseline levels. I feel this site will increase congestion on the roads in Enderby (in particular St. Johns Road/Leicester Road), increasing pollution and general commuting/travelling time and road demand.
Enderby contains several vulnerable populations, including adolescents at schools/ nurseries and older adults at assisted living homes, all less than a mile from the proposed site. Currently, 1,766 minors and older adults are also cared for. This makes 28% of Enderby’s population (6,410 in the 2021 census) vulnerable to respiratory illnesses, including Asthma, COPD and recurrent infections, if exposed to unnecessary pollution.
Government data says that chronic exposure to air pollution could exacerbate coronary heart disease, stroke, asthma, and lung cancer – leading to premature morbidity and mortality. The Environmental statement (2019), shows predicted pre-construction baseline levels of around 18 ppm NO2. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention states that concentrations capable of causing immediate danger to life or health are ’20 ppm NO2 based on acute inhaled toxicity data in humans’.
Flooding: The proposed planning is built on a flood zone, acknowledged in the ‘flood assessment’. Although this statement is correct, the assessment occurred in May 2018 and March 2019, respectively and is not representative of the flooding months in Leicestershire. Therefore, I feel it has underestimated the amount of water the site accumulates. Flooding typically occurs in the ‘wettest’ months in Leicester, October to January (projectbritian.com).
While walking on the site, I also noticed that water currently runs off from the park-and-ride and surrounding areas onto the site, which has also not been acknowledged. Therefore, if this site were built upon, either the proposed area would get flooded, posing a risk to health and safety, or the surrounding houses would get flooded, negatively impacting flood insurance, mortgages, the housing market and health and safety.
Historic: Fosseway is a 1,900-year-old, 230-mile historic Roman road spanning from Exeter to Lincoln. It has Roman features, Iron age features and previous medieval findings, which are essential to Enderby’s history and identity. Archaeological Evidence states, ‘the proposals are likely to have a detrimental impact upon heritage assets present’ and ‘Historic integrity cannot be guaranteed’ or safeguarded, which means Enderby’s historical links and identity could be destroyed, which would negatively impact future generations. It also recommends ‘No demolition/development shall take place/commence until a staged programme of archaeological work’ – There is no evidence this has been achieved.
Walkway: This site is an established ‘yellow posted’ public footpath frequently used by commuters and walkers, especially dog walkers. This improves mental health, encourages exercise, and manages anxiety/stress. Age UK states that walking outdoors in a native, green environment can have several benefits, including reducing cancer risk, type 2 diabetes, and dementia. Therefore, this nature trail benefits the people of Enderby, the local healthcare model that supports them and the vulnerable population mentioned above. Mind.UK estimates one in six people in the UK will experience mental health issues, with Leicestershire having a 19.0% referral rate to mental health services in 2020/2021 with a waiting list time of 50-75 days (House of commons statistics). This trail will help this statistic and the people of Enderby.