Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) South Yorkshire
protecting the countryside - for the nation, for the future

ROSSINGTON: LORRIES IN BY THE BACK DOOR

Countryside campaign group CPRE South Yorkshire is horrified at today’s news that Doncaster’s so-called Inland Port has got the go-ahead.

Doncaster Council has approved plans for the massive distribution centre near Rossington. The bulk of the 239 hectare site will be covered in roads and warehouses. Although it will shift some freight over from Felixstowe by rail, it will also generate over 8,000 lorry movements a day.

In theory, the development should fit current government policy for ‘strategic rail freight infrastructure’ where rail is used instead of roads for more sustainable and efficient transport. However, CPRE South Yorkshire believes that the Rossington Inland Port is wrongly named.

“This isn’t an Inland Port – it’s a bog-standard road distribution centre with just a bit of a rail facility bolted on,” says John King, Planning Officer at CPRE South Yorkshire.

“It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It will let lorries in by the back door. We supported the original concept of an inland port and we like the fact that some containers will come here from Felixstowe by rail. But when we dug a bit deeper we found out that the so-called Inland Port will actually mean an increase in carbon dioxide emissions from lorries - over 68,000 tonnes a year!”

CPRE South Yorkshire is also angry that Doncaster has gone against its own plans for protecting the local countryside.

“Rossington is in an area called the Torne River Carrlands and is within the Doncaster green belt. It’s a flat, simple and intact rural landscape and the council’s own Landscape Character Assessment states that warehousing will spoil it. Large warehouses will be visible from miles to south and west, especially from higher ground towards Tickhill and East of Wadworth,” says John King.

CPRE South Yorkshire is demanding that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government holds a public inquiry so that the case can be thoroughly examined.