Symmetry DB Infrastructure Northamptonshire County

A logistics developer has agreed to pay for and deliver the first phase of a bypass after Northamptonshire County Council lost its funding for the project.

Jonathan Wallis, Development Director of DB Symmetry, told delegates that the company is taking over the project so that it can deliver the plans for its Symmetry Park at Kettering, which contains plans for 2.3m sq ft of logistics space.

Northamptonshire has lost its Local Enterprise Partnership funding for the bypass. DB Symmetry now expects to start work next year on the stretch of the bypass, running from the entrance of Symmetry Park to the A14. [emaillocker id=”71749″]

“Rather than provide contributions to the bypass, we are delivering the first phase. This gives Northamptonshire county council another opportunity to complete it, which hopefully will happen,” he said.

Wallis said that even though the site is allocated for employment in the council’s local plan, securing planning permission for the park has taken three years due to a “considerable amount of opposition” to the scheme from residents in a neighbouring village: “With big projects there is such a focus on infrastructure that unless public and private work together, it won’t get delivered.”

But he said that the company’s Symmetry Park at Rugby, which is located between Rugby and the A45 has attracted more enquiries than any other site in the company’s portfolio due to planning restrictions on employment land in the surrounding area.

“The focus to date has largely been on housing growth, ignoring employment needs. I hope this is something that will change going forward,” he said, expressing hope that the scheme to deliver 2m sq ft of logistics space and over 2,000 new homes on 358 acres of land will receive planning permission following the adoption of Rugby council’s local plan.

Wallis also showcased DB Symmetry’s National Rail Freight Interchange at Hinckley, which will include 7m sq ft of logistic space and where it will be possible to load and unload freight from mainline trains to lorries.

He said the scheme, which covers more than 550 acres at junction 2 of the M69, is classified as a “nationally significant infrastructure project” and is “central” to plans to develop new homes and employment south of Leicester including a new garden village.

Anne Shaw, Director of Network Resilience at Transport for the West Midlands (TfWM), told delegates that the authority is hoping to run battery powered trams through Birmingham city centre as part of its plans to treble the size of the Midland Metro.

The region’s tram network is currently being extended from New St Station through Birmingham city centre’s business quarter to Hagley Rd in Edgbaston. TfWM is also seeking funding to further extend the network to Dudley.

Using batteries would avoid the need for overhanging catenary wires to power the trams through in the city centre, she said, adding that the transport body is exploring the use of hydrogen technology to power its buses.

Shaw also said new rail services are being introduced including a new station at Selly Oak that will relieve pressure on the existing but overcrowded station at Birmingham University.

Christopher Blake, New Stations & Services Manager at operator West Midlands Trains, said new commuter services on the Camp Hill Chords will deliver three new stations in south Birmingham. The new line will improve connections with the city centre and via the junction at Kings Norton link up with the wider rail network to the south west of the city.

He also said the provision of new stations at Darlastone and Willenhall which is being part bankrolled by HS2 Connectivity Fund, will be a catalyst for the regeneration of the surrounding Black Country area between Walsall and Wolverhampton.

Stephen Chaytow, Chair of the Manchester & East Midlands Rail Action Partnership, outlined his body’s plans to create a new link between Manchester and Sheffield on the long closed Peaks and Dales line.

He said the Hope Valley line, the existing main trans-Pennine route is “crowded” with services between the east midlands services and Manchester currently having to reverse when they reach Sheffield, leading to delays.

He said that Transport for the North has asked the partnership to prepare an outline business case for its proposals, which the group also hopes will be incorporated into the next refresh of the Midlands Connects strategy document.

Adnan Saif, West Midlands Director of the Canal & River Trust, told delegates that many developers continue to turn their back on the region’s waterways. He said an example is in the Black Country, where 42% of development sites pipeline are located within 100m of canals.

Saif said that the region’s 1,700 km of waterways and 1,900 km of towpaths, provides five traffic free routes into Birmingham city centre. He said regional water companies plan to use the trust’s waterways to transfer enough water from the midlands to London to supply approximately 500,000 people.

The trust’s 245 Ml/d transfer to Bristol Water is the second largest currently carried out in England. [/emaillocker]