Deadline for phase one consultation closes next week (21st October)

Anyone wanting to contribute their views encouraged to provide feedback

Ashfield Land is inviting anyone wanting to contribute their views into the Phase One Rail Central consultation to submit their feedback by Friday 21 October – one week from today.

Consultation started (Phase One) in April and included public exhibitions in Blisworth, Milton Malsor, Roade, Collingtree and Towcester during the spring. Last month, Ashfield Land extended the Phase One consultation by three weeks so that anyone wanting to provide feedback in this first phase could do so.

The feedback submitted during the Phase One consultation will be used to inform further design work and development of the draft proposals. Ashfield Land will then consult on those more detailed plans and additional technical information in a Phase Two consultation targeted for spring 2017.

Phase Two consultation will include public exhibitions at local venues and, taken together, the opportunity for feedback from the community in Phase One and again in Phase Two will support a robust scheme design process.

The consultation process – which follows the requirements for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) – will therefore ensure that views from residents and the community who respond to the consultation can be considered, informing the scheme design itself or helping to shape potential mitigation. A wide range of other technical and statutory stakeholders will also be consulted.

James Digby from Rail Central said: “Rail Central is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project designed to respond to consumer demand and to the Government’s policy on freight. It’s about building important new infrastructure to support competitiveness, the economy and the environment. Consultation has a significant part to play and we are keen for anyone who wants to contribute during this first phase of consultation to do so. Feedback on the draft designs and our approach to making Rail Central the best that it can be is welcomed and will help to inform the more detailed designs we will consult on next year in Phase Two.”

Rail Central is a proposed major new logistics and distribution hub – the proposed site is where the West Coast Main Line meets the Northampton Loop Line to the south west of Northampton.

Feedback can be provided online at the project website, www.railcentral.com, or in writing (by email or letter) to Rail Central by the extended deadline of Friday 21 October.

Following the completion of Phase Two consultation and all technical work, a Development Consent Order (DCO) application is scheduled to be made in summer 2017.