The planning application to build up to 70,600 square metres of warehouses for storage and distribution, which will extend into Watermead Country Park, must be rejected.
The warehouses will be built right up to the canal along John Merrick Lake, finishing parallel with the car park at King Lear’s Lake.
If approved, the building of the site will involve much disruption and destruction of surrounding land and lakes, heavy construction traffic and ensuing noise and dust.
If building goes ahead, the tranquil nature of the park will be forever transformed.
Why is this important?
Watermead Country Park is a haven for wildlife in a busy urban area. It has many hundreds of species of wildlife and is home to several breeding pairs of the rare Cetti's Warbler. The building work could see the destruction of vital habitats. Given that “Leicestershire and Rutland are amongst the poorest counties in the UK for sites of recognised nature conservation value” (Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust, 2022) it madness that any kind of development should take place around Watermead.
