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The Kent International Gateway was a proposed logistics hub and strategic rail-freight interchange (SRFI) next to the M20 motorway east of Maidstone. The project was controversial because it was a major development in a Special Landscape Area close to several historic villages. Following a public inquiry that ended in December 2009, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government rejected the proposal on 5 August 2010. ==Proposal== The proposed development would have been built in a corridor between the village of Bearsted, the M20 motorway and the High Speed 1 rail line. Comprising in excess of near junction 8 of the M20, it was intended that the site would cut motorway freight traffic by utilising the rail network and creating a distribution hub in a key location between the Kent coast (with its proximity to continental Europe) and London which is approximately 45 miles to the north-west.〔(Planning Application ) at Maidstone Borough Council (2007)〕〔(Freight depot battle stepped up ), BBC News, 29 October 2007〕 In addition to operating up to 13 freight trains a day (removing an estimated 60 million kilometres of HGV journeys from the roads each year), the site would have looked to employ 3,500 people.〔 The proposal was claimed by its proponents to be aligned with the Department for Transport's (and the previous Strategic Rail Authority's) ''strategic rail freight interchange policy'' which seeks to encourage the removal of road freight in favour of rail-based solutions.〔(Guidance on Rail Freight Strategy ), FreightOnRail.org.uk, accessed December 2008〕 However, the Secretary of State ruled in his decision letter that, "The policy support that the proposal might otherwise enjoy from the SRA’s SRFI Policy is significantly reduced on account of the site’s distance from London and the M25." The proposed development was also thought by some to be broadly in line with the Labour government's Thames Gateway strategy which was intended to promote business and residential expansion from London into north Kent and Essex, however this was not a claim made by the scheme's proponents and in any case that strategy was principally focused a few miles to the north. Approximately 40 Members of Parliament, the majority of whom represent London constituencies, indicated their approval of the proposed development as a means of reducing freight congestion on the M20 and M25 motorways.〔( MPs urged to drop support for KIG ), by Paul Francis, Kent Messenger, 21 May 2008〕 The planning application was rejected by the local planning authority, Maidstone Borough Council, and a public inquiry was held into Axa's appeal of this decision between 13 October 2009 and 23 December 2009. Following the public inquiry and review of the resulting Inspector's report, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, rejected the appeal and refused planning permission for the development on 5 August 2010.〔〔(Letter from Department for Communities and Local Government, 5 August 2010 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kent International Gateway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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