Inland port employing over 5,000 approved

The proposal for the Rossington Inland Port will see a rail freight terminal built as well as 5.62 million square feet of warehouses and a road link to junction 3 of the M18 motorway.

Although it is some distance from the coast, the site will be officially classed as a port because it will have customs facilities and bonded warehouses within the sprawling complex.

A spokesman for Doncaster Council said: “The development is expected to employ over 5,500 workers and will make a major contribution to national and local policy for promoting sustainable distribution by diverting a substantial amount of freight traffic from road to rail.

“This will result in a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, together with reduced traffic levels and congestion on motorways and other major roads.”

The new link road will not only link the M18 motorway with the inland port, but also with Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport.

Three developers – Shepherd Developments, Helios Europe and Segro – have come together to bring forward the Rossington Inland Port project.

It is intended that goods will mostly come from the docks at Felixstowe in Suffolk and will be freighted to the warehousing complex, which will act as a holding place for containers, before their contents are broken down into smaller units and distributed.

Mike Hughes, CEO of Helios Europe, said: “The inland port development is of strategic importance to Doncaster and the wider region and will be a major catalyst for inward investment and significant economic growth.

“With the support of Doncaster Council we are advancing our plans to prepare for a construction start in 2012.”

Coal production ended at Rossington Colliery, on which the port will be built, in 2006.