Roxhill Developments Ltd now has planning permission to build a six million sq ft rail freight interchange in Donington.

The plans to develop the interchange near to East Midlands Airport were given the go-ahead by transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin, reports Logistics Manager.

As a project, this freight interchange is of national significance because it will have a direct connection into the National Freight Network on completion.

The project will feature 10 warehouses and a rail freight terminal, which will be suitable for carrying 750m freight trains.

The site will also store containers, opening up its capabilities for storage facilities, which will be particularly valuable for freight loads as the site is located next to J24 of the M1 and East Midlands Airport.

Speaking on the site, Roxhill said: "East Midlands Gateway would provide large-scale warehousing together with an intermodal rail freight interchange. This would provide the facilities to enable large volumes of freight to be transferred to and from road vehicles and freight trains."

He continued: "It would directly support a wide range of economic sectors within the UK, and form part of increasingly significant flows of international cargo movements."