Angry West Midlands residents have vowed to fight against the construction of an £8.5 million freight depot, the West Midlands Interchange.

It has been proposed that the new rail freight depot will be built on green belt land near the residents’ homes, resulting in the formation of the ‘Stop the Gailey Freight Hub’ action group.

The new development would see the construction of a rail terminal along with 17 service buildings and warehouses covered across an 800,000 sq m site close to Wolverhampton.

Specifically, the West Midlands Interchange would be situated between junction 12 of the M6 and the main A449 Stafford Road on the south side of the A5, leading to residents in the Featherstone area leading the fight against its construction.

Earlier in the month, the scheme’s development consortium, ‘Four Ashes’, launched a consultation process with resident in the area.

They argue that the site development will see more than 8,000 new jobs created and will attract major occupiers from the retail and logistics sectors which are looking for somewhere to base their operations.

The proposed development will also provide direct access to the West Coast Main Line from Four Ashes station and will allow occupiers to move large freight quantities from the motorway onto the rail network, which will help the environment and reduce congestion.

The land site belongs primarily to Piers Monckton, whose family also own the nearby stately home ‘Stretton Hall’.

A number of consultations on the possible options relating to the design will take place until July 24 and Four Ashes insists that it is keen to interact with public opinion at this early design stage.

Peter Frost, managing director at Four Ashes commented that the development will consist of storage warehouses that will process the movement of goods for manufacturers, consumers and retailers.

He added that it fits in line with the national government policy of encouraging freight movements onto rail rather than the roads.