BASE HEADER

No

ID sylw: 106152

Derbyniwyd: 25/02/2025

Ymatebydd: Stephen Marks

Objection: Hatton New Settlement (SWLP B1)

I have lived in Shrewley since 1997 and have seen plenty of development in the surrounding areas since this time. I truly find it quite unbelievable that anybody thinks that this local area could support another 8,000 plus houses. To my mind this is quite unbelievable and not at all based on local knowledge. These are some of the points on which my strong objection is based:

1. Transport infrastructure. The roads around this area have become much busier over the recent years, which I can only imagine is because of a local increase in population. Just one example is the junction with Hockley Road and the A4177 main Warwick Road. It is always extremely busy, especially at peak times. So much so that I often see drivers becoming stressed as this is a real bottleneck which is bad enough to cause people to be late for work and appointments, even sometimes performing dangerous three-point turns in the road to attempt to find different routes. To exacerbate this problem, often drivers divert down The Green to attempt to circumvent the traffic. The Green is a small, quiet road where Ferncumbe School is located which now has a lot more fast paced, rushing traffic as people try to get where they are going on time. This puts the children and staff of the school at risk. This is already a problem, and will become a much bigger problem if there are thousands of extra houses built in the local area, which will most definitely use this junction to get to Warwick and beyond. This is just one example of how the already struggling Transport infrastructure will be significantly affected by this proposed development but there will be many many more in the area that are already super busy especially at peak times.

2. Hospitals. Warwick hospital is already a ‘problem’ hospital, with many reports of huge waiting times in the A&E department, very long waiting times for appointments and procedures, and a car park that it is almost constantly full to capacity and spilling out to illegal parking as people try and get to their appointments to avoid being cancelled and put back into the queues. I personally have witnessed instances of “car park rage” as people fight for spaces… not dissimilar to the days leading up to Christmas in retail parks, but all year round. I can't imagine the chaos that this would cause to this already very very busy hospital if all these new houses are built in the B1 area and even in the surrounding areas in this region.

3. Wildlife. The policy does not provide enough detail on how important environmental assets will be protected and enhanced, especially when a large number of the allocations are next to and even covering important designated Local Wildlife Sites. The policy says ‘expected to support the principles’ and this wording isn’t strong enough. If the Councils intend to reach 30% of land dedicated to nature and in recovery by 2030, as stated in the Environment Act 2021, then more ambitious targets are needed. I am extremely concerned by the scale of the proposed housing, which seems grossly exaggerated. The Plan reports a need for 1,679 dwellings per annum, but suggests allocating 600 surplus houses to allow sufficient flexibility. This will have a significant negative impact on the important habitats and protected species across the area. Many members of the community enjoy walking in these green spaces. Not only does this encourage cohesion in the local community, but it also protects the mental health and well-being of the residents of this rural community. This, in my opinion, outweighs the need for extra housing.