BASE HEADER

No

ID sylw: 106290

Derbyniwyd: 04/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Heather Dowler

I am writing to object to the proposed over development of South Warwickshire, but in particular Wellesbourne ,SG15 and 16.
Although I am no longer resident in Wellesbourne I lived there for well over 30 years and still have strong family ties in the village. I am in the village several times a week.
I have witnessed the over development of land for housing without investment in services and amenities or proper regard for the local environment.
My main objections are as follows

Flood risk. Wellesbourne is already at risk of flooding in several areas of the village. Despite work being done along the river Dene this continues to be a significant problem. Additional housing will only increase this. Indeed some of the proposed areas for development sitting within the known flood plain.

Local Services unable to cope with further development. The primary school is already over subscribed with both Hampton Lucy and Loxley schools in neighbouring villages also full and Loxley under threat of closure.
It is not suitable for young children to be travelling miles to school, particularly when this is adding more traffic to the already congested local roads.
Further increase in population will also put further strain on the GP surgery and dentist.

Transport links and public transport. Wellesbourne has poor transport links which is continually being reduced. The roads are already congested and are not built for high volumes of traffic. Yet more homes will mean more people using cars for work, increasing the environmental pollution. The proposed quarry in Barford is already a concern for the increase in lorrys.

The loss of prime farm land and open space for pleasure and nature. Wellesbourne has some prime farming land surrounding it, this should not be lost to housing when there are clearly brown field sites available and more suitable for development nearer Coventry and Birmingham. The biodiversity of the surrounding fields and open land is, as previous biodiversity studies shown home to a large range of animal and plant life. Further development will have a negative impact on this. So the local plan will be acting against the known need to protect the already shrinking habitats for wildlife.

Wellesbourne and the surrounding villages and Stratford and Warwick have no need for extensive building to accommodate the local population, with the exception of affordable first homes for young local people wanting to get on the property ladder. My understanding is that statistics show that in actual fact the need is reducing as we have a situation where more people are dying than being born so the population is going down.
The locally available opportunities for employment are not enough to support more people coming to the area.

Wellesbourne is already sprawling outwards from the village centre. It already has both a senior living complex for older residents and social housing accommodating young families which are not an easy walk into the village centre for most of the amenities. These are the most likely to have access to a car and are therefore dependent on lifts or walking. For some young mums it is a 40 minute walk to the school, not much fun for a three, four or five year old, particularly in bad weather. Is that building homes that enhance peoples lives and well being? That is what the local plan boasts.

Thank you for considering these objections in determining where and how much future housing will be allocated in SG15 and SG16.