BASE HEADER

No

ID sylw: 106431

Derbyniwyd: 05/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Iain Maclean

As a long-term (20+ years) owner-occupier resident of Lapworth, I do not agree with the proposed new settlement location at C1 - Land to the south of Kingswood - being considered for inclusion with the plan, for the following three reasons.


1.INFRASTRUCTURE - ROADS:

The main current access road into Lapworth and to the area identified as C1 on the SWLP is by the B4439, known as the Old Warwick Road.

This is a semi-rural, two lane road which runs from its junction with the A3400 Startford Road at Hockley Heath in the west, to the A4177 Warwick Road near Hatton in the east, for a distance of about 7 miles.

The road is relatively narrow in places, and it has mostly farmed land or residential properties with a few commercial premises at the road edge at many locations on both sides of the road. There are few pavements or areas for pedestrians to walk safely along its length.

As currently configured, the B4439 will not be able to accommodate the significant increase in traffic movements which will arise from the addition of the many new dwellings proposed in the SWLP.

The road is already frequently congested at both ends, especially during morning and late afternoon peak periods.

There is little scope to widen or straighten the road along most of its length without compulsory purchase orders for existing housing and farm land.

The roads infrastructure is therefore unsuitable to support the developments proposed in C1 in the plan.


2.INFRASTRUCTURE - DRAINAGE & FLOODING:

Flooding regularly occurs during and immediately after periods of even moderate rainfall at key locations along the length of the B4439, especially adjacent to the area identified as C1 on the SWLP.

The existing drainage structure is not capable of safely removing excess water after rainfall.

This is exacerbated by the run-off from adjacent farmed land and the non-permeable nature of other developments at the edge of the B4439, creating volumes of standing / stagnant water.

When this occurs, the depth of this standing water makes parts of the B4439 impassable to most cars.

This means that small unclassified single track lanes are used by large volumes of existing through traffic trying to avoid the flooded areas.

The development of new dwellings and the non-permeable nature of much of the land on which these will be developed will increase the level of flooding in Lapworth.

The drainage infrastructure is therefore unsuitable to support the developments proposed in C1 in the plan.


3. INFRASTRUCTURE - ELECRICITY SUPPLY:

The electricity supply in Lapworth is adversely impacted by intermittent interruptions of supply.

When an unplanned electricity outage occurs, the present infrastructure is unable to provide alternative supply routes to meet an increased demand for supply, especially so in the parts of Lapworth adjacent to the area identified as C1 on the SWLP..

These interruptions and outages are more common in the late autumn and winter months, when heavy wind and rain occur, but can occur at any times throughout the year.

This means that many existing residents are without power, usually during the time when it is needed most to help heat and light their homes, sometimes for protracted periods.

It also impacts (i.e., turns off) the limited street lighting in parts of the village, and this is also some of the area identified as C1 on the SWLP.

Further demands placed on the existing electricity infrastructure will only make this situation worse.

The electricity infrastructure is therefore unsuitable to support the developments proposed in C1 in the plan.