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ID sylw: 106766

Derbyniwyd: 02/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Carolyn Gifford

I am writing in response to the consultation on the South Warwickshire Plan and in particular further developments around Leamington Spa. Although I have lived in the town centre for more than 50 years and enjoy its amenities, I frequently visit other towns in the area and am familiar with its continuing expansion. I am particularly concerned about the possible development of either part of SG06 and suggest three arguments why it should not be developed:

1. Loss of the Green Belt
Both parts of SG06 are currently part of the Green Belt, with good reason, as they have so far prevented Leamington from sprawling all the way to Kenilworth and engulfing Old Milverton. As Green Belt, they are productive agricultural land and as they both have well-maintained footpaths, both are much used as an amenity by residents of Leamington and far beyond. If they were developed, they cannot be replaced either as an amenity or as agricultural land, and the loss of biodiversity would be disastrous.
2. Any new development must be sustainable in itself
Where major large developments are planned, part of that planning should result in the creation of a new community that is cohesive and sustainable because there is an established infrastructure that has the capacity to absorb it. However, building several hundred new houses on either part of SG06 will not be creating a new community – it will merely be adding to the fringe of Leamington’s footprint. There will be no infrastructure of improved roads, no public transport service, no additional schools, no additional shops and no medical centre. Having grown considerably over several decades, all those features of Leamington are already under severe strain and there is no capacity to absorb the numbers of houses envisaged. If built, at best each part of SG06 would be a large housing estate that offers its residents no amenities and is therefore a dismal prospect.
3. Any new development should be a sustainable addition to existing housing
Building several hundred houses on either part of SG06 will add no beneficial features to those whose homes border on it. At best, the new developments might offer a narrow ribbon of ‘nature park’ which is no way replaces the expanse of open countryside. These areas to the north of Leamington are already poorly provided by public transport. Inevitably, additional housing will involve more people having to travel by car for school, for work and even for leisure. Given that Leamington was a Regency and Victorian town until the 1960s and has quite a high population density, this additional burden will have an impact not just on those on the edge of the new housing estates, but on all of Leamington.

To summarise, developing either part of SG06 will offer little to its new residents other than a roof over their heads. It will offer no amenities and they will have no alternative but to join the traffic on the already blocked main and link roads. There may be employment available, but north Leamington’s schools are already at full capacity and cannot expand. Likewise doctor’s surgeries. The only hospital in Warwick District – in Warwick – struggles to meet existing demand and cannot expand on its existing site to even meet existing demand for parking.
To build on either part of SG06 would be unsustainable for those moving in, and for Leamington as a whole. I urge you to select a site that offers residents (new and existing) a better prospect and quality of life.