BASE HEADER

No

ID sylw: 106777

Derbyniwyd: 04/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Mrs Nicola Everall

The entire development is located on Green Belt land, which is protected by longstanding planning policy designed to prevent urban sprawl and retain the openness of the countryside.
The land is made up of open countryside, canals and footpaths situated between Lapworth and Rowington, which are both rural villages with limited amenities and transport servicing the area.
There are 7 properties that are Listed (with several more in very close proximity) within the defined area of the proposed settlement and borders a National Trust Property at Baddesley Clinton.
Within the settlement area there is also a large section around the canals designated as a conservation area, an area of ancient woodland and several local wildlife sites.
This would be inappropriate development of the Green Belt.
The visual impact of the development would have a significant impact on the character of the local rural area.
It is stated in the SWLP that in meeting the sustainable development needs, a minimum threshold size for a new settlement is 6,000 dwellings (approx. 375 ha) and it is considered that a settlement of 10,000 dwellings (approx. 625 ha) would more effectively achieve a truly self-sustaining settlement, where residents could meet their daily needs (including schools, shops, health care provision, employment opportunities and leisure facilities including outdoor space).
The proposed settlement is too small at only c. 248 ha (2nd smallest of all the 12 proposed settlements) and would accommodate <5,000 dwellings and not large enough to achieve a self-sustaining development.
The current local amenity infrastructure in terms of the GP Surgery, a small village shop and off licence/post office, village primary school or other community assets is wholly inadequate to accommodate such a development in the area if any new development is not self-sustaining.
One of the major considerations for proposing this new settlement is due to its proximity to Lapworth Railway Station and rail corridor. Yet this is a small rural station with only 16 parking spaces (+2 Disabled) and two platforms which is not suitable for servicing 5,000 new dwellings, with a lack of apparent land available in the immediate vicinity for expansion.
The current public bus service provision to local towns is very limited (once or twice a week at most).
The road infrastructure in the immediate vicinity would not be able to cope with the volume of additional traffic from increased bus services or additional cars.
There are already concerns with the B4439 Old Warwick Road which is the only road travelling through the centre of the proposed settlement. It is narrow and undulating with many blind spots/bends and no pavements.
A recent application to the County Council to make a provision for a school bus stop at the Rowington Green end of the settlement area was rejected due lack of visibility for children crossing the road and insufficient space at the side for the school bus to leave the road for collection/drop off.
The steep hill and sharp bends around Rowington Church on the B4439 Old Warwick Road leading to/from the proposed settlement to the south has been a source of concern from residents for many years, with Rowington Parish Council only recently securing signage to slow traffic down.
The rest of the local roads off the B4439 Old Warwick Road surrounding the proposed settlement are all narrow country lanes with many sections not wide enough for two cars to pass.
Any attempts to widen both the B4439 Old Warwick Road or surrounding country lanes would inevitably result in the necessary removal of long-established hedgerows and trees which would have a further detrimental impact on the character of the area.
Due to its rural location, public services are again wholly inadequate to support this development and would need significant investment in infrastructure.
The water supply for existing residents needs local pumping stations to maintain pressure.
The overhead electrical cabling and supply suffers occasional power cuts already, presumably due to existing capacity constraints.
Multiple houses in the immediate vicinity (particularly down the rural lanes) do not have access to public drains for removal of waste and rely on their own treatment plants/septic tanks, demonstrating the investment that would be required to significantly upgrade the current facilities for accommodating this development.
The B4439 Old Warwick Road occasionally suffers from surface water flooding from the surrounding fields, due to insufficient or blocked drainage. The local country lanes surrounding the proposed settlement have no drainage at all and rely on ditches. Development of the land will only likely worsen this problem considerably, without major investment, with the surface water having nowhere to go.