BASE HEADER

No

ID sylw: 108242

Derbyniwyd: 07/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Persimmon Homes (South Midlands)

Asiant : Pegasus Group

A 3km buffer zone around the Cotswolds National Landscape is proposed. Two of South Warwickshire’s most sustainable locations for growth fall within this potential buffer - Shipston-on-Stour and land at Long Marston, which are identified as a Strategic Growth Location (SG17) and Potential New Settlement (E1) respectively.

The comment from the Cotswolds National Landscape Board as part of the Issues & Options consultation, which predictably advocated for the implementation of a buffer, appears to have strongly influenced the Councils in formulating this policy direction, but there is no basis for a National Landscape buffer in national policy, nor has any evidence been provided to suggest that this is needed. Notably, the Cotswolds National Landscape Management Plan 2023 – 2025 does not refer to a buffer nor suggest that one should be established by local authorities. The Management Plan already serves as a material consideration in the determination of planning applications within the National Landscape and its setting in South Warwickshire, and it is contended that the current policy approach with regards to the National Landscape in the Stratford Core Strategy, which referred to the Management Plan, should be carried over. There is no evidence or justification for the SWLP Part 1 to go beyond the provisions of the Management Plan in implementing a buffer, and development should certainly not be precluded in sustainable locations where schemes can be designed in a manner which does not adversely impact on the National Landscape and its setting.