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ID sylw: 108654

Derbyniwyd: 07/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Kingacre Estates Ltd (‘Kingacre’)

Asiant : Nexus Planning

Policy Direction 3 seeks to identify ‘Built Up Area Boundaries’ (‘BUABs’) for settlements within South Warwickshire, alongside considering whether a revised settlement hierarchy classification is required across the Districts. Furthermore, this Policy Direction seeks to provide principles in relation to the appropriateness of development within and adjacent to the BUABs (where defined).
In non-Green Belt locations, Policy Direction 3 refers to ‘Housing, employment and other settlement related development, within or adjacent to Built Up Area Boundaries’. Kingacre supports the recognition that certain sites may be considered appropriate where they outside but adjacent to the BUABs. This will be critical to support the modest growth of the Districts’ rural settlements over the plan period.
However, Policy Direction 3 then provides that ‘Where such sites are adjacent to Built Up Area Boundaries, a threshold site size will be established, below which such developments are likely to be acceptable…’. This is problematic as what may constitute an appropriate quantum of development will necessarily be dependent upon the specific circumstances and context of each site. As such, it is inappropriate to apply an arbitrary number to the maximum number of homes considered to be appropriate on such sites.
Furthermore, should a limit of around 10 dwellings per site (or indeed fewer) be taken forward, as is indicated may be the case in the supporting text, it would be unlikely that much (if any) affordable housing would be provided. Given the stark need for affordable housing, particularly within rural villages, the implementation of this threshold approach is inappropriate and counter productive. Medium-sized sites may well be considered appropriate at these locations, depending on the context of the specific site, the potential benefits of developing it, and its potential harms. It is, therefore, recommended that such development at smaller villages should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Recommendation(s): a. Continue to provide an approach in which housing, employment, and other settlement related development in non-Green Belt locations may be considered appropriate, where it is outside but adjacent to the BUABs. b. Transition to an approach where such sites are to be considered on a case-by-case basis, rather than applying a numerical threshold above which development is inappropriate (whether the threshold relates to site size or development quantum).