Testun llawn:
I live in Offchurch Road; opposite Thwaites Factory and very close to the lowest point in the village. My property has suffered from flood damage since the creation, behind my property, of Ladycroft, Brookfield Road and North Close in the early 1960s. The field upon which these roads were built was replaced with tarmac and concrete with no enlargement of the existing drainage system. I guess that the surface water and sewerage from around one third of Cubbington comes down in my direction. The sewerage pump house cannot cope in times of flood. Building on land around Thwaites will only serve to increase the volume of surface water and sewerage and gravity will bring it to my front door (and to the front doors of many of my neighbours). Of course the Council would have to consider drainage before granting planning permission but, following the recent flooding the Council's only response to my particular problem/damage has been to deny liability.
So far as schools, roads, policing, surgeries and other services/amenities are concerned these would, no doubt, be the subject of a 106 Agreement between the Council and the developer(s) where the developer(s) agree to make a contribution towards the financial costs (to the Council) of extra roads, schools, street lighting etc of such development. However these contributions are one-off contributions whereas the problems caused by such a sudden increase in population are permanent. It appears from the map I have seen that the area marked for possible development is larger than the existing village of "Old" Cubbington.
Obviously, at this stage, there is no mention of the percentage of housing which will be designated as "affordable housing". There is also no mention of which of the Town & Country Planning Act Use Classes will be permitted. In such a large area there would probably be more shops and commercial premises. Should there be plans for industrial units and/or warehouse-type units and/or office units etc then this would add an even greater burden on the road system. Unfortunately I am suspicious that these matters would not be fully disclosed until it was too late to protest. Such is the way of the world!
Even if I considered this proposal to be a good idea (which I certainly do not) my mind would have to look ahead. If one thing is permitted, what could the next thing be? With this in mind, there does not appear to be any way out of this proposed site to the south. Vehicles from this site would have to leave via Parklands Avenue in order to reach points north, west and south. Parklands Avenue is not a main road but simply provides access to the homes on its route. Parklands Avenue is linked by an even smaller residential road to Valley Road, Buckley Road and into Leamington and beyond. I would make a guess that if this development did go ahead the next step would be cut a new road to the south to join or replace the existing Offchurch/Welsh Road. This would provide a route south which would bypass Leamington for the destinations of Southam, Banbury and all points south.
By no means least, is the impact on the existing community of Cubbington such development would have. Cubbington is fortunate in that it has a clearly defined geographical boundary inside of which the village has enjoyed its community life in every sense almost since Adam was a boy. At a time when a sense of community and community based activities are promoted by central government it would be very strange if this community doubled in size and lost its boundary. Those who are not fortunate enough to live in such a clearly defined community would not necessarily appreciate what it means. Bigger is certainly not always better. I accept that the physical joining up of Cubbington with Lillington may have its advantages. But I would be much happier not knowing what these might have been than to live regretting the fact that there actually were not any! The majority of the occupants of proposed homes on this site would be newcomers to the area and would not regard themselves as belonging to either Cubbington or Lillington.
I do not moan for the sake of it. I know that we have to have mobile phones so we have to have the masts! If we want to fly or travel by train we have to have the airports and the railway tracks. I accept all that. They are unavoidable facts of life. However, what I cannot accept is the development of such a large area of land when there are to my mind, better alternatives.
Firstly, Cubbington has welcomed newcomers and the building of new homes for many years. I can recall when The Grange, Ladycroft, North Close, Penns Close, Brookfield Road, Ledbrook Road, Willow Sheets Meadow, Three Cornered Close, Austen and Pinehurst were "new". Surely this is the way that communities should grow? One road, one home, one family at a time. I would be quite content for this to continue and concerned if it did not. I look forward to seeing Cubbington grow and to welcoming newcomers. So, we should do our bit. We should permit the building of new homes, over time, in sensible numbers. It would be unfair to do otherwise. New homes should be built carefully and sensibly as additions to all existing villages/communities and towns in Warwickshire. Common sense. Everyone benefits.
Alternatively, has the Council considered creating its target of 10,800 new homes in one place? A new town? There must be Council members who would relish the opportunity to be in on the start a new community from scratch? What an opportunity to show the rest of the country how it should be done. Just a thought!