BASE HEADER

I oppose development at Hurst farm and Baginton because

1) this is building on green belt and Greenfield land - national policy PPG2, requires that greenbelt should be used for building only in exceptional circumstances. In the broader Coventry area (which this is in) , no exceptional circumstances have been shown. Quite the reverse. There is ample brownfield land (as demonstrated in the Coventry SHLAA) to accommodate natural growth in the area for the plan period (if you estimate Coventry's natural growth at 12-1300) then there is demonstrated capacity for up to 22,000 homes on brownfield land. Removal from the greenbelt is not justified.
2) Adequate alternatives - building on available brownfield land, or on the failing Coventry Airport site, has not been adequately considered nor have reasons been given as to why they were not selected. In so far as Coventry, Solihull and Warwick have jointly planned for the needs of the region, brownfield sites within Coventry should have been considered if Warwick district council has a need for more homes than it can accommodate on brownfields. These are reasonable alternatives which should have been considered under the SEA directive.
3) National sustainability policy explicitly says that brownfield land should be preferred to Greenfield development.
4) The development will have a very damaging impact on wildlife, amenity, biodiversity. Protected species (badgers, bats, great crested newts, and water voles) will be harmed. Bird species on British Trust for Ornithogy Red conservation status will be damaged. Much loved ground nesting birds, such as skylarks, will be exterminated by swarms of cats and children..
5) A major development on the urban fringe, of a large suburban development will promote commuting, which is contrary to national climate change policy. The only sensible place, to put major developments, is in the city centres, not on the edges of cities. - this is consistent with the 'urban renaissance' policy in the regional spatial strategy. Building more suburbs - so called sustainable urban extensions - is a cynical mis reading of this policy.
6) This will promote urban sprawl and cause Coventry to merge into Kenilworth, Meriden, Balsall Heath and Solihull - reducing the narrow gaps that currently exist.
7) It will damage the prospects for city centre regeneration, by providing suburban homes on the eges.
8) It will damage the identity of a historic town, Kenilworth, with Kenilworth castle in particular facing a tide of development where historic views still remain - from the tower, you will now see a horde of new homes, just a few kilometres away. - not what Inigo Jones or Queen Elizabeth would have seen.
9) The area contains numerous protected historic hedgerows