BASE HEADER

I am in favour of Scenario One, with development for housing being met by a combination of: District Wide small scale development.

Job growth centred on an Enterprise Zone at Coventry Airport will be good for the District but will require better transport links if sustainability criteria is to be met and large scale housing will be required in the north of the District rather than south of Warwick. Before demolishing existing office and retail space perhaps a comprehensive effort should be made to market it and seek reuse via a centralised agency to list and sell. Centralised services such as secretarial support, car parking and meeting rooms could be established and charged on a usage basis and furnished office suites provided on rolling two month contracts.

It is important to preserve the unique identity of Warwick as a small market town, full of historic buildings, small shops, public gardens. Warwick town centre is already weathering the recession better than most high streets because of the diversity of small independant shops and vibrancy of our market. Should further on existing independant book sellers, art shops and and antique dealers to foster niche markets. Larger scale development would be detrimental to the character of the town centre and better considered on one of the retail or business parks with more space and better infrastructure. Empty retail units should be made available to community groups for nominal rent or used to display items from the Warwickshire museum services. There is an opportunity to reuse the historic court complex in Warwick into a themed court visitor attraction and conference venue. There is sufficient visitor accomodation in the town centre and recent increases in capacity may cause small operators to go bust. Restaurants and cafes have proved very successful in warwick and should be encouraged - Warwick could emulate Ludlow and become a food town by combining quality dining with independent retailers and local produce. Visitors to the Castle and racecourse should be encouraged to visit the town centre via better signage, pedestrian access and voucher schemes. Events should be held to mark the 1100 anniversary of the founding of Warwick such as seeking city status and a year long festival.