BASE HEADER

I am writing to register my objection to the development of site identified as East Milverton within the proposed Warwick District Council (WDC) Development May 2012.

Whilst acknowledging the need for additional housing during the period 2014-2029 and the overall approach; the Preferred option in its current form, (i) goes beyond identified housing need at the expense of the
Green Belt, (ii) ignores national planning policy guidelines for development of Green Belt, and (iii) does not recognise other development opportunities that are better suited to development and more consistent with WDC's own stated sustainable growth objectives and evidence base.

Objection 1: Housing requirement.
The New Local Plan (NLP) Preferred options May 2012 Page 19 (7.22) identifies a requirement for 6986 dwellings not including windfall sites over the period of the plan. In its current form the Local Plan indicates
it would deliver 8360 dwellings, equal to an over provision of 1370 (19.6%) dwellings.

Objection 2: Exceptional circumstances and planning conditions for developing the Green Belt have not been met
2.1 As identified in Objection 1, the WDC plan overstates the need for housing development by 1370 dwellings during the period of the plan invalidating any exceptional need for the redrawing of the Green Belt.

2.2 The development of East Milverton does not comply with National Planning Policy Framework March 2012 guideline chapter 9, Paragraph 85, point 6 as it its fails to provide clearly defined permanent boundaries for Green Belt and would enable and likely lead to the future coalescence of Milverton village, which would be in direct contravention of three of the five stated purposes of Green Belt.

2.3 In the event that a policy of limited encroachment/coalescence to encompass East and West Milverton were to be considered, then this too should be rejected. Areas such as land adjacent to Bishops Tachbrook, not designated Green Belt, should be required to be developed prior to any redrawing of the Green Belt under the test of "exceptional circumstances".

2.4 The NLP page 9 (4.11.7) 'seeks to ensure that new developments are appropriately distributed across the district and designed and located to maintain and improve the quality of the built and natural environments, particularly historic areas and buildings, sensitive wildlife habitats and areas of high landscape value'.

In the event that Green Belt land should be required, the current proposal does not rescind Green Belt on a lowest value first basis. East Milverton has been identified as possessing higher landscape value than other deliverable areas in the district such as the Kenilworth sites (K18 & K19) bounded by Glasshouse Lane and Crewe Lane (inc. Woodside Management Centre) where development is also more consistent with the National Policy Framework guidelines and WDC stated Local Plan objectives. These sites however are not included within the proposed Local Plan.