BASE HEADER

Opposes the District Council's plans to develop green belt land as part of the new local Plan.
I find the Council's plans very concerning due to the proposed level of development on green belt land and also the' extent of the planned development for Warwick, Kenilworth and Leamington overall. By 2029, leamington and Warwick will be almost half as big again.

According to the government statistics based on 2008-figures, the total number of dwellings predicted in the whole of Warwickshire would need to grow by 40 000 until 2028. this level of growth cannot approached in the method currently being proposed. To continue to bolt on great big developments to towns, filling in all open countryside spaces we will end up with endless suburbia which will result in the whole area not being a place people will wish to live in - having been attracted to the area in the first place because it did not display this feeling. The amount of new dwellings requires actual "new town" planning, not constant town extending.
It seems that Warwick District Council is taking on a huge proportion of the required development for Warwickshire as a whole and this is already a very over-populated area. There are less populated areas in the south of the county where potential new sites could be found with good transport accessto the M40. Perhaps something on the lines of Hatton Park, but with some school and service
infrastructure. Once this level of development starts on the green belt around North leamington, what is there to stop a complete in-fill? The village and are of Old Milverton and Blackdown runs the real danger of becoming a scattering of period properties amongst a mass housing estate? This area is used by
many for a variety of recreational purposes - walking, running, dog walking etc. Old Milverton and its surrounding rolling countryside is a rural idyll, not just for those of us who live here but for many residents of North Leamington. People need accessto open space, countryside and fresh air; free of incessant traffic noise and concrete. Development of the scale shown in the plans will be detrimental to the quality of life for people in the area - people who have chosen to live in/close to a small town environment with easy access to countrvslde. We are running out of space!
Also of great concern is the lack of detail information regarding the proposals. The Council has asked for the public to comment on their preferred options - all the plans available to view do not show where the new roads, schools, supermarkets, park and rides etc. are going to be. It is all of the additional elements that will destroy at least half as much green belt again and change the
character, landscape and approach to the North of leamington and Old Milverton areas forever. feel that the Council is collecting public opinion based on information which is not provided the full view of the proposals, which results in opinion on an incomplete proposal set providing inaccurate results.
In 2009 a plan was drawn up to make provision for more dwellings than are being considered in the current plan and there was no requirement for green belt land to be developed. What has changed? Certainly not the role of the green belt, the benefits the green belt offers to residents or the views of residents.
I don't believe that green belt land should be built on when there are other options, particularly when, after building so many homes on green belt, so much more green belt needs to be destroyed for new roads and facilities. There are brown belt sites avanable in South Leamington with good roads and motorway accessall in place and, once again, I believe that development of this size
requires a whole new town planning, otherwise it will swamp our landscape in suburbia. Please re-consider your plans and protect leamington from becoming a faceless suburban sprawl.