Testun llawn:
With regard to Warwick District Council's New Local Plan and Preferred Options: I support the numerous objections of the residents of Old Milverton, Blackdown and the views of Jeremy Wright MP in the Courier of July 20th. The source of WDC's evidence for future population growth was successfully (and evidentially) challenged at the Parish council meeting on 16th July. The NPPF is referenced by WDC's new Proposed Local Plan regularly but the content is selectively ignored:
Section 3 - Supporting a prosperous rural economy
* The development of this area will keep infrastructure developments in urban areas and ignore the employment and housing requirements of more rural communities.
Section 4 - Promoting Sustainable transport
* It will increase private traffic through areas used by families and schoolchildren and ignores the requirement for sustainable well-placed transport networks.
Section 5 - Supporting High Quality Communications Infrastructure
* It ignores the need for public transport and high-speed broadband in smaller rural areas.
Section 9 - Protecting Greenbelt Land.
* It dismisses the high value of greenbelt land directly in contradiction of the NPPF.
I refer you to the foreword in the NPPF and its Core Planning Principles. Please follow the requirement of consultation by acting upon the objections of members of the local community with as much vigor as you have done with landowners and development firms. Most of the developers and landowners, particularly in Old Milverton, do not live locally. Financial gain on their behalf does not come with a qualitative cost.
Contrary to Councilor Doody's apparent advice of the 16th of July this year, I will be sending copies of this letter and its objections to my local Members of Parliament. I do not share his alleged opinion that my elected political representatives and their governing processes are a waste of time. I have attached further explanation of my objections below.
Section 9 - Protecting Greenbelt Land.
The area of greenbelt on which development is proposed was identified as such in the last local plan. It was confirmed as of high value by WDC's study of greenbelt not very long ago.
To develop this greenbelt area is to poorly site several thousands of residential houses at the opposite end of town from their road and rail links, main shopping sites and other amenities.
The proposals are contrary to the National Policy Planning Framework's Guidelines on Protecting Greenbelt Land. 'Very special circumstances' do not exist. More suitable land with better transport and amenity links has been identified in south Leamington, closer to most of the aforementioned developments (including new development at the old Ford foundry) which is not green-belt.
The proposed local plan would destroy greenbelt land which for the most part is currently good, economically productive farmland with public access for recreation and provision of views, wildlife habitat, and a barrier for the protection of further farmland that currently prevents urban sprawl.
I hope that the council does not consider the financial gain proposed by development firms more important than the social, environmental and economic needs of its future residents or the benefits derived by current residents from the green-belt land.
Section 3 - Supporting a prosperous rural economy
The smaller villages surrounding Leamington Spa have become commuter dormitories due to lack of infrastructure development and withdrawal of services. The proposed plan will set in motion their complete assimilation into the greater urban area.
The proposed development areas in Warwick University, Coventry Airport and Stoneleigh Park would afford the opportunity for local employment to some of these villages and negate the need for a large, counter-productive block of development to service them. This has obvious economic and ecological benefits.
I agree with the NPPF that there is a need for controlled rural development, it is needed in order to arrest the decline of rural communities, not to write them off completely and leave them years behind their urban cousins in order to maximize on private industry profitability.
Section 4 - Promoting Sustainable transport
Traffic on the Old Milverton and Kenilworth roads is already significant. The proposed northern relief road will do nothing but compound the poor placement of houses and park-and-ride by increasing traffic from north Leamington, through Old Milverton and through housing estates in Milverton where it already conflicts with pedestrian traffic of school children. Flow the other way will increase traffic from north and west Leamington to transport links off the A46 through the same areas.
Expanding the existing Kenilworth-Leamington road to dual carriageway will have a massive impact on long-standing greenbelt and increase traffic from the A46 through Blackdown towards Stoneleigh-park and the routes above.
Development should be concentrated to the south of Leamington keeping the destinations of park and ride nearer to the rail links in Leamington and Warwick, motorway links, shopping, amenities and better transport links which all exist to the south.
This approach would support the NPPF's aims whilst allowing for the larger developments to be focused on land to the south of Leamington and other already brown-field sites. It would also add to the revitalization of Leamington's old town.
Section 5 - Supporting High Quality Communications Infrastructure
The proposed plan states that it has chosen to concentrate development in areas where transport, amenity, communication and recreation already exist. This is clearly not the case as the infrastructure developments in the greenbelt area are huge. They are designed solely to support the proposed expansion of the urban area.
The proposals contain no mention of improving transport infrastructures such as bus, and cycle routes outside of their urban expansion; no mention of high-speed broadband in outlying villages (particularly in green-belt) and only a slight nod in the direction of community led housing - without attempting to include affordable rural housing.
Green-belt in this case is a rural environment; one which is protected for the good of the character, appearance and health of the towns it surrounds. It also contains a working populous who are to be penalized for the sake of convenience and private company income.
One of these villages is now home to 3 generations of my family. I feel that providing a future for my children offering variety and opportunity rather than conurbation and limited options is something worth discussing properly.
Developments over the last 30 or so years have changed the face and character of this area completely. Their continuation is detrimental to the character, nature and vivacity of the area. I would hate to see The NPPF ignored to further add to the urban/rural division and creeping conurbation of the area inflicted by previous planning strategies.