BASE HEADER

Having heard about the proposals for massive development of the Greenbelt land in Old Milverton and Blackdown,I should like to state for the record that
I am utterly opposed ,and dare I say it, sickened by the idea.
Our beautiful Greenbelt land north of Leamington acts as a hugely important 'green lung' for the residents of Leamington but also, equally importantly for all the many many species of wildlife that depend upon these spaces for their wellbeing and lives.
The Greenbelt land is an important resource for the local community. It is used on a daily basis by many walkers, and cyclists. Leamington is a beautiful town made more so by our easy access to open countryside. The council say the new plans will incorporate green spaces. Why destroy what is already there just to replace it with a "Synthetic" version of the countryside? Rather, the council should be trying to do everything in its power to permanently protect the greenbelt, not committing atrocious acts of environmental vandalism.
Whilst it is fully understood that we need more housing for the future this should not be allowed to damage and destroy this important buffer zone between Leamington and Kenilworth. More houses ,superstores, roads and amenities will all add drastically to the levels of climate changing greenhouse gas emissions with all the increased traffic and congestion that is the inevitable result of this scheme if it were allowed to go ahead. The tranquillity of the area will be lost forever and not only us but also our children, grandchildren and generations to come will suffer as a result. It will be a gradual encroachment of land whilst more and more of the countryside falls foul of the bulldozers until eventually Leamington and Kenilworth will be joined in the urban sprawl of houses and development.
And does a town the size of Leamington really warrant a park and ride scheme?
The Governments NPPF document states that in order to allow building on greenbelt land to go ahead, councils must demonstrate "exceptional circumstances". They have not done this. There are plenty of Brownfield sites available in Leamington fit for development which would be much more appropriate. For ages the Ford factory site stood empty -why not have built more housing here rather than an unnecessary supermarket? There is derelict land between Queensway and the Shires and many more such sites besides. And what of the old Potterton site? Many of those apartments are still sitting empty due to lack of takers.


The impact on the local wildlife will be devastating. At the moment this land supports hundreds of species including badgers, foxes, pheasants, herons, buzzards and sparrowhawks.There are also water voles living along the banks of the River Avon, these beautiful animals are an endangered species whose numbers have declined by 90% over the last 30 years. If the building of the new relief road goes ahead this inevitably will have a detrimental effect upon the population from which it may never recover.
The fields also support Skylarks. There is nothing more lovely than a summers walk listening to the sounds of larks singing as they rise into the air, the quintessential sound of a British summer. These wonderful birds are fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside act 1981, after a 50% decline in numbers of breeding birds over the last 25 years, yet the council seem happy to ignore this fact and decimate the lot.
What also of the many allotments in this area? People have worked hard on these plots to get them fully established. If they are taken away you are stripping people of another much needed green space .We are always talking these days about sustainable living and the importance of people getting more exercise, if you remove the allotments you remove another valuable resource which allows people a chance to really make a difference to their lives and improve their health.
I strongly urge the council to reject this highly inappropriate development and to make a stand to save the Greenbelt not to sacrifice our countryside to the developers.