South Warwickshire Local Plan

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ID sylw: 48426

Derbyniwyd: 30/07/2012

Ymatebydd: Cllr Amanda Stevens

Crynodeb o'r Gynrychiolaeth:

Objects to the development of 2000 houses in Old Milverton and Blackdown, which combined with the necessary infrastructure risks merging Leamington and Kenilworth creating coalescence. If HS2 is built there is likely to be strong pressure to in-fill the area between the new development and the railway. Building a new relief road through Old Milverton is not in the interests of discouraging car usage. The land in question is high grade green belt largely used for agriculture which will be important in the future as food costs rise. There are underutilised areas in north Leamington, and there is likely to be an oversupply of student homes as purpose built accommodation replaces existing stock which could be used for housing and should be taken into account in the housing demand projections. Infrastructure already exists to the South of Leamington and land in this area was previously identified by the Council as suitable and available. On this basis the exceptional circumstances needed to justify greenbelt development have not been demonstrated.

Testun llawn:

I wish to object to the proposal to build 2000 houses in Old Milverton and Blackdown as per the new ...

I wish to object to the proposal to build 2000 houses in Old Milverton and Blackdown as per the new Local Plan. This is a very high number of properties which, combined with the necessary infrastructure, risks merging Leamington and Kenilworth in to each other, thus creating coalescence of urban areas.

If the planned development proceeds and HS2 is built also there is likely to be strong pressure to in-fill the area between the new development and the railway. This will mean even further urbanisation.

At a time when car usage should be discouraged, it is not in the environmental interests of this area for there to be a relief road running through Old Milverton as is currently being proposed in the new Local Plan.

The land in question north of Leamington is high grade green belt land largely used for agriculture which as the costs of food imports rise, will be required in the future.

Within North Leamington there are some under-utilized plots which could be used for housing. As more purpose built accommodation is being built for students from Warwick University, properties in Leamington currently rented to students will come back in to use as family homes. In South Leamington there are large expanses of redundant industrial land, some of which has to be reserved for future employment use, but a significant percentage of which could be used for housing. This potential housing stock should have been considered within WDC's projected housing demand projections.
South of Leamington is the Shires Retail Park, Tachbrook Park Business Park, Trojan Business Park, Trident Technology & Business Centre, Warwick Technology Park and a number of automative industry sites. There are three railway stations and two hospitals. There is also easy access to the motorway. It would seem to make sense, and be in accordance with Government NPPF guidelines, for housing to be built close to these amenities, especially as land east of Europa Way and south of Heathcote on the outskirts of Bishops Tachbrook was previously identified by the Council as suitable and available.

Green belt protection should not be removed from high grade agricultural land so that it can be used for housing unless there are exceptional circumstances. That there are other sites within Warwick District which are suitable and available for housing, and bolstered by an existing infrastructure, means that the "exceptional circumstacnes" argument does not apply in the case of Blackdown and Old Milverton. As a Leamington Town Councillor representing Manor Ward, I am concerned that there is a serious risk that the countryside bordering it would be reduced to urban sprawl if this development is allowed to take place.

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