BASE HEADER

The National Planning Policy and Framework states that the Government attaches great importance to Greenbelts and that the fundamental aim of Green belt is to prevent urban sprawls by keeping land permanently open.

The Greenbelt in Old Milverton and Blackdown fulfils the 5 purposes of Greenbelt set out in the NPPF and therefore should remain as open Greenbelt land forever. It:

Prevents the unrestricted sprawl of Leamington to the north
Prevents the merging of Leamington and Kenilworth
Helps safeguard the countryside from encroachment
Helps preserve the setting and special character of Leamington (an historic town)
Helps urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycyling of derelict and other urban land.

There are other sites which can be developed that are not in the Greenbelt. You have not been seen to explore sufficient use of Brown Field sites or redevelopment. These have many advantages in terms of efficient use of resources. WHY have we not utilised a full housing plan for the old Ford Foundry site instead of using Green Belt Land?

The Heathcote area south of Leamington is not in the current proposal. Heathcote would not require such major road development as it is close to the M40/A46 interchanges and current shopping and employment facilities are already in place. It would not "close down" a green corridor. The farmland has already been partially broken up and is possibly not now sustainable as a profitable working farm. It would allow additional traffic to filter into the town centre through a number of routes, whereas the North Leamington plan would create a major "pinch point" on the Kenilworth Road and thus deter people doing business in the town centre.

Your proposed plan is sited on mainly Grade 2 agricltural land, good food producing soil that does not require high levels of inputs to achieve sustainable yeilds. The Green corridor this achieves between Leamington Spa and Kenilworth allows free movement of nesting birds and wildlife, in particular bees which are under severe threat currently and vital for pollination of many food and bio crops.
Remove these green corridors at your peril, as the surrounding built up areas soon become sterile. THEY DO NOT MAKE LAND ANY MORE.