Testun llawn:
- Although I do understand the need to build new houses in Leamington , I strongly object the proposal for development on Green Belt land , as I believe there are suitable and available areas outside the Green belt , more specifically to the east of the A452 ( Europa Way) and south of Heathcote towards Bishop Tachbrook , areas already identified as available land by the Council itself .
- I do not believe Warwick District Council has demonstrated any exceptional circumstances to build on Green Belt land when there is already genuine alternatives and land available for development in South Leamington , an area where there is also enough infrastructure and employment to support the growth. The National Planning Policy Framework clearly states that one of the purposes of Green Belt protection is to prevent urban sprawl, but this is exactly what the proposal is doing.
- the current infrastructure in North Leamington is not sufficient to support the new development , and the current plans to build the Northern Leamington Relief Road , at an estimated cost of £28 millions , is unacceptable and a waste of tax payers money . The infrastructure is already available in South Leamington and the construction of the Relief Road will just divert the resources from other areas where we really need some public investment .
-the amount of new houses proposed seem to be disproportional , with the Council using projections from a past period of exceptional growth , but even if we agree with the projections , the units proposed for the green belt land could be deleted without causing any deficit.
- if the development goes ahead , due to the amount of new houses planned beyond the current north edge of the town, Leamington and Kennilworth will pretty much merge in the future , losing our individual town's identity. This needs to be avoided at all cost and as town planners it is your responsibility to protect it.
In summary , I believe the council has failed to demonstrate any exceptional circumstances set out by the NPPF to permit development in the Green Belt of North Leamington. There is sufficient available land in South Leamington where the houses can be built without impacting the green belt land , the area is supported by existing employment and infrastructure so there would be no need to spend huge amounts of money on building a Relief Road and we will avoid merging with Kennilworth and losing our town identity.
I really hope these objections are taken seriously into account before proceeding any further with the plan.