Testun llawn:
Following a review of the Preferred Options, I believe that there are some fundamental flaws in the proposals.
Informing Residents
My initial concern is with the level of marketing surrounding the Preferred Options that has been undertaken. As a resident of Barford I cannot recall seeing anything in the local free press regarding this and merely stumbled across the current consultation process whilst talking to a neighbour. As you are no doubt aware Barford is a very vocal village on issues that will have a major impact on its future and so feel somewhat disappointed that the residents have not be suitably informed on such a major issue in order to shape the village as a whole.
Strategy
Distributed development across the District
Whilst it is acknowledged that a more distributed approach to development is preferable, the weighting of the proposals needs to be considered in more detail.
As a village, Barford's history and character is formed by its organic growth and the fact that it is surrounded by swathes of fields and green belt. Anyone who has had the pleasure of walking around the village and its periphery will appreciate how both interact with each other.
Any large scale development would undermine this character and would infact be detrimental to the area. Barford Village Design statement states that large scale development such as that found at Dugard Place should not be repeated again.
"While small infill does not threaten the overall character of the village, large scale development would be extremely harmful and inappropriate since it would place enormous stresses on the village infrastructure and distort the balance of the community.....Large scale development would be extremely harmful and inappropriate"
This is an adopted document and should be considered carefully when allocating the village a further 100 dwellings through the life of the plan. The village must currently stand at approximately 600 houses, therefore the proposed extension would be an increase of nearly 20%.
One of the aims of the Local Plan is to protect and maintain the character of the District and enhance the assets including the green belt, listed buildings and conservation areas, therefore it seems unreasonable that the Council are proposing a carte blanche for villages on where the development is allocated indeed removing all protection that the Green Belt is afforded whilst decisions are made as to where the preference is to develop further housing. By extending the village envelope and allocating such a large number of houses to the village it would be out of scale with the environs and will have a detrimental impact on the area.
The Green Belt study demonstrates that there are variations in quality of land in the Green Belt and so it would be assumed that these areas that can be found on the whole around the periphery of towns should be the focus of development over any development that is proposed in villages.
It must also be noted that Barford has a core Conservation Area. The 'Barford Conservation Area - Areas of Special Architectural or Historic Interest' document produced by Warwick District Council clearly states:
"Further infill of new dwellings within the Conservation Area should be strictly limited".
The document also goes on to say
"There are significant open areas within the Conservation Area which should be protected. These include.....the playing fields, open areas and grounds of Barford House".
Ensuring the Countryside and areas of Importance for Wildlife and informal Recreation are Maintained and Improved
As previously discussed, whilst the green belt surrounding the village forms part of the setting that provides Barford with its character, it also houses an abundance of wildlife along with offsetting the risk of flooding, which villagers would confirm has in the recent past been utilised on numerous occasions and has protected the village from flooding of the Avon. Barford is most certainly at a critical point whereby the pressure for development is threatening the natural environment.
Ensure that education is provided for in major new developments
Whilst I recognise that most residential developments will attract planning contributions either in the form of S106 payments or the recently introduced CIL. However the current village school is already at maximum capacity with no further room for extensions, therefore any additional residential development in the village would only seek to exacerbate the current situation. The Preferred Options talks about the importance of the existing community and facilities and services and whether they can meet current and future needs. If the proposed 100 houses are located in Barford, then it can be guaranteed that the services will not meet the locals needs, indeed it will be detrimental to the vitality of the community.
Sustainability
Over the past 10 years the number of dwellings in Barford has grown by in excess of 60 houses with the major input coming from the former Oldhams site. However conversely the provision for public transport has been on the decline. The village is on the whole composed of individuals that are reliant on their cars to go to town, to work and generally live their day to day lives; they do not and cannot rely on local transport. Whilst in theory it could be concluded that the proposed 100 houses would increase the use of public transport and encourage additional routes and frequency of buses, there is clear evidence to indicate that this is not the case. Therefore is should be questioned whether Barford should be considered a more sustainable location as any new homes in the area are likely to increase car-bourne journeys, congestion and pollution in the village.
It must be accepted that one of the attractions of living in Barford for those of a working age is that it is indeed only a mile from the M40 and the A46, with most surrounding towns being 10-15 minutes drive. Whilst it is accepted that there are some employment opportunities within the village, this is limited. The majority of the people are required to commute to the surrounding towns and cities. Therefore any large scale proposals such as this should be located in close proximity to the towns and larger conurbations to ensure that T2 of the WMRS is met, in order to reduce the reliance and use of cars, rather than in the outlying villages such as Barford, which encourages their further use.
Scale of Development
The Preferred Options has identified Barford as a Category 1 village which imposes 3 times as many houses on the village than a Category 2 village. However the categorisation of the villages is somewhat flawed. For example Cubbington has a substantial level of facilities in comparison with Barford, yet it is only required to allow for 30 dwellings.
CF2 of the West Midlands Spatial Strategy (WMRS) seeks to limit housing in rural villages to that which meets the local needs and or supports local services. Whilst it is recognised that a limited amount of affordable housing is required within the area, it cannot be accepted that development to such an extent is required to satisfy this requirement.
Conclusion
In conclusion, whilst it is accepted that additional dwellings are required within the District; too much emphasis has been put on the allocations of residential development in the surrounding villages. It is clear to any of the residents of Barford that the proposed figures that are being discussed would be detrimental to the village as a whole in terms of its character, its wildlife, it's conservation area and the community's services.
Therefore it is proposed that the distribution of the development is reviewed with further consideration and the Barford allocation is reduced dramatically to a figure that is more akin with the existing village and of appropriate scale.