Testun llawn:
I am writing to voice my strong objection to the proposals to build on green belt land in and around Leamington, Blackdown and old Milverton. I am bewildered at the reasons put forward and would like to know what the exceptional circumstances are that the council feel give them the excuse to build.
I am not against developments when they are appropriate and necessary and particularly when they are well thought through after extensive research and consideration of alternatives. This does not seem to have happened in this particular case. We currently have the development of the old North Leamington School site which will provide 100's of new homes, just up the road in Cubbington you have a brown field site where the Thwaites plant currently is with lots of derelict unused buildings, this whole site would remove the heavy plant using the old road, stop disturbing the residents and provide for 100's of more homes. The existing plant could be relocated to another industrial site. The south of the town affords additional brown belt land with Harbury Lane being a previous preferred site with developers ready to develop 100's if not 1000's of homes. These would be nearer the M40, train station and the major shopping retail park.
Also the proposal for further commercial properties further perplexes me as the constant empty shop faces we are seeing around Leamington shows that bringing in the 'large chain stores' is affecting the local businesses and subsequently the local communities that prefer to use them. I have previously worked for a long standing local business in Leamington town centre and saw how the shop struggled for customers with larger chains opening in the town centre and Shires Retail Park, surely further more of these will affect the local businesses in Leamington.
I have been a resident on Leicester Lane my whole life and I am disgusted that there are planning applications being made to build on our loved countryside destroying the beautiful land, creating a distinguish between the boundaries of Leamington and Kenilworth. Development here would merge the two towns together and will cause even more disruption to local residents by creating an even further back log of traffic. This would not be simply rectified by turning the Kenilworth road into a dual carriageway, as many people will continue to use Leicester lane and Bericote road as access to Leamington to avoid the Kenilworth road or driving through the centre of town.
I have seen firsthand the affect the Warwick gates development had on residents in Whitnash with many children in Whitnash now not falling into the catchment area for Myton school so being unable to attend the school with siblings, this would create additional stress to parents of children in this area as they may no longer be able to send their children to the local schools in this area having to travel further afield for this.
The green belt land is also home to many wildlife, birds, rabbits, foxes to name a few and also the horses on the paddock, development on Leicester lane and Blackdown will dramatically reduce this and again more children in this area could potentially grow up with the concrete jungle mentality. Leamington is a town NOT a city and over development of our green belt land could destroy the pull that Leamington has for out of Towner's to visit. I ask you to reconsider your plans which do appear to be profit driven and consider saving our 'Important' Greenbelt.
I hope you take my views and those of my fellow residents seriously before blindly agreeing for further detrimental development of our town and would appreciate acknowledgement of this email with a detailed response.