Testun llawn:
"Very special circumstances" are required by The Government's National Planning Policy Framework for there to be development in the Green Belt and for the harm created to be outweighed by the benefit. That there is nowhere else for the homes to be built is cited as the special circumstances. The previous plan adopted by Warwick District Council (the "2009 Core Strategy") identified land South of Leamington for development. The assessment performed by Warwick District Council shows that this land is easier to develop and already has a substantial amount of infrastructure to support it. It is close to the M40 and there are existing employment opportunities South of Leamington. The reasons for not considering this now are stated that there is not as higher profit expected for the developers.
I'm afraid the era of the quick building buck has gone. A sustainable approach to land use needs to be taken in general in the UK due to the limitation of space as we are a small densely populated island. Other, much bigger countries such as France and the US seem to value their space more and come up with more innovative solutions: Sinking multi storey car parks below ground to use the space above for open space and mixed used accommodation, this would free up several acres of land in Leamington centre alone allowing houses to be built where existing infrastructure can be used or improved benefitting many. Higher density solutions need to be used. There are in the UK an appalling number of "empties" which are vacant properties that are not lived in as highlighted by Architect George Clarke in his recent TV series. We cannot continue with such short sightedness as to continue to eat up swathes of this beautiful countryside with more building and more rail (HS2) "solutions" these do not address the cause or provide a viable long term solution as there is no going back once the land has gone. Yes, these are more expensive solutions but what price do we put on our countryside and it's future, it is so much of what England is, that the opening ceremony of the Olympics is depicting it! The era of a quick buck has gone and developers need to know that we will not continue to develop and expand town boundaries.
Our towns of Leamington, Warwick & Kenilworth have suffered in the recession and as a result there are disused shops, disused pubs, disused business premises, disused garages, disused schools and many "out of town" poor quality shopping complexes with little footfall. A more innovative approach needs to be taken here - turning some of these premises into residential use, they already have a lot of the required infrastructure, if this is inappropriate turn them back in to green fields, woodlands and parks. We should protect the remaining greenbelt at all cost, it is a finite and incredibly valuable resource, we should not just delay proposals to build on it but simply never allow any development of it, it is not a sustainable solution and what legacy do that leave to our children and grandchildren.
A "buffer" of 1400 homes has been included in the number of houses Warwick District Council believes will be necessary between now and 2026. There is no need to include the land at Old Milverton and Blackdown in the proposals if this "buffer" is removed from the assumptions.