BASE HEADER

I wish to respond to the Local Plan Preferred Options Summary. The paragraphs listed refer to the booklet, although I have read the full version.
PO1 Level of Growth
It is my understanding that during the last 12 years Warwick has undergone a large increase in population, indeed 12% since 2000, which is approximately twice the rate of increase for Warwickshire and twice the national average, and indeed three times the increase for the West Midlands. I would therefore strongly question the need for this level of growth and object to it.
PO3 Broad Location of Growth and PO 14 Transport
I object to the urban fringe development of sites 2 and 3. As no doubt you are aware Warwick has geographical limitations because of the river and the historical centre. Traffic from the Myton Road area is funnelled onto the Banbury Road Bridge and through the constricted town centre. The Preferred Options would necessitate that perhaps an extra thousand cars per day would need to cross Warwick in order to reach the A46. I foresee massive irresolvable problems with traffic by increasing the number of cars on roads which cannot be improved or widened. I have included photos from the past few weeks of occasions where traffic was excessive on the road (dated), and parking at Leamington train station was at capacity when I had arrived.
As a commuter, and resident in Warwick for the past 14 years, I have been shocked at the huge increase in traffic volume over that time period. The vast majority of new residents in the proposed new dwellings would also commute, since there are not 3000 new jobs in Warwick to sustain that influx, so will add intolerable and irresolvable strain on the saturated road networks in Leamington and Warwick at peak times. Therefore new dwellings need to be situated not in the central Myton area, but included in villages and developments such as Hatton Park where the transport networks will easily expand and support increased volume of cars and train commuters, without funnelling those increased traffic through the heart of Warwick town.
If new employment is being created in Coventry and Gaydon, the sustainable planning option would be to build dwellings there. Alternatively, local villages where there are good transport links and the potential to improve road access should be developed, rather than the urban fringe development of Warwick. Hatton Park has a station and easy access to the A46 and Barford has immediate access to the M40 and A46. Greenbelt should be acquired to support this growth as opposed to compromising the transport infrastructure, water and drainage utilities, and the unique historic character of the town.
PO11 Historic Environment PO15 Green Infrastructure
I object specifically to the development of zone 2, the area west of Europa Way. It was designated an area of restraint when building work on the Technology Park took place. The notion that the Myton area will be some sort of 'garden suburb' seems to be nonsense when you look at the number of buildings proposed and the impact on the environment. Rather, Warwick is currently a green suburb and as such our green spaces should be protected.

PO12 Climate Change
Warwick town centre road network is in breach of Nitrogen Dioxide levels. This problem has been in existence long before the Preferred Options have been set out (Warwick District Air Quality Action Plan 2008), and remains in breach of these regulations in May 2012. During the period of expansion and urban development that Warwick has already endured from 2000 to date, air quality has deteriorated further and the area of air quality in breach of regulations expanded to now encompass the entire town centre. Areas that have not endured the sustained development rates of Warwick do not show the same extent or progressive degradation of air quality. I object to the increased public health risk which adding more cars to the centre of Warwick at peak times will certainly contribute to.
I conclude by quoting your statement 'Your Views Matter'. I remember that approximately 3 years ago the Council received a large number of objections to plans which were very similar, and there was an enormous number of objections received about development zone 2. The current preferred options are a rehash of those previously rejected by the majority of south Warwick residents.