BASE HEADER

I am writing to register our objection to the proposed development of greenbelt land on the north of Leamington Spa.

In our opinion the greenbelt land currently provides an important barrier to urban sprawl (as per National Planning Policy Framework) and the Blackdown and Old Milverton greenbelt preserves the countryside rural character and keeps Leamington separate from Kenilworth. We have already seen how the Warwick and Leamington have effectively merged into one another and the subsequent negative impact on traffic, retail and loss of individual character.

Warwick district council has not demonstrated the "exceptional circumstances" necessary under NPPF rules to build on greenbelt as alternative land with superior infrastructure already exists south of Leamington.

As the North Leamington land is greenbelt it would require substantial additional expenditure to establish the extensive infrastructure required to support such a large scale housing development. This would destroy the local amenity and provide no open recreational space for the new or existing residents. Additionally the Northern Relief road would require an estimated £28m of public resources to be diverted when the alternative south Leamington site already has superior existing infrastructure to support an existing housing development. Further development of Heathcote appears to make more sense given the existing employment and infrastructure such as retail parks to be used by new residents.

There also appears to be over provision of housing which results from the council using projections from a past period of exceptional growth which is not sustainable. Even using these exceptionally high population and demand projections the greenbelt land could be deleted without causing a deficit.

Overall the greenbelt land in England should be protected especially to preserve the character of Leamington, Kenilworth and surrounding areas. The NPPF rules need to be followed correctly to protect the countryside from development and ensure other more suitable sites are fully utilised before destroying Greenbelt for urban sprawl.