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Please read below objections I wish to raise as part of the consultation period concerning the proposed development in old Milverton and Blackdown as detailed in Warwick District Council's 'Preferred Options' for the New Local plan.

a) Amount of new homes proposed:

Whereas I understand the need for the district council to have a plan in place for future growth and development in the warwick and leamington district, I have concerns about the number of new homes proposed in the 'preferred options' plan.

It seems that the plan accounts for nearly 1400 extra homes above the number estimated to be necessary to meet towns population growth.

This over-calculation may be a 'safety net' on behalf of WDC but seems over cautious and would cause more building works, expense, disruption and needless use of land.

In particular, without the extra 1400 homes there would be no need to even contemplate building on presently designated Green Belt land north of Leamington in Old Milverton and Blackdown areas.

I also object to the term and title of 'preferred options' - this makes members of the general public feel that the only options for development open to them 9and WDC) are those shown in the 'preferred options' plan and maps - there are other options not detailed fully although there seem to be other options mentioned briefly in the main report. there were also other areas of non-Green Belt land identified as suitable for development in the WDC's 2009 Core Strategy plan. these non-Green belt areas are still available for development - and even if not in the WDC's final plan, the non- Green Belt areas could still be ear marked for planning consent. The public need to clearly know ALL options and areas available for development.

Change to plan: Remove the extra 'safety net' of nearly 1400 homes from the plan.
Omit designated Green Belt sites from development plan.
Make all options more clear - highlighting ALL areas suitable for development to the public


b) Save our Green Belt land:

Although it is clear that WDC need to plan for housing developments for the future, I strongly object to proposed sites in the 'preferred options' in the areas of Old Milverton and Blackdown, north to and on the edge of the existing boundaries of Leamington Spa which is clearly presently designated Green Belt land. the Green belt areas north of Leamington have been identified by WDC in previous study as areas of high Green Belt value.

The National Planning policy framework (NPPF) identifies the Government's commitment to preserving our country's Green Belt areas. It states that the NPPF aims to protect communities and Green Belt and to help local people 'to protect local countryside and green space they value'. It is the responsibility of WDC to follow the guidelines set out by the NPPF; the 'preferred options' proposals do not do this.

As WDC must be fully aware, the main aims of Green Belt is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping designated areas open and clear from development.

The NPPF lists five purposes of Green Belt land and the Old Milverton and Blackdown Green Belt fits the purposes of at least four, if not all five, of these:
* To prevent unrestricted sprawl of Leamington to the north
* By preventing the merging of the towns of Leamington and Kenilworth; and keeping Old Milverton as a separate village community
* Safegurading the countryside from encroachment
* Preserving the historic and picturesque setting and character of Leamington and Kenilworth amongst scenic, protected countryside
* Helping urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land (this last bullet point would definitely be better addressed by WDC if the Green Belt is NOT built upon and other 'White land' is used and renovation of empty buildings in town)
If the Green Belt land north of Leamington is developed then it is likely that eventually the towns of Kenilworth and Leamington would meet and emerge; both losing their separate and individual characters.

My objection is valid as there are other sites for development available which are not green Belt land which would fulfil the needs of the planning proposals in regards to numbers of houses needed - these White land areas should all be utilised before development of Green belt land is ever considered. Non- Green Belt sites, many being south of Leamington, were clearly identified by WDC in their '2009 Core Strategy'.

As made clear by the NPPF, development of Green Belt land should only be proposed by a council under 'very special circumstances'. As WDC have already identified other non-Green Belt sites (although not all clearly publicised in this 'Preferred Option' plan) that are suitable for development, WDC do NOT have not given sufficient reasons or detailed 'exceptional circumstances' to validate their proposal to develop Green Belt land. WDC do not provide evidence that shows any superior benefit to the existing community of north Leamington should the Green Belt be developed. Therefore, WDC have not fulfilled the NPPF guidelines.

It is a matter of principle that WDC develops White land and preserves our Green Belt.

Change to plan: WDC to clearly identify ALL White land (non- green Belt) sites suitable for development (as in 2009 Core Strategy)
Development of south Leamington areas that are NOT Green Belt land and are suitable for development
Remove all proposals and suggestions to develop Green Belt land north of Leamington (Old Milverton and Blackdown areas)

c) Use of green Belt land:

The Green Belt land north of leamington in Old Milverton and Blackdown areas provide Leamington and Warwick residents with easy access to the countryside environment.

The Green Belt land is highly valued by local residents and visitors to the area who regularly use the pathways on the Green Belt land for recreational purposes; such as, walking, running, dog walking, bird watching, general relaxation. As a north Leamington resident for many years, i have often enjoyed using this land and strongly object to it being developed and destroyed.

The land is used regularly by many groups of the community of all ages. It is important to the health and well-being of residents, visitors and their dogs who are exercised there. It is a social place where people greet and talk to each other. To develop and destroy such areas would be a catastrophe.

The walks across the Green belt land are well known and well used by locals and visitors. If this land is destroyed then Leamington would lose an attractive asset which must only serve to encourage residents to stay living in the area, and new people to move to it. There is a lack of established open green space as it is - we should not destroy what we have.

Change to plan: Do NOT develop the Green belt land north of Leamington in Old Milverton and Blackdown areas as they are valued areas for recreation
WDC to protect our designated Green Belt land; ensuring provision for recreation on established Green Belt land

d) Conservation:

Linked to the above point, I strongly object to propsals in the 'Preferred options' plan to build on the Green Belt land north of Leamington as it is home to a wealth of wildlife and should therefore continue to be protected.

Development of green belt land would cause distruction of habitats and the environment for an abundance of wildlife and a wide variety of trees, wild flowers and plants. Development of this land would ruin this established natural environment. Even if green areas are left amongst new homes much of the wildlife (such as, bats, newts, herons and foxes) will leave the area because of noise and light pollution, lack of established habitat, dangers of changes in water availability, etc. Reduced Green Belt area will affect the movement of species across the land as they travel from place to place.

WDC is accountable for protecting the environment and habitats within the Green Belt land north of Leamington.

Change to plan: Omit proposals to develop Green belt land north of Leamington from the plan
WDC to protect and conserve Green Belt land as it is for future generations

e) Other available areas for development:

There are areas of land that are not Green belt which WDC has already identified as suitable for development - many sites are south of Leamington Spa as identified in the 2009 core strategy, and some (but not all) seen in plans in the current 'preferred proposals'

I object to proposals to build on green belt land in the old Milverton and Blackdown areas as I strongly feel that areas south of Leamington would be more suitable for development because:
* the areas south of Leamington are NOT Green Belt land
* they already have easy access to main roads and routes (such as, the M40 and A46) - infrastructure links that are capable of taking more traffic and space to develop further if needs be
* SHLAA identified that there is enough land in the south of town to devlop and suit the requirements for growth without having to develop Green belt areas north of the town
* there is a lot of existing employment areas and opportunities south of Leamington (business park, large shops, etc)
* there are large shops and supermarkets in that area which, if development was made north of Leamington, people would travel through town to get to causing lots of congestion - plans for growth in the retail area seem to be south of leamington - there is already a large shopping area south of Leamington which would not need as much development as building a new shopping area north of Leamington. if another out of town shopping area is built then more local and independent retailers within the town centre may suffer; shops close; leaving empty shop premises as an eye sore and so stop residents and visitors from wanting to shop in town or move to live in Leamington.
* developing key areas south of Leamington would reduce the need to spend millions of pounds developing infrastructure (roads, public transport, etc) north of town
* there are already established routes and public transport access south of Leamington which would be more easily revised and developed rather than creating brand new transport systems north of the town - development of the A452 between Leamington and Kenilworth would be costly and cause major disruption; traffic would still try to get through Leamington town centre in order for people to access the shops and amenities south of town.
* there are large open spaces in south area that are suitable for development of housing areas; land which is not Green belt
Although WDC has suggested that land south of Leamington may not be as attractive to developers as they might feel they'd make less profit - i strongly feel that this is an invalid reason to make proposals to build on green belt land because the profit made by developers should NOT be WDC's priority.

Change to plan: Concentrate on developing non- Green belt land south of Leamington and other non- green belt areas
WDC to stick to plans and areas identified in 2009 plan
Remove plans to develop Green Belt land north of Leamington in Old Milverton and Blackdown
WDC to include plans to enhance public transport south of Leamington

f) Affordable housing:

I am aware and agree that the WDC has to provide for the building of some homes that are 'affordable'. However, it is unclear in the documents why exactly WDC have proposed a 40% affordable housing plan. There needs to be consultation with the public about the need for 'affordable' housing.

Change to plan: consult with public in more detail about affordable housing needs.

Please accept the above points and opinions as my valid and firm objection to the proposal to develop the Green belt areas in Old Milverton and Blackdown, north of Leamington Spa; particularly as WDC has not produced sufficient evidence for 'very special circumstances' to develop and so erase those Green Belt sites. The WDC also needs to reconsider the planned numbers of houses and reduce their proposals by the extra nearly 1400 homes that have been added as a 'safety net' in their 'preferred option' plan.