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I wish register my strong objections to the proposed 1980 new houses proposed to the north of Manor & Milverton Wards at Blackdown & Milverton. This will develop many acres of prime agricultural land in the West Midlands Green Belt, & is totally unacceptable on planning grounds. Furthermore it contravenes Green Belt policy stated on page 19 of the NPPF, recently published in March 2012.
Major changes in the circumstances when the previous Plan was published circa 2 years ago are not evident. The ideal of Garden Suburbs, similar to Beverley Road, Northumberland Road & Woodcote Road, which are shown in the Draft Plan, are, frankly ludicrous & impossible to achieve here in the early 21st Century. Garden suburbs were primarily a feature of the early 20th Century. It is unlikely that they will be sustainable here, due to the land costs (£1M+ per acre), density of dwellings needed to be profitable & the 40% social housing requirement. Add to this the need to dual the A452 & create a Northern Relief Road, near to Old Milverton & eventually joining the A46 By Pass, plus a new Primary School & a local shopping centre. The thought of all this development in our hitherto rural Green Belt would be a planning catastrophe.
I believe we need to look again at locations in & to the south of Leamington. Grove Farm, east of Radford Semele village, south of Bishops Tachbrook & further to the south & east of Whitnash, all are Greenfield sites, with an abundance of open countryside to their south. Nearby are employment areas, supermarkets, schools & major transport links.