BASE HEADER

New Local Plan

Please accept this letter as my formal objection to the "New Local Plan" document dated May 2012.

The specific areas I object to are, the housing proposals on:

1) Land at Europa Way and Gallows Hill (1600homes)

And also:

2) Land South of Sydenham and east of Whitnash
3) Land at Woodside Farm, north of Harbury Lane, Whitnash
4) Land west of Europa Way, Warwick

My objections are based on the following:

* On the Understanding that we need further housing I can appreciate that the land on Europa Way and Gallows Hill (Myton Side) and the end of Harbury Lane could be used this would create basically another Warwick Gates Causing some serious infrastructure problems i.e. Roads Schools etc but to then add a further 1600 homes into the mix is totally unacceptable. This would lead to such infrastructure problems that people would start to leave the area as they could not stand the hassles which is the complete opposite of what is trying to be achieved (in creating a nice environment to live in)

* An additional 3000 houses on the south side of the town creates an imbalance to the area as it would mean that with Warwick Gates and the proposed additions there would be around 4400 houses in that area with only 2 roads to get in to town? Taking an average of 2 cars per family that would me there would be an additional 6000 cars to add to the 2800 already in Warwick Gates. This is an wholly unacceptable and unfeasible suggestion and myself would look at moving it already takes me 25 minutes some days to get from my house to the Coventry road in Warwick.
* Large estates lack social cohesion which leads to anti social behaviour and poor education performance. This proposal is the same size as Warwick Gates, Chase Meadow and Hatton Park all put together; what kind of community is likely to be born as a result of this development? Especially as 40% will be social / council housing in an area with poor transport links to the areas that give the most support to the under privileged i.e. the town centres.

* We think that such a number of new homes contradicts the vision that Warwick District Council has, "providing a mix of historic towns and villages set within a rural landscape of open farmland and parklands".

* Utilities, Services (Police, Dentists, and Doctors etc.) are all stretched to the limit now. With both the major hospitals only accessible across congested bridges over the river Avon, we fear for how long it will take emergency cases to get the medical resource they need. Siting the vast majority of the Housing still fits this problem and increases it.

* The huge increase in traffic arising from at least 8000 new cars in this area will result in pollution and add to existing air quality problems in Warwick and Leamington town centres. At peak times the traffic along Europa Way (even as far as the J14 M40), Gallows Hill, Tachbrook Road and Tachbrook Park Drive are grid locked, your proposed development is situated right along these roads, simply adding to the congestion already experienced. So far you have failed to fix the current problems and there is no evidence on your part to suggest that you will, even for when this proposed development is complete.

* We see no sense in carpeting our green spaces with housing for a mobile population to travel elsewhere. Our remaining agricultural land should be preserved to feed future generations.

Why did you decide not to create a brand new settlement within the district (like Norton Lindsey) maybe below the A46/J15 inter-change where direct links to the road network are very easily accessible? A new town there would have fantastic access to Dual carriage ways and the Motorway network a new schools could be planned including Secondary Education as most schools are full already

I do believe that some housing maybe needed for organic growth within individual communities; however, I feel this should be decided at a local level with the support of the local people not imposed from the Government in a top-down approach as it is at the moment and certainly not to the numbers you are suggesting.

We urge you to rethink the development placements radically; to look again at regeneration possibilities in the towns, to work with owners and developers on imaginative schemes to bring forward brown field sites and possibly a new village/town in a rural position for housing developments.