Testun llawn:
I wish to object to the proposal that 100-150 houses be built in the kinsgwood (lapworth) area of the village for a number of reasons.
1. This is green belt land and as such should, unless in extreme circumstances, be considered sacrosanct in terms of house building. There is a viable farming business in the fields behind my house which sustains the landscape and provides employment for the farmer. Without green belt there is no 'rural life' and Lapworth will become a suburb of Warwick joining eventually with Rowington and Hatton.
2. The greenbelt provides a natural habitat for a number of diverse wild animals such as badgers, foxes, deer and many wild birds, sparrow hawk, red kites, buzzards, woodpeckers etc.
3. the village has grown over the years but the supporting infrastructure and services are just coping with current levels. How can it cope with a potential for 300+ more residents with a possible 200+ cars needing to use the exisiting transport links to the major local towns or highways?Will the council be able to ensure more buses, trains are provided to improve the transport links for these additional villagers? Car traffic is already a major concern to station lane residents and as a parent with a child at school in the village I am only too aware of the difficulties and dangers to pedestrians especially, of the increased flow of traffic around the school at drop off and collection times.
as a horse rider and cyclist, both of which are common past times in the village, how will the council ensure that the roads will cope with all levels of increased traffic?
Station lane cannot be widened as frontages are present. Kingswood close is also a narrow at times, single file road.
4. The school already operates a system of combining year groups as it has insufficient staffing and classrooms to accomodate a class per year group. Will the LEA provide further funding to accomodate many more pupils?
5. There was insufficient information initially available to residents regarding the proposals for the village.
6. Lapworth has a few local businesses but the employment opportunities are limited within the village and surrounding areas. This will also increase the need for car usage and thus the increase in local traffic in the kingswood area with problems already identified.
7. How has the village be re-categorised? This has not been clearly explained by the council. Other areas of the village ought to be explored if housing is to be considered rather than creating a 'Hatton' Style devlopment in the Kingswood area alone - Kingswood is Lapworth.
8. 160-166 Station Lane has a poor drainage system which periodically blocks. This would need major exploration and repair works to cope with further properties.
9.The fields behind 160-166 Station lane and adjoining Kingswood Close are liable to extensive flooding adjacent to the canal.
I feel strongly that although there is a need to consider further housing development to cope with the growing population for the disctrict of Warwick and Lapworth in particular, there are many convincing reasons not to concentrate the extensive suggested housing development in the Kingswood area alone.
Anon