Testun llawn:
I don't believe this is at all a suitable site as it doesn't meet several of the listed criteria, most notably the first three:
1. While there is a school nearby, it is small and oversubscribed, and there are no reasonable and sustainable options for increasing capacity at the school.
2. While there is some access to public transport nearby, adding bus stops to service sites along the Fosse Way would be dangerous, due to the high speed and heavy traffic along this posted high-risk crash route.
I am opposed to the proposed development at this site.
I don't believe this is at all a suitable site as it clearly doesn't meet several of the listed criteria, most notably the first three:
- Convenient access to a GP surgery, school and public transport
Schools
Harbury Primary School is a small, village school which is already at capacity. The school is full for the Reception class starting this September, and was oversubscribed for the 2012 class. The ongoing development on Bush Heath Lane is already bringing additional families to the village. Bringing further development to the area which will attract families eager to send their children to the local school is not sustainable, as there is no way that the school will be able to accommodate all of the children.
Even though we live in a former farm cottage historically attached to the village, we would not have been able to send our son to our village school were it not for the decision of the governors to admit an extra class last year. As the proposed site is further from the school than we are, children living at the proposed site would not have been admitted to the local school last year. The next closest schools—Radford Semele and Bishops Tachbrook—are also operating at capacity, and are not particularly close to this proposed site, requiring car journeys during school run times on an already very busy Fosse Way.
Admitting extra classes at the Harbury Primary School is not a sustainable option for future as the school does not have adequate premises for more than one class in each year. Increasing capacity by extending the school is unlikely to be a suitable option, as traffic through the small village during the school run is already quite heavy, causing parking problems for people who need to drive their children to school and causing traffic problems for people who live near the school.
A more suitable location for the proposed Gypsy and Traveller site would be near a larger school which has more capacity for a larger intake of students, or nearer to a choice of schools so there are suitable options when one of the local schools is full.
Public Transport
While bus routes do run in the area, I'm concerned about safety issues of siting additional bus stops along the Fosse Way or Harbury Lane. These roads are quite busy, and in particular the Fosse Way is already a high-risk road with several casualties each year just in this area. The Fosse Way is heavily travelled, especially during normal commute times, and unlike many roads in the area, the Fosse Way is not signposted at 50. This level of traffic plus the speed of traffic would make it hazardous to have people waiting for bus service at this proposed site.
- Avoiding areas with a high risk of flooding
The junction of the Fosse Way and Middle Road was flooded several times this past winter, and Harbury Lane between the Fosse Way and Whitnash is notorious for flooding. Both of these roads were severely flooded to impassable at several times last year. The flooding of the road at the junction of Middle Road and the Fosse Way may actually worsen in future after the council made changes to the drainage along Middle Road earlier this year in order to improve the flow of the culverts. I don't know how the land beyond Middle Road fared, but it appears on the Ordinance Survey map to be quite low-lying.
I believe it's clear that this proposed site does not at all meet this criterion.
- Safe access to the road network and provision for parking, turning and servicing on site
Several safety issues relating to the use of the Fosse Way have been touched on above, including the fact that the high speed limit and heavy traffic on the road makes it a hazardous site for bus stops.
The Fosse Way is heavily used during peak times, and turning right from Middle Road onto the Fosse Way during these times is already very difficult. Any access to a site across from Middle Road which would add cross-traffic would make that junction dangerous—as dangerous as the next junction with the Fosse Way and Harbury Lane.
The junction of the Fosse Way and Harbury Lane is already dangerous, and indeed is marked as a high-risk crash route. Further traffic on the Fosse Way or Harbury Lane would only make this junction more difficult and hazardous to use. When turning onto the Fosse Way from Harbury Lane (coming from Whitnash towards Harbury), it is difficult to position one's car to see around other cars also trying to use the junction. Adding regular use by large vehicles such as caravans would make this even more difficult and therefore, dangerous.
- Promotes peaceful and integrated co-existence between the site and the local community
- Avoids placing undue pressure on local infrastructure and services
As outlined above, I believe this proposed site will place undue pressure on local infrastructure and services, most notably the already high-risk crash route of the Fosse Way, and Harbury Primary School. A more suitable site would be on a lower-risk road with safer access to bus stops. It would ideally be located on roads with better visibility and less traffic, in order to provide safe access for users of the site and for other local road users. Finally, the local road network serving the proposed site would ideally not rely on roads which regularly flood.
The pressure on the village of Harbury, particularly as regards extra competition for already tight school places and GP appointments, would not promote a peaceful co-existence between the village and this proposed site. A more suitable site would be near a larger school with more capacity, or on a site with access to more than one local school.
3. The roads serving the proposed site flood regularly. The junction of the Fosse Way and Middle Road, and all along Harbury Lane flood regularly. The flooding situation on the other side of Middle Road may actually worsen after efforts to increase drainage along the culverts leading from Harbury.
Please find the full representation of my views in the e-mailed document.