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We wanted to provide some general feedback on the plethora of information available related to the New Local Plan. Over recent years we have attended two meetings in Hampton Magna. We are aware of some of the issues that residents are concerned about. We will aim to outline the main issues below and also include our own personal thoughts. However, these are not exhaustive and we strongly encourage you to speak to your representatives, who attended all of your meetings, to get their feedback on issues that were raised.
We strongly object to the development of additional housing on land connected to Hatton Park (i.e. R115). Please see below for a detailed explanation as to why we oppose this development at site R115: a) Birmingham Road would not cope with the considerable congestion that this would cause; b) transport links are already stretched; c) it would have a significant impact on our wildlife that is established on this land; d) our local primary schools would not have capacity; e) impact on drainage; f) impact of current residents quality of life; and g) impact on child development through added pressure on transportation to schools.
We also object to the development on R125 & R75. Our main reason for this objection is that, although we are highly supportive of finding a suitable site for travellers, being near a main road and locks on the canal worries us, as this presents danger if young children are residing on this site. The Birmingham Road is already highly congested and difficult to cross. The canal has many deep locks and at night the lack of lighting presents considerable danger. A more safe location should be identified quickly for this important community.
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Evidence base
We are extremely concerned that the available documents are still not fully engaged in "evidence-based" consultation. Specifically, it is our concern that there are limitations in the methodology used to develop the Local Plan Preferred Options Consultation. This is an important foundation to any research, report and future recommendations. The consultation documents still lack transparency in terms of the employed methodology. We strongly encourage you to document how you plan to utilise the information gathered at meetings across the district. This is a valuable opportunity to gather qualitative evidence on people's acceptability, satisfaction and attitudes towards the plans. There has been a lot of frustration voiced at meetings related to the apparent failure to consider, appreciate, and operationalize people's views. There is a need to inform people how their views are going to be considered and synthesised to inform your decisions. For example, large scale questionnaires have been undertaken with residents by local parishes (Hatton Park and Hampton Magna) which provide valuable information. These state clearly that the majority of respondents strongly oppose any further development on sites connected to Hatton Park (i.e. R115). People need to feel listened too. At the meetings in Hampton Magna we were assured that housing development would not take place in Hatton Park. I feel extremely disappointed that our voices and views were not taken on board. It is important to allow people to voice their opinions and acknowledge how they will be considered. You need to empower people. Your research will then be richer and more representative. At present it is not representative and lacks the rigour on which you are planning to make decisions.
We are extremely concerned about the generalizability of your 'research' / 'evidence base' to date. There are clear weaknesses in the rigour and robustness of your methodological approach and evidence base which need to be considered again. How you synthesise the data already collected is crucial. If you have lots of meetings and don't report all the views at these meetings, then your data gathering is confounded and flawed - I am sorry to say, this appears to be the case.
Housing on land adjacent to Hatton Park (R115)
From a personal point of view we need to express our upmost disapproval over expanding housing adjacent to Hatton Park (R115) on green belt land. There is considerable worry and upset among residents who live on Hatton Park and surrounding areas about potential increased housing on this site. This would significantly impact on their quality of life. These small communities are already overburden by through traffic (e.g. Birmingham Road) and schools are at capacity. Please work closely with parishes and residents before considering any expansion in these areas.
Schools and early year care:
There needs to be greater focus on how schools will be expanded. For example, as you are aware, Budbrooke Primary is at capacity and it takes children from Chase Meadow & Hatton Park. The Ferncumbe Primary School at Hatton is over capacity. How much expansion is needed? Further growth in R115 would result in more children having to travel to schools outside the catchment area, resulting in greater pressure on families and impact on their quality of life. If you go ahead with development on R115 you would force people to leave the area and take their businesses elsewhere due to the likely impact on commuting, links to the A40 and transport to schools. This would certainly be the case with my family. Children are already having to set off earlier and earlier to get to school on time - again this is likely to have an impact on their maturational development and quality of life. I cannot take this risk for my family.
Early-year care needs careful consideration at an affordable price. Already many nurseries are at capacity or in considerable demand. The costs are also unmanageable for many parents wanting to return to work after maternity leave. Added housing would place increased demand on these services.
Respecting our green spaces and green belts:
The wildlife on the land occupying R115 needs to be respected and the natural habitats for our wildlife maintained. Housing on this planned site has resulted in considerable frustration and objection at meetings we have attended. Consult with residents please. Please note that Muntjac deers, bats, birds of prey, pheasants, and many small mammals reside on R115. I feel strongly about destroying their habitat. Protecting our natural flora and fauna is important. Adding just a small number of houses will have a high price on our wildlife which will not be repairable.
Transport:
Expanding our road networks is going to be important to deal with the increasing cars on our roads. Birmingham road is already heavily congested. People on the Hatton Park estate are being required to set off earlier and earlier to avoid the congestion which results every morning. We also need to consider the impact this will have on noise and air pollution for residents already residing in places of growth. How will this impact on their quality of life? Consult with residents please.
Public Transport:
There needs to better public transport in areas of expansion. More regular bus services, in particular, to train stations and Universities are needed.
Parking:
More affordable parking in town centres and at train stations are urgently needed,
Drainage:
We are extremely concerned about how the current drainage system will cope with expansion on R115. The costs this could involve should not be overlooked. This small expansion could cause considerable problems (e.g. Hatton Park). Caution is needed and careful mapping of the current foundations is essential.
Employment:
Greater housing expansion requires more employment. Expansion in the health, retail and educational sector presents good opportunities.
Emergency services:
An increase in the population of the District will lead to an increased need for community policing and an increase in the number of local "incidents" to which the policing service will be required to respond. We need to make sure residents are protected from crime.
Healthcare:
Ensuring that GP surgeries and hospitals can cope with the housing expansion will be of upmost importance. GP surgeries are already struggling to cope.
To reiterate, we strongly object to the development of additional housing on land connected to Hatton Park (i.e. R115).
We appreciate your careful consideration of these issues and would like to receiveclearlly communicated feedback on how these issues will be addressed.
We appreciate your careful consideration of these issues and would like to receive clearlly communicated feedback on how these issues will be addressed.
We should also encourage you to think very carefully about how access will be made to any planned housing on Hatton Park (i.e. R115). Accessing directly from Birmingham Road would cause even more havoc and significant congestion. Some people are already considering moving off Hatton Park because of the problems with traffic and the inability to access Birmingham Road. If traffic was intending to enter Birmingham Road and turn right from R115, they would be waiting for a very long time during rush hour periods. It can sometimes take me over 20 minutes to get from Hatton Park to the end of the Birmingham Road. If traffic control measures were implemented, this would result in even longer cues of traffic in both directions on the Birmingham Road (plus greater air polution problems which will impact on our protected rural souroundings). This would create a huge problem for commuters getting to work, accessing schools and in cases of emergencies getting to local hospitals (which for me, is a very significant concern). If there were plans to develop an alternative access via Ebrington Drive, this is simply not possible as traffic parks along this road from neighbouring houses, this has resulted in it being a single lane road during almost all times in the day and night. This would cause extreme difficulties for contractors and for any new residents. I strongly encourage you to retract this ludicrous plan and focus on other larger scale housing developments in other areas. Please refer to our other considerations below.
Please note there is a great deal of concern among residents on Hatton Park that the local government is not listening to our objections. Please confirm that you have received and read this email.