Testun llawn:
I am writing to object to the draft Local Plan that has been proposed by Warwick District Council on the following grounds:
The estimates for the demand for new houses are based on very unclear evidence and assumptions. Many other districts make some attempt to justify their housing demands based not only on the change in demographics but more importantly the estimates for growth in employment in the area (and what the plans will do to stimulate that growth). The Revised Development Strategy adopts an interim level of growth of 12300 homes between 2011-29, and quotes various studies but there is no hard evidence in the document to substantiate the huge growth contained within the estimate.
To get an idea of the scale of the demand, I drove around Warwick Gates with its own community centre, health centre, and shops serving around 1500 houses. This is a big development. The local plan estimates the Warwick District will need the equivalent of 8 x Warwick Gates to satisfy the housing demand. We need some hard evidence to substantiate that scale of development!
The National Planning Policy Framework specifically states that councils should take into account neighbouring schemes and yet no mention is made of the proposals by Stratford District Council to build a new 'village' of 4500 homes near Gaydon, which would be nearer to Warwick than Stratford. This is another 3 x Warwick Gates. There must be some overlap in the assumptions made for the demand in such a small area and the plan should not proceed until that demand is justified by realistic assumptions.
The plan defines the location for about 6000 of these homes. It proposes to put the vast majority ( nearly 3 x Warwick Gates ) in a small area south of the Warwick. The rationale for the location of the major developments in this area seems to be that the Green Belt protects development elsewhere in the county. When the Green Belt land was established, north of the towns of Warwick and Leamington, it was intended to stop urban sprawl. There is no difference in practical terms between the 'green' land to the north of the district and the south of the district. They are both green and they both should be protected from urban sprawl. The council has the powers to use the Green Belt land for development and not use it as an excuse to condense all future development into a small area south of Warwick.
The subject of transport is the most baffling part of the plan. We live on Myton Road and we chose to live there because of the difficulties of commuting to the centre of the town. Everyone who has to get into or through Warwick knows of the huge traffic problems around the town. The proposed infrastructure improvements seem to ignore the fact there will always be 'pinch points' where roads cross the river. These cannot be overcome by improvements to junctions and dual carriageways. There will be much more congestion as a result of the proposed massive increase in housing in the area (11 x Warwick Gates ). The house occupants will be reliant on cars, usually with more than one car per family. There has been no clear data ( from traffic simulations ) to show the effect on traffic congestion in the area. It is not realistic to estimate an increase of over 12000 homes ( most of which will be in the area south of Warwick ) and have an infrastructure plan which simply improves traffic junctions. This is not a sound basis of a sensible plan for a town that is already experiencing huge traffic problems.
Warwick already has air quality issues, which will be exacerbated with the increase in pollution caused by the introduction of additional large numbers of cars crawling through the streets of the town. The residents of Warwick should not be exposed to this additional risk and the school children of Warwick School and Myton School rely on sensible adults to protect them.
The demands on the infrastructure for schools and hospitals will greatly increase. In particular, the demands on Warwick Hospital have not been adequately assessed. This is a relatively small hospital just about coping with the needs of the current population. Add 8 x Warwick Gates (plus the likely effect of the Gaydon 'village' - 3 x Warwick Gates) and it is clear that the demands will exceed the capacity of the hospital to cope with the increased population.
In summary, this is not a plan that shows how Warwick District will grow and change over the coming years. It is simply a charter for house developers. The demands for housing are speculative and excessive. They have no declared employment projections and no mention of the effects of adjoining developments in Gaydon. The concentration of development into one area conveniently relies on green belt rules, which could be easily overcome. The effects on Warwick in terms of traffic, pollution and health are not adequately addressed and I hope that the plan will be reconsidered before we go down a route, which will ruin such a beautiful town. As a newcomer, my sense is that the outrage shown by the people of Warwick is not a NIMBY reaction but a genuine desire to oppose a plan, which would have such an adverse affect on their town. The Council's stated vision is 'to make Warwick District a Great Place to Live, Work and Visit'. It is inconceivable that this plan can fulfil that vision and the plan should be rethought, involving the people of the district to satisfy that vision.