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I have serious concern over many of the proposals made in this plan.
The stated aim of this New Local Plan is "to make Warwick District a Greater Place to Live, Work and Visit." I was born in Leamington and have lived all my life here. However over the years I have seen many lost opportunities, and mistakes, to make the area more environmentally acceptable.
While I have to accept that areas regarded as Urban Brownfield Sites should be developed for Housing and some of the smaller Greenfield Land, ie Kenilworth (Thickthorn) and East Whitnash provide natural extension of existing housing areas. However the overdevelopment of the area South of Leamington could eventually become a planning disaster.
Taking the Plans objectives in a slightly different order:-
Work
The outlook for British Industry will not be as it was in the past. Large Industrial Plants, like Automotive Products will not be sited in this area of comparative affluence. The Government, no matter who is in power, will provide incentives for any such major plants in area of high unemployment. The future for Industry in this area will be in small to medium units supplying other major manufactures. One only has to see the units on the old AP site are Distribution Warehouses and the many empty units on the Heathcoat, Sydenham and Queensway sites. In fact the Queensway site is being cleared of existing Industrial units to build retail units (Aldi) and Housing Association Units. If there is a demand for Industrial Units why have the planned units on the Ford Foundry site been abandoned?
One has to question why we want all the new Housing Developments. Even with the large number of available factory units the Unemployment Rate for the area is 1.7%, some 1,340 people. It could be assumed that even a modest improvement in the Economy would absorb most of the people.
"A Grater Place to Live"( Traffic)
The Projected 12,300 new homes are much too high. Particularly when one considers that the majority of this building will be on the south of both Leamington and Warwick. This in itself will cause traffic problems but when combined with Stratford District Councils plans to expand LIghthorne Heath, KIneton, Southam and Wellesbourne by a total of 4,800 dwellings which will all used Leam/Warwick for many of their shopping, recreational and school journeys, the increase in traffic will be considerable.
The ability of all this traffic moving about is seriously restricted by the number of bridges that cross the Avon and the Leam. There are 4 in Leamington, Willes Road, Victoria Terrace, Adelaide Road and Princees Drive. Of these Bridges the first 3 have reasonably free flowing traffic as they are not directly connected to the north/south route through the Town. However the Princes Drive Bridge is another matter, being directly link to the M40 by Europa Way. It is further complicated by the restricted height involved in the 2 Railway Bridges that are in the vicinity of the Bridge. This junction with its "unique" road makings which are open to various interpretations, within days extra mini cones had to be installed to prevent illegal turns. In addition the misleading lane markings that results in Europa Way traffic having to get back into the correct lane has resulted, so far, in only minor collisions. The congestion coming into the area therefore funnels a large amount of traffic onto the Banbury Road Bridge over the Avon at Warwick. How long this Bridge will withstand this traffic is a matter of conjecture but it must be a matter of concern to the Highways Department. (To appreciate the possible volumes of congestion you only have to witness the problems in Warwick when there is a road accident in the vicinity of Warwick on the M40 or the A46.)
While Air Pollution in Leamington is at a Low Level at the present during a holiday period with the Schools closed, a spike in the level of Nitric Oxide have occurred in the last week, Nitrogen Dioxide has been recorded at 30 m/metre cubed and Particular Matter 40m/metre cubed. (Ricardo AEA). If the full number of projected house were to be built it could conservatively be consider that an extra 20,000 private vehicles would be added to the daily movement which at peak times of the day would escalate the volumes of pollution.
Studies across the World have linked short term exposure to Air Pollutants to the increased admissions to hospital and increased cases of Heart Failure. (The Lancet)
A Great Place To Visit
While in the process of composing this letter I had to travel through Warwick from the Stratford Road to the Banbury Road, at midday on a Summer Friday. It was chaos, Jury St was packed from end to end with one must assume on a summers day were visitors to the Town. It would have been quicker to walk from West Gate to East gate. There were 3 delivery vans parked half on the pavement, and as I approached East Gate an Ambulance had to force its way through the traffic taking the opposite carriageway.
It is indicated that Traffic Improvements are to be made to the Jury St, Butts, Smith St, road junction. Well practically what can be done, nearly all the Building are Grade 1, or 11 Listed, and whichever way the traffic is going it passes into a further restricted highway.
The remaining life blood of Warwick is its Tourism. Over my lifetime I have watched it disintegrate from a thriving Market Town of great charm with many interesting streets and shops. It is now has County Hall and the Castle with limited parking, which on any reasonably busy day most tourists have to park in Myton Fields and walk into the Town.
Surely Warwick is a place that many Tourists only visit once, and do not recommend to their friends. The building of more Factory Units and Residential areas south of the Town can only make the situation worse.
Location of Traveller and Gipsy Site south of Warwick and Leamington
Anybody who has a plot of unfenced land lives in dread of this problem. I have had personally experience of the disruption, filth and sheer antisocial result of a Travellers site. I presume that the situation at Meriden in the last few of years has resulted in the pressure to accommodate a site in this area of the County. If the County Council is forced by Law to make provision for such a site why is it necessary to have 3 sites in this area and so many of the potential sites in the area south of Warwick and Leamington?
Conclusion
It is the nature of our society that the building of dwelling places is cheaper on open land. The fact that the land to the South of Warwick and Leamington, while being good agricultural land is not designated as Green Belt, and therefore can be developed with minimal legal restrictions. This is unfortunate because the expansion of our small conurbation over the Harbury Lane towards the M40 I feel is a mistake. The Government has applied pressure for reason that I will not explore to make more sites available for building and this wrongly has been taken as a the easiest option without the infrastructure to support the addition buildings successive Administrations have always taken the easier, and above all cheapest option. Hospitals, Schools and Main Services can be adapted and enlarged after the expansion of our Towns. If the Heathcote area produces flooding of the Myton Road after a thunderstorm the drainage can be modified.
However once the Application is approved, the increased traffic starts moving there is no going back. The health and quality of life of Warwick and Leamington will be forever irreparably damaged.