Testun llawn:
My comments relate to 6 main areas: scale of development, distribution, infrastructure, flooding, quality of life and listening to residents.
Scale of development
Previous Local Plan projections in 2012 suggested 10,800 houses needed to be built in Warwick District by 2029; new 2013 figures suggest 12,300. I have concerns that neither of these figures are accurate and, accounting for natural growth and an allowance for migration, only 5400 homes are required. This calculation was undertaken using 2011 census data by Bishop's Tachbrook Parish Councillor Ray Bullen. In support of a much lower figure, in December 2012 Warwick District Council's own consultants G.L. Hearn gave an Economic and Demographic Forecast Study projection of 4405. Given the low unemployment rate of 1.7% in Warwick District, growth for employment is not a valid argument to explain this level of growth. I believe there is a very strong case that the scale of development is far in excess of what is required through natural growth and reasonable levels of migration.
Warwick District Council's 'Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment' states that the total capacity of the District is approximately 13,385 homes between 2014-2029; this Local Plan's projections use up 91.8% of total capacity. As this would leave virtually no room for future expansions, the local environment would undoubtedly be negatively impacted by future developments.
The level of growth proposed is unsustainable and according to the Local Development Framework, Annual Monitoring Report 2011, 'the majority of this [housing] growth has resulted from people moving into the District from other areas, notably the urban areas of Coventry and Birmingham...[a] key factor behind this trend has been the particularly high level of house building that has taken place within the District during that period.' If migration has been fuelling the housing growth then the more homes that are built, the more people are likely to move out from Coventry and Birmingham to live in Warwick District. This in turn will put more pressure on housing stock as these new residents have families who will require housing if they are to remain nearby. This means large scale development will exacerbate rather than solve the local housing issues. Warwick District Council needs to revisit the scale of development to bring it down to sustainable levels.
The Bishop's Tachbrook housing needs survey identified a local need for only 14 homes; 10 'affordable and 4 'market' homes. A mixed development of 25-30 homes could provide the 10 affordable homes required so why have the numbers 100-150 homes been chosen for Bishop's Tachbrook against the local evidence base?
Distribution
The consultation document shows that 70% of the proposed housing is concentrated in the south of the district, in Leamington, Warwick and Whitnash. The Green Belt in the north of the district has been protected but insufficient provision has been made for the green field sites in the south. This leads me to question the fairness of this distribution, with the residents of the south bearing a greater burden than those of the north.
Infrastructure
The distribution of the proposed new housing raises concerns regarding infrastructure. A number of improvements over the last 12 months have not been project managed effectively, namely the High Street/Jury Street roadworks and the Morrisons development roadworks. Additionally, it took over 10 years for improvements to the Gallows Hill junction to be implemented so I have serious concerns regarding when any proposed infrastructure improvements will be undertaken to complement the housing developments. The knock on effect for existing residents whilst waiting for improvements to take place would be unacceptable. I also believe that even with the planned upgrades, the strain on local infrastructure will be intolerable and whilst the upgrades are taking place there would be a considerable inconvenience placed on local residents and businesses.
Flooding
The Tach Brook runs parallel to Harbury Lane, approximately equidistant from Bishop's Tachbrook and Warwick Gates. The Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council Flooding Review in Warwick District Final Report of the Joint Panel June 2008 reported that properties in Bishop's Tachbrook were affected by the floods. If houses in Bishop's Tachbrook already flood without housing being built on the Tach Brook flood plain then it is likely that it will only get worse if the water has fewer fields to run off into. If new housing is built on the land between the Tach Brook and Harbury Lane the new housing will be built with new anti-flood defences. This would leave the existing housing, built when such technology was neither available nor necessary, more vulnerable to flooding. I lived in Cubbington village when that flooded in 2007 and the extent of the flooding was exacerbated by the inadequacy of flood defences since new housing had been built.
Constructing large areas of housing on the banks of the brook will increase the water flow and in periods of prolonged heavy rain will increase flooding risks to neighbouring authorities such as Gloucestershire and Stratford. Recognising that only 5,400 homes are required, dispersing them more fairly around the district and not directly connecting them into the river system (except by the upgraded drainage system in Leamington) would be more acceptable to downstream neighbours such as Gloucestershire and Stratford.
Quality of life
Bishop's Tachbrook is a rural village separated from Leamington town by Harbury Lane. Having lived in what was Cubbington village and seeing the erosion of quality of life as a result of infill I would not want the same happening to Bishop's Tachbrook. It has a rural character which I would like preserved by maintaining the geographical barrier of Harbury Lane. The suggestions for a country park are paying lip service to the real issue which is that the edge of Bishop's Tachbrook is a mile from the edge of Warwick Gates and if the urban sprawl comes any closer than that then the rurality of the village is lost. A country park may provide a minimum level of separation but the undulations of the land will make the new housing highly visible from Bishop's Tachbrook thus negating this token separation.
The Planning Inspector who reviewed the current Local Plan in 2006 reported that Woodside Farm should not be built on now or in the future. Warwick District Council's landscape consultant Richard Moorish in the Landscape Area Statement in 2009 wrote the following with regards the land south of Gallows Hill 'this study area should not be considered for urban extension and that the rural character should be safeguarded from development'. However, this new Local Plan appears to go against its own consultant's advice.
Listening to residents
A Neighbourhood Plan has been issued by Bishop's Tachbrook Parish Council which reflects the survey undertaken to gather residents' views. Bishop's Tachbrook residents such as I are concerned that our views will not be taken into account during this consultation. The previous 2012 Local Plan was altered after the consultation process and became much more acceptable to residents in the village. However this new Local Plan rips up any compromises made last year and in fact proposes more housing, with more of a burden borne by villagers. Consultation should not be a token gesture and the Local Plan should be altered if residents are clearly opposed to its proposals.