Testun llawn:
Dear Mr Elliott,
We write with reference to the consultation for gypsy and traveller sites currently taking place.
We have considered the potential sites that have been put forward by the Council. We are extremely concerned by the inclusion of Kite's Nest Lane as a possible site (GT13). AS you are undoubtedly aware, this site has been the subject of two planning applications for use as a Gypsy and Traveller site. WDC have now decided twice that development of this site is inappropriate. The Secretary of State has also deemed it unsuitable for any form of development of this kind; even one Gypsy pitch would be inappropriate.
This site is in Green Belt: it is therefore inappropriate development. The site has been found not to be in keeping with its surroundings, which is open countryside. It is down a narrow country lane, with no footpaths or easy access to a main road network. These, and many other reasons, which have been discussed in detail at two Planning Inquiries, make it completely unsuitable. Of equal concern, however, is the fact that this site has been included at all. Significant resource has been expended by WDC already and the site has now, on two separate occasions, been found to be unsuitable. It is clear to us, therefore, that the Kites Nest Lane site should not be under consideration at all and we suggest it is withdrawn immediately and object in the strongest terms to any form of development there.
We believe that WDC should be looking outside of the Green Belt for all of its sites. However, we understand that a large part of the District is Green Belt. If it is not possible to identify enough sites outside of the Green Belt, we would suggest using Green Belt sites which have already had buildings on them. An example of this given in the consultation would be the Oaklands Farm site (GT19).
We have commented on the sites with which we are familiar and given reasons as to why we feel these would be suitable below.
GT15: This site is close to amenities and could easily be landscaped to integrate into its surroundings. It would be possible to provide appropriate access to the site.
GT17 and GT18: Taken together these two sites would provide a substantial number of pitches. This land has previously had buildings on it for many years and could easily be converted to providing Gypsy pitches without burdening Warwickshire Green Belt with additional development. They have good access to the main road network, which we believe is a requirement of the Gypsies and Travellers. Utilities will already be set up and these sites are close to Warwick town for access to services. Several houses lie along the A46 so clearly there would be no noise issues and the current design of the land means there is plenty of room for pulling on to and off the sites (there may even be slip roads already in place).
GT20: This site would provide excellent access to main roads and would be large enough to provide substantial integration of a Gypsy site into the landscape. A significant number of pitches could be created here, allowing Gypsies the chance to live in their extremely large family groups, as they often wish to.
Despite the positive features of these four sites, we still feel that land outside of the Green Belt should be the focus of this search. WDC has stated previously that any Gypsy Site allocations it makes do not necessarily have to be in Green Belt and we would urge WDC to carefully consider its position with regards to protecting the Warwickshire Green Belt. Indeed, the Secretary of State has recently announced his intentions to further protect Green Belt from Gypsy and Traveller developments and WDC should also be looking to safeguard its Green Belt from any kind of development.
We can confirm that this as our formal response to the consultation, and trust that WDC will consider this as appropriate.