Testun llawn:
Identified Gypsy & Traveller Site GT03 land at Barnwell Farm Harbury Lane
Whilst I understand that with a population increase more housing is required, I do not understand why Warwick District Council believes that the only option they have is to build all the proposed properties south of the river Leam focussing on the areas surrounding Warwick Gates, Bishops Tachbrook and Harbury Lane areas. This is not a case of 'not in my back yard' as I realise that some development will have to be in this area, however just using the excuse that the rest of Leamington north of the river, is green belt and therefore should not even be considered is totally unacceptable. Just because it is a complicated process doesn't mean that you should not challenge it.
I attended a meeting with representatives from the Planning and Highways departments on 16th July in Whitnash and came away with the impression that as far as these representatives are concerned the developments are a 'done deal' and we should not waste our time objecting. They did not listen or acknowledge the views of the concerned residents and at the Highways representative was unprofessional in the way he handled questions and should not be allowed to interact with the public again without significant training on how to handle public concerns. People were leaving throughout the meeting in disgust as the residents views were just brushed away and their concerns not acknowledged.
Forecasted Housing Numbers:
In the 20 years to 2011 the population growth was 18%. The Local Plan RDS is now proposing a further 20% increase in within 15 years requiring an additional 12,300 homes. Using projections based only on natural growth of the population and an allowance for migration only 5,400 homes are required. There is no need for the additional 6,900 homes.
Warwick District Council's own consultants G.L.Hearn gave an Economic and Demographic Forecast Study in December 2012, which in option PROJ 5 arrived at only 4,405 new homes being required. Why are you choosing to ignore this?
Warwick District has a low unemployment rate of only 1.7%. The 2012 Strategic Housing Market Assessment stated that overall 'Warwick District had a very good job-homes balance' and I do not see a driver for new homes to bring in new jobs being a valid reason.
Visual Impact of Development
Currently Bishops Tachbrook and the south of Leamington are just visible to one another. Building 2000 houses south of Harbury Lane and extending down the side of the Tachbrook valley will have a severe negative visual impact.
Whilst there is the proposal to build a country park which may provide some form of separation between Bishops Tachbrook and Warwick Gates, the house building proposed on the rolling countryside which makes this highly visible and negates the value of the Country Park.
The Planning Inspector who reviewed the current local plan in 2006 stated that Woodside Farm should not be built on now or in the future.
WDC's landscape consultant Richard Morrish in the Landscape Area Statement in 2009 referred to the land south of Gallows Hill and concluded "this study area should not be considered for urban extension and that the rural character should be safeguarded from development". So why has the district gone against that recommendation?
Local Infrastructure
Can the improvements required be delivered?
The Local Plan RDS does not contain any evidence to show that the proposed infrastructure improvements can be delivered from the Developer contributions through Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy.
With so much unnecessary housing concentrated to the south of the town centres the surrounding roads will end up severely congested.
There will be even more severe at pinch points, crossings of canal river and railways where there is no realistically deliverable solution to the problem.
Traffic Volumes
There will be a significant increase in traffic which the road infrastructure will not be able to cope with, especially in the villages.
Agriculture
The land south of Harbury lane is predominately high grade agricultural land and we are always being told to support our local farmers and consider the environment. Is it sensible for high quality land producing multiple crops per year to be built upon and what impact will this have on our environment?
In relation to the proposed gypsy site, I also have significant concerns on the impact to our community.
This site fails to meet the councils Local Plan Requirements & its preferred options because-
Health Facilities:
The GP Surgeries in Bishops Tachbrook, Warwick Gates, Whitnash & Harbury are already at capacity and would be unable to cope with an influx of new patients.
There is no dentist surgery in Bishops Tachbrook and other surgeries are already at capacity.
Education:
The primary schools in Bishops Tachbrook & Harbury are already oversubscribed & the Catholic Primary in Whitnash, St Josephs' has had to turn away Catholics with siblings already at the school as it has such a high application rate.
The educational needs of many of these children will mean that should a place be found for them at a local school they will need additional help to catch up, and this would have to be provided. Is the council going to supply additional funds to help support these children's needs and how will this be prioritised against the constant demand for funding? Will our taxes have to be increased to pay for these?
Given that the parents of many of these children are unable to read and write themselves they are not in a position to help children with their own learning and this identifies yet another pressure point. An adult who cannot read and write will have limited options on the jobs that they would be able to apply for. There are no employers within in the village of Bishops Tachbrook or Harbury which means that there is no immediate local economy for them to join with. Most villagers have to commute to work.
Infrastructure:
There are no pavements between the proposed site and the nearest village and this would be a great danger especially during peak travel hours and school run times.
There are no bus stops and no safe place for a bus stop to be installed.
This would force more traffic through the village of Bishops Tachbrook & Whitnash together with the additional traffic at major road junctions putting too much strain on an already busy junction onto a road where cars are travelling at speed.
Most of this plot does not have any Provision of Utilities
Given the proximity of 50mph roads next to this site what are the provisions for the safety and security of both people & animals?
It states in your Sites for Gypsies & Travellers page 9 last bullet point on section 7.4 the site should reflect the extent to which traditional lifestyles ( whereby some travellers live & work from the same location hereby omitting many travel to work journeys) can contribute to sustainability. I fail to see how our community can support the traditional lifestyle of travellers.
Environment Impact:
The proposed location is not in an area that can be integrated into the landscape without harming the character of the area which is stipulated as a Site Requirement within the WDC Consultation Document.
There is a potential visual impact on the approach to historic Warwick. This will damage the Tourist Industry which accounts for a large proportion of business transactions for both Large and Small & Medium Enterprises alike.
Therefore a site in this location will put undue pressure on local infrastructure & services.
I have read the council's document "Sites for Gypsies & Travellers" Local Plan helping shape the district.
As per my comments regarding the planned housing development, how is it those 15 sites are all placed south of Warwick & Leamington? The small village of Bishops Tachbrook has 6 of these within a mile of it, 2 are on its immediate doorstep. Potentially all of these sites could be approved and the very nature of our community and how the approach to our village would look would be irrevocably changed and the effect would be devastating to our way of life. This is not acceptable nor a reasonable request for the council to make.
There is no statement from the Gypsy Council of Great Britain or any other organising body on behalf of the Gypsy & Traveller community, within your brochure/document, that they wish to join our community in Warwickshire or anywhere else. Perhaps this is because they have no desire to permanently live here? What evidence does the council have that the gypsy & traveller community wish to use these sites as a permanently settled site with a fixed maximum number of 15 Pitches? You also do not state how many people are able to live within a pitch or who is responsible for the site. Due diligence has not taken place here. I appreciate that you state the Regional Spatial Strategy & commissioned Salford University to produce a report but you have failed to put any meaningful back up data into this document. Therefore I have to question the validity of the study as you have not put it in the information you are handing out. Where is the proof that so many sites are needed? Much needed data is missing here & the council are remiss in leaving it out.
You also state that the Gypsy & Traveller Accommodation Assessment shows a need for 31 pitches, 25 within the first five years & a further 6-8 transit pitches over the Plan period. Yet the brochure you have produced is only showing 19 of these. Why are you not identifying where all these sites will potentially be? Is the plan to add these to the ones for south of the river and avoid any impact to the north of the river as it is blatently your intention.
Your brochure has not been laid out in a way that makes for easy & understandable reading. For instance sites GT05 & GT09 in reality face each other on opposite sides of the Banbury Road yet in your document the numbers on the map are shown as far away from each other as possible and are shown in map form pages apart from each other & at different scales & angles. This also occurs for site GT06 which is opposite GT09. You are failing to make your documentation easy to read and this is misleading and in my view a deliberate attempt to mis-lead the impacted community.
I am extremely disappointed with the way that Warwick District Council is managing the consultation and the proposed development. I look forward to receiving a response to my objections and confirmation on the next steps.