Testun llawn:
Re: Response to site GT02
(Land abutting the Fosse Way at its junction with the A425)
Dear Sir / Madam,
I am writing to object to the proposal to use land in the vicinity of the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre for a traveller / gypsy site.
Although I recognise sites have to be found, there a number of factors which make this particular site unsuitable. As a parent to three young boys, my first concern is around the pressure it will place on the primary school in Radford Semele. Class sizes are already in excess of 30, a situation which will only worsen when the 110 houses to the south of the village are built. I believe this further development, if approved, will create undue pressure on the school & other local services including the pre-school & doctor's surgery. The latter has no capacity to take significant numbers of new patients.
I'm also concerned about the impact on the local economy. At a time where the Government is talking about supporting private enterprise to create the jobs we need, it seems crazy to threaten one of our largest local employers. The Warwickshire Exhibition Centre will almost certainly have to close with a loss of up to forty jobs. This doesn't take into account the jobs indirectly supported by the circa two million pounds the Centre brings into the local economy. There's every reason to believe this business could be become even more significant, not just locally but regionally in the years to come.
I was very surprised to hear the site was being considered due to impact on the rural environment. Given that it would be located at the bottom of the valley, the visual impact would be high - thousands of cars use routes past that site into Radford Semele, Leamington and beyond. For many of these motorists / travellers, the first they'll see of Leamington & Warwick is this site. No amount of hedges could soften the impact of such a development.
I am also concerned about the safety aspect of the site. As mentioned above, the surrounding roads support high volumes of vehicular traffic & have been labelled by the Highways Agency as a high risk travel route. Anyone walking the relatively short distance between the proposed site and Radford Semele would acknowledge the danger. I wouldn't allow my sons to walk this route due to the speed of the traffic & the fact that there's no pavement on either side of the road. There seems to be little in the way of an alternative given the poor transport links; the bus stop is an overgrown verge, again with no pavement.
Due to the unsuitable nature of the site, I ask Warwick District Council to drop GT02 from its list of potential plots