Testun llawn:
see attached
The proposed site allocations for the new Local Plan result in an overall imperative to ensure that policing infrastructure expands proportionally with the delivery of new development growth, in order to ensure the continued delivery of policing services to a significantly growing population. Warwickshire Police expresses no preference amongst the growth options presented, but there are a number of observations to make about the new Local Plan that will be vital to helping us work in partnership with the Council and applicants to deliver required policing services into the future.
Observations
Strategic Vision: This currently makes no reference at all to the need to ensure safe, secure and low crime communities and places are created and maintained in Warwick District. This is at odds with paragraphs 58 and 69 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the Council's forthcoming Sustainable Community Strategy, described at paragraph 3.6 of the Local Plan. Unless this is addressed, support for the infrastructure and design measures necessary to create and sustain such places and communities is critically undermined.
Section 3 makes a number of references to the importance of sustainability. Low crime & disorder is vital aspect of sustainability, as stated above, which must be included in any definition or statement regarding this term.
Revised Development Strategy: Please see the enclosed representations, prepared by consultants Boughton Butler LLP, regarding this topic.
Strategic Development Sites and Infrastructure: All of the strategic development sites detailed in the Local Plan will require the proportional growth of police infrastructures to maintain equivalent levels of service in the areas concerned. However, the police service does not receive funding to cater for the infrastructure needs and associated costs that come with the delivery of development and associated population growth. This is because with population growth there is a corresponding increase in crime and the number of incidents requiring a police response. This places demands not just on the 'front line', but on the whole spectrum of support and specialist police services, e.g. forensics, roads policing or armed response team to name but a small number, that will be called upon during the lifetime of a development.
Further, policing is a countywide, regional and national service and it is not practical or sustainable to develop an infrastructure on a piecemeal basis. The recognition (such as in paragraph 5.1.14) that cumulative impacts must be planned for at the strategic level is vital to achieving the most effective infrastructure, both for individual agencies and for joint agency partnership working and shared services is consequently a very welcome inclusion and represents a big step forward in the provision of cohesive public service infrastructure, including policing.
We therefore request that the Local Plan includes specific policy recognition of the need for additional police infrastructures in relation to strategic and other development sites. We intend to provide details on the precise infrastructure required as work on the Council's Infrastructure Delivery Plan progresses over the course of this year.
Secured by Design - Strategic Development Sites and Infrastructures - Housing Mix: The Lifetime Homes standards include safety in terms of both traffic and crime. It should therefore be a requirement that all homes should be designed and built to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Secured By Design accredited standard. Also, achieving the best possible traffic safety of any new roads development should involve consultation with the Warwickshire Police Road Safety Unit.
5.1.27: Highlights the potential for 12,300 new homes in Warwick District. This represents an increase of approximately 23% increase in the District and approximately 5.4% increase in Warwickshire as a whole. It is logical to conclude that this will lead to a proportional increase in demand to policing services. This is in addition to significant housing growth elsewhere in the Warwickshire policing area. Accordingly, the Warwickshire Police infrastructure will require expansion in response to the planned housing and other development growth in Warwick District.
Whilst this will not, in most cases, lead to the visible structures of new police stations, there remains a fundamental requirement to provision expanded infrastructure capability in policing through mobility (police vehicles), communications (radio systems and IT infrastructure), support functions (crime recording, strategic planning, judicial services, HR, Finance, Fleet Management, Estates and others). Wherever possible these will be developed in partnership with other agencies, and should be a core component of CIL planning.
Map 4: Whitnash and south of Sydenham: There is a potential need for a neighbourhood policing base within the housing developments proposed for the South of Warwickshire & Witnash. Ideally this will be a shared facility operated in partnership with other public service agencies.
Conclusion
The Warwick District Local Plan Revised Development Strategy presents police infrastructure and Secured by Design considerations that need to be addressed. The significant growth in housing, employment and population also requires continued engagement between the Council and Warwickshire Police in infrastructure planning and CIL scheduling to ensure proportional provision of flexible police infrastructure into the future.