Testun llawn:
Please accept this email as confirmation of our objection to three proposed development sites (listed below) and as outlined in your document 'Appendix 6 - Site Matrix - Part A' of the New Local Plan for Warwick District.
Objection to:
* Settlement Site - Kingswood, Option 1 Site Ref: KW1*O/R82, Site name; Meadow House, Kingswood
* Settlement Site - Kingswood, Option 2 Site Ref: KW2*O/R38, Site name; Kingswood Farm, Old Warwick Road
* Settlement Site - Kingswood, Option 6 Site Ref: KW12*, Site name; Land to the rear of Kingswood Cottages
The above sites are unsuitable for development for the following reasons:
1. Option 1 Site Ref: KW1*O/R82 & Option 6 Site Ref: KW12* are both high potential flood risk areas as registered with the Environment Agency. Any engineered flood elevation scheme proposed by a developer for these areas has the potential to be unsympathetic to the surrounding area and detract from the rural setting of the Parish of Rowington. The area of land known as Kingwood is widely known as a flood risk area and many local properties are flooded on a regular basis (at least 1 once a year).
2. Old Warwick Road serves all three sites listed above. However, the existing 30mph speed limit is regularly exceeded by 'through traffic'. Even if the visibility site lines could be achieved in order to meet current Highway Specifications the proposed access points to each site would put motorist and pedestrians at risk. The section of footway along Old Warwick Road between the Canal Bridge and the Junction of Station Lane is used regularly by 10 or more households who walk children to the local school. The footway is not currently wide enough to safely walk along with pushchairs/small children and pedestrians are often forced to walk in the carriageway in order to pass oncoming pedestrians or parked cars. The existing boundary constraints would not allow a new section of footway to be accommodated in any proposed plans for development without extensive highway works being needed. This type of work would significantly change the historic character of the surrounding area.
3. The land to the rear of Kingswood Cottages Option 6 Site Ref: KW12* has in the past been used as an abattoir and as such the land must be treated as posing a risk to human health due to contamination of the land until proper testing of the land has been carried out to determine its suitability for building homes on and confirmation that it does not pose a risk to local residents. The buildings used for this activity have only being demolished within the last 30 years.
4. Some of the information contained within document 'Appendix 6 - Site Matrix - Part A' - Option 1 Site Ref: KW1*O/R82 & Option 2 Site Ref: KW2*O/R38 is incorrect. On this basis alone the document can not legitimately be used in order to base an informed decision on the future of the local community. As such, a full review of the information contained within the document should be carried out in order to identify other areas of factually incorrect information that has used and to prevent any decisions made based on this information being unlawful.
It must be noted that Rowington Parish Council have behaved appallingly towards the residents of Rowington. No consultation about the Local Plan has taken place with local residents at any time during this process. Local residents (unlike other Parish Councils) have not even been made aware of the proposed development sites at all. The location of these sites has only come to our attention by word of mouth between residents. There is actually no planned development for Rowington Parish and the term 'Kingswood' can not be used to define areas that are in fact in Rowington. Rowington Parish Council have been made aware of this fact but have chosen not to listen to the objections raised by local residents either at PC meetings or in writing regarding this fact and have acted in an underhand and deceitful manner. It brings in to question the morality of some of the members of Rowington Parish Council. Do they have an agenda between themselves and an interest to see these sites put forward for development over more suitable sites which have been rejected yet those rejected sites are not affected by issues of flooding, listed buildings, highway constraints and land contamination as identified in the three sites listed above. Do the members of Rowington Parish Council not have a legal duty to serve their Parishioners in an honest and fair manner? A formal complaint will be raised against Rowington Parish Council with regards to how this issue has been executed. It has all the hallmarks of 'cronyism' existing within the Parish Council.