BASE HEADER

The proposal to remove land for a sub-regional employment site in the vicinity of Coventry Airport from the Green Belt has NOT been the subject of appropriate public consultation with the local communities and other stakeholders. The Revised Development Strategy of June 2013, which was consulted upon, identified the site for employment but retained it in Green Belt.
This area of Green Belt south of the City of Coventry has been and remains crucial to the prevention of urban sprawl as identified in the NPPF. Any unjustified proposal to remove this land from Green Belt and to do so without any public consultation is self-evidently unsound.

The employment land required for Warwick District has been assessed as 66 hectares and has been met in the provisions of this draft local plan (paras 2.26-7).
The Joint Employment Land Review (JELR) referred to in para 2.71 has NOT been completed and is NOT in the public domain to enable legitimate assessment of the claims made in 2.71. There are as yet NO 'objectively assessed development and infrastructure requirements' (para 1.8) for employment land from outside Warwick District. Therefore 'unmet requirements from neighbouring authorities'(para 1.81) CANNOT form the basis for policies in this draft local plan.

The Publication Draft proposes to take the site out of the Green Belt while the outcome of a Public Inquiry on a major planning application for the site (the Coventry and Warwickshire Gateway) is still awaited.

The proposed retention within the Green Belt of 111 hectares of this Green Belt (para 2.75 bullet one) relates specifically to the planning application for the 'Coventry and Warwickshire Gateway'.

There are no VERY SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES required by the NPPF to justify removal of this land from Green Belt.