BASE HEADER

The Kenilworth Civic Society objects to:

Chapter: 1 Introduction, Vision and Objectives
Paragraph: 1.10, third sentence: "The population (of Warwick District) has grown from 124,000 in 2000 — an 11% increase — and is forecast to continue to grow, with potentially a 17% growth over the next 15 years."

This forecast underpins the Draft Local Plan's policies on housing and development, as Para. 1.42 confirms. This says that "providing opportunities to deliver the housing needed to support the District's changing and growing population is central to the Plan". The Sustainability Appraisal Report April 2014 also uses a population growth rate of 17% to assess the validity of policies in the Plan.

Reasons for Objection
The Kenilworth Civic Society considers that the Plan is unsound because the 17% growth rate is a) outdated and b) an overestimate. It is not supported by the latest population projections, which were published by the ONS in May 2014. These forecast that by the year 2031 the population of Warwick District will total 155000. The figure for that year quoted in the Draft Local Plan is 161,594. (See Chapter 4 Para. 4.3). The difference in the figures equates to a requirement for around 2800 fewer houses, calculated using the Warwick District SHMA's estimated average household size of 2.33. (See Para 2.14 of the Warwick District Council Strategic Housing Market Assessment Final Report March 2012)