Issue and Options 2023

South Warwickshire Local Plan Part 1: Issues and Options Consultation Thank you for the opportunity to comment on your consultation, we have some specific comments to make on your plan. Please keep us informed when your plans are further developed when we will be able to offer more detailed comments and advice. Position Statement As a water company we have an obligation to provide water supplies and sewage treatment capacity for future development. It is important for us to work collaboratively with Local Planning Authorities to provide relevant assessments on the impacts of future developments and to provide advice regarding policy wording on other relevant areas such as water efficiency, Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), biodiversity, and blue green infrastructure. Where more detail is provided on site allocations, we will provide specific comments on the suitability of the site with respect to the water and sewerage network. In the instances where there may be a concern over the capacity of the network, we may look to undertake modelling to better understand the potential risk. For most developments there is unlikely to be an issue connecting. However, where an issue is identified, we will look to discuss in further detail with the Local Planning Authority. Where there is sufficient confidence that a development will go ahead, we will look to complete any necessary improvements to provide additional capacity. We have provided responses to the Issues and Options questions that are most appropriate for us to comment on below.

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Q-I2: Please select the option which is most appropriate for South Warwickshire Option 12a: Set out infrastructure for all scales, types and locations of development. This option has been chosen as infrastructure delivery of strategic sites may need to consider the wider context of cumulative growth across a catchment. Q-I5: Please add any comments you would like to add about infrastructure, viability and deliverability Severn Trent is keen to be consulted further in the development of Infrastructure Development Plans, particularly in relation to strategic sites.

Yes

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Q-S2: Please select all options which are appropriate for South Warwickshire Option S2a: Identify areas considered particularly suited to intensification development, and develop a design code for each character area. Have a policy supporting intensification within these identified areas where it complies with the relevant design code. This is supported because it allows more detailed planning and assessment to be undertaken on sites where intensification is likely, which will provide a mechanism to assess the impact on infrastructure and put in place any relevant policies. Q-S5.2: Do you think new settlements should be part of the overall strategy? Yes - this is in recognition that the housing target may not be achievable through developing existing settlements only. Q-S3: Please select the option which is most appropriate for South Warwickshire Option S3.2a: Prioritise brownfield development only when it corresponds with the identified growth strategy, or if it can be proven that the development is in a sustainable location or would increase the sustainability of the area. We are supportive of prioritising brownfield land redevelopment as this can often provide an opportunity for surface water betterment of a site which could ultimately reduce flood risk or release capacity for new development in the network. However, we recognise that development should also be located in places that are sustainable for other reasons.

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Yes

Q-S4.1: Yes - this seems to be a sustainable approach, building on existing infrastructure provision rather than starting from scratch.

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We are only supportive of new settlements in sustainable locations and the classification for sustainable should include more than rail/ transport connectivity. A new settlement needs to be sustainable considering water availability, flooding resilience and wastewater management, amongst other drivers. For example, if a new settlement is located a long way from a watercourse of sufficient size and environmental capacity to take treated effluent within the means of technically achievable limits, then wastewater may be required to be pumped long distances in perpetuity, ultimately having significant embodied and operational carbon impacts as well as significant capital and maintenance costs. This could outweigh the benefits of location close to a train station.