BASE HEADER

I would like to respond to the latest consultation process for the five potential sites .

Part A
Part B

Commenting on the Gypsy and Traveller Site Options.
The whole G&T issue seems to be driven to support the Draft Local Plan, rather than to be the correct solution in itself . I strongly believe that the sites should be considered within the New Local Plan and not as a separate exercise.
I have attended the WDC exhibitions and it appears that there is no justifiable reason why the G&T sites cannot be reviewed and incorporated into the new sites designated for providing the 12,300 houses currently under consultation.
I would like to refer my comments specifically to the following sites:
GT12, GT 15 and GT alt 12 alt 01.

I would like to OBJECT to the proposal of all these sites for the reasons stated below. I have based my objections on the suitability and sustainability criteria used in the WDC consultation document.

* Site GT alt 01 - sits immediately approximate to the Asps which Warwick District Council decided, after further research regarding the landscape and transport impact of development, that site should remain open due its value as a backdrop to the historic Warwick Castle Park. The Revised Development Strategy, therefore, excludes the Asps and should also exclude the site GT alt 01for the same reasons.

* Sites GT 12, GT alt 12 and GT alt 01 - the sites are not sustainable in terms of multi modal accessibility. None of the sites offer the ability to access local community facilities (schools, doctors surgeries etc) on foot or on bike via pedestrian footpaths or cycle routes, or by bus. The only means of accessibility is by car which would place further pressure on the local highway network infrastructure and is unsustainable.

* Sites GT 12 and GT12 alt 01 - sit within (part) and otherwise immediately adjacent to areas identified by the Environment Agency as having significant flood risk. Extensive flooding has taken place in both sites earlier this year.


* Sites GT 12 and GT 12 alt 01 - development would have a material negative impact on the capacity of Barford St. Peter's School, especially given the village's status as a "Secondary Service Village" and it's likely requirement to provide 70-90 new dwellings during the Plan period.

* Sites GT 12 and GT12 alt 01 - a number of residents have reported the existence of water voles in and immediately adjacent to these sites. Water voles are, of course, now a legally protected species.

* Site GT 15 - this site sits alongside Europa Way which following recent upgrade is now an even busier road. There is no apparent logic to this site what so ever , indeed the site has no access to any local facilities and would be best integrated into one of the areas of land being considered for new local housing


* Sites GT12 and GT 12 alt 01 - there is inadequate pedestrian crossing facilities for safe access into the village. It is an extremely busy road and crossing and road improvement measures would require significant investment to be safe for users.

* Sites GT 12 and GT 12 alt 01 - the development of all of these sites could not take place without a material adverse effect on the landscape and could not be integrated without harming the visual amenity of the sites.

* Sites GT 12 and GT 12 alt 01 - WDC have disregarded their own Rural Area Policies, especially RAPs 1 (New Housing), 6 (New Employment), 10 (Safeguarding Rural Roads) and 15 (Camping and caravan Sites). In all respects the sites fail to meet the policy criteria to allow any form of development.

* Sites GT 12, GT 12 alt 01 and GT 15, - are not locations which allow peaceful and integrated co-existence with the local community.

* Sites GT 12 and GT 12 alt 01 - development would lead to an unacceptable loss of farmland and rural employment, rendering the isolated sites (eg site 12) totally unviable.

* Sites GT 12 and GT 12 alt 01 - vehicular access to these sites is from the A429 trunk road which was constructed as a bypass to Barford. It is a 60 mph speed limit road and there have been a significant number of accidents on it since its opening, including a fatality. The existing access into the sites is entirely inadequate.


* Sites GT 12, GT 12 alt 01 and GT 15 - vehicular access to these sites is from an already heavily utilised road network. Access and egress to and from these sites to the highways network would not be safe.

My general comments relating to ALL of the above sites are:

* WDC should have identified sites within the existing urban areas of Kenilworth, Warwick and Leamington for Gypsies and Travellers. These sites would be more suitable and sustainable, and would enable better integration in to the local community. Despite such sites existing, they are all being proposed for redevelopment for more valuable uses. These sites should be integrated into new housing sites identified for the New Local Plan. The new G&T sites can be integrated into those sites from the start. Discussions with developers confirm that they would be willing to accept a number of G&T sites into new housing development areas along with affordable housing schemes.


* Availability - none of the sites listed are available, namely sites GT 12 , GT 12 alt 01 and GT 15. By definition the remaining sites are not deliverable. A compulsory purchase order would be extremely lengthy, costly and unviable compared to other options.

* WDC should be requiring Gypsy and Traveller sites are delivered within the proposed major new housing developments in Kenilworth, Warwick and Leamington where 12,300 houses are proposed. This would ensure that the sites could be properly designed in a sustainable fashion and be fully integrated into a local community which will provide facilities such as a school, a doctors surgery and shops which are accessible on foot, on bike, by bus and by car.

* WDC should revisit its Greenbelt Policy and release sites to the north of Warwick and Leamington which would reduce the pressure to allocate land for all forms of development during the New Local Plan period to the south of the District.

* Ecology and Environment - all of the sites have some ecological value and environmental issues which does not appear to have been assessed.