1. Introduction

Warwick District is acknowledged as a beautiful place to live, work and visit. One of the key tasks of Warwick District Council, as local planning authority, is to help manage the growth and development of the district. The plan that we are currently preparing will provide a framework of planning policies for Warwick District for the period to 2026. This new plan is called the “Core Strategy”. As we prepare this important document, the views of local people and all key stakeholders will be vital in helping us shape our district.

It is likely that the next 18 years will see significant further housing and employment growth across the district. One of the roles of the Core Strategy will be to identify where this growth should go.

Last November we asked you what you felt were the key issues affecting Warwick District. You raised a wide number of issues which are summarised later in this Paper. Now, we need to consider where this development should go. What is the best way for Warwick District to accommodate all of this new housing and jobs to meet our needs? How can we best protect our key assets – such as our valuable countryside, our historic heritage or our open spaces? The role of this Paper is to suggest some options for how we may do this.

The rest of this Paper looks at these matters in more detail. Firstly, it summarises the key issues that we have identified and asks whether there are any further issues that you would wish the Core Strategy to address. Secondly, it looks at some of the options for how we may do this in more detail.

In putting these options forward, we would ask you to note that the Council is not, at this stage, expressing a preference for any option or options. We are required to genuinely explore all reasonable options and we are keen that all local people have an opportunity to comment on these.