I am chairman of the recently formed Steering Group tasked with development of the Lapworth Parish Plan, but am making this submission solely in my personal capacity.

In general I am supportive of the plan as it relates to Lapworth and am writing specifically with respect to the plans for 100 new houses in the village. Although this might stretch current facilities, the proposal offers a golden opportunity to improve the character and structure of the village.

I have also noted the Council's SHLAA notes relating to Site Reference R66 for land fronting the Old Warwick Road, and this relates to the comments I wish to make.

Lapworth is a pleasant place in which to live, benefitting from the juxtaposition of an attractive rural setting with national airport, rail and road infrastructure. However, the village has developed in long "ribbons" over the years and the current centre of gravity of the population is in the area known as Kingswood, far removed from the original settlement centred around St Mary's church, some 2 miles away. As a consequence, the village facilities are quite widely separated and the village lacks a "heart" where residents can meet whilst going about their day-to-day business.

A dominant feature of the current geography is the Willpower Garage, close to the population centre of the village in Kingswood on the Old Warwick Road. Without wishing to impugn a local business, I think that most would agree that this facility is something of an eyesore and, more importantly, a significant traffic hazard as the garage obstructs the main road by parking surplus cars on the highway all and every working day. It is this garage and adjacent shops that are the subject of Site Reference R66 as per above, where the notes say that the "owner has expressed an interest in releasing the site for development".

The notes also refer to the potential loss of said adjacent shops (a hairdresser and an off licence/post office) and, indeed, this would be a significant issue for the village, which would be left with only a small general store/newsagent and a flooring shop.

It seems to me that many objectives could be satisfied and the village markedly improved if a developer could be found who was prepared to work with the council to sympathetically redevelop the site, including:

* Removal of an unsightly business and traffic hazard from the centre of the village;
* Provision of new shops in purpose built accommodation with additional off-road parking; and
* A significant number of new residences without encroaching on green belt.