Object

Preferred Options

Representation ID: 48455

Received: 23/07/2012

Respondent: Alan Gresty

Representation Summary:

A much more detailed economic and financial plan to stimulate and attract business investment is needed first to determine where to build housing, it may be that a new town is needed.

Full text:

Thank you for the preferred Option summary and the work that has gone into a detailed plan of this complexity. The fact that it is so far reaching covering the areas of Kenilworth,Warwick, Leamington, Whitnash and surrounding areas makes it more difficult to respond to. For what its worth I give a few general and specific points.
In general it is difficult to see how the vision can be achieved by such a large increase in the number of dwellings to be built in some green belt areas. If we do need to provide for this expansion in our population which the current census indicates then it would be more honest to simply say that the vision is to do the best we can in an overcrowded town with all that implies to transport,services,safety,green areas and quality of life. It is difficult to believe things will be better when the plan is completed. The second general point is that new homes are required in a growing local and nationwide economy. We therefore need a much more detailed economic and financial plan to stimulate business development before we have a plan to build the houses. We might have a growing population but do we have a growing local economy to provide the wealth to buy those houses. This economic plan is touched on in the report but requires more infrastructure spending to attract business first. We will then know where to build the houses. It may be that a new town is required rather than filling in the empty spaces in towns with no jobs.
Clearly this report has been prepared with a lot of study and thought and therefore assuming you are correct in your prediction of a big increase in demand for houses in the area I can only contribute a few specific points in relation to the development at Thickthorn,Kenilworth which is were I live. This is the request to maintain the wooded copse or buffer on the land .Also to provide a new direct access to the A46 for the new estate.This will go some way to achieve in one area of the plan your objective to "make Warwick District a Great Place to Live, Work and Visit " It is at the moment it would be a tragedy if this plan achieved the opposite.