Dear Sirs,
Please find below my views regarding the Consultation for the New Local Plan. I am
submitting this as a letter because the consultation web site appears unreliable and also
does not appear to allow me (as requested by the Council) to make alternative proposals. It
only appears to allow me to make comments on particular sites.
SUMMARY
I am totally opposed to the plans to allow development on the Green Belt to the North of
Leamington Spa and the complete change in direction since the 2009 Core Strategy
document. There is no evidence or requirement to change any of these North Leamington
Green Belt Boundaries.
In particular I oppose the proposed developments to the Milverton Gardens (North of
Milvertion) and Blackdown. Your references are I believe are L03 and L07 together with L48.
L07, and L03 in particular, must be among the highest public amenity value of any rural
space in Warwickshire providing very highly used public footpaths from two access points
directly onto open country side.
The Green Belt has been vital in maintaining the identity of the Warwickshire towns for
many years and Government policy under NPPF is very clear regarding the importance of
preserving Green Belt.
The Council have not demonstrated the required very special circumstances to build on the
Green Belt to the North of Leamington. It is therefore unacceptable to change the Green
Belt boundaries to the North of Leamington.
Plans for a major new relief road, to alleviate the traffic caused as a consequence of the
proposed new housing, only causes further loss of Green Belt and is unjustified.
Housing should be provided, as the previous 2009 Core Strategy document, to the South of
Leamington Spa where the employment and infrastructure exists and where there are not
the issues of coalescence.
The evidence base is not sufficient for the preferred plan to be derived from it. It fails to
provide balanced investigations of the considered sites. It is clear that it must have been
used to attempt to justify a politically motivated plan to 'share the pain'. Further evidence
of this has been provided from Council responses to enquiries with statements that the plan
has in fact arisen as a result of lobbying pressure from South Leamington.
Other such statements have indicated that the reasoning behind the proposed housing to
the North of Leamington Spa also relate to assumptions about employment arising from
around Coventry airport. This would be inappropriate because housing should be provided
close to the employment in Coventry providing a more sustainable future with shorter
commuting. Furthermore the Council should be planning to invest for employment in
Leamington Spa rather than making Leamington a commuter area for Coventry. If this was
part of the reasoning for the plans, then this should have been made clear in the
consultation documents for people to comment upon. If on the other hand employment
arising from Coventry airport was not part of the reasoning behind the proposed housing to
the North of Leamington Spa, then the Council should not be using it as a justification in
responding to consultation questions.
On a positive note the proposals to enhance the quality of the proposed new housing
developments (along the lines of garden towns) is positive and would be an asset to, and
raise the housing diversity in, South Leamington Spa.
EVIDENCE BASE
The Council Preferred Options plan are not, as we would be lead to believe in the Forums,
developed from an evidence base. On inspection there are significant omissions in the
evidence base and significant conclusions are included in the plans which are not supported
by the evidence base. The only conclusion I can make is that the evidence base was
developed in retrospect to try and support a political plan to 'share the pain' or 'spread it
about'.
Not only does the evidence demonstrate this lack of consistency in approach, the anecdotal
comments from some Councillors, as well as presentations by officers, have demonstrated
the back to front approach to developing the plans.
When pressed for an explanation regarding the errors in the statistical analysis of the
population growth, Councilors have made the statement that the council settled on the
required number of houses "as what was considered we could get away with".
There is over-provision of housing resulting from the Council making projections from past
population data which includes a period of exceptional growth. Calculations of future
population should have more accurately taken account of the reducing trend in population
growth, rather than having an unlikely high projected population as a result the past, short
period, of abnormal high growth. If the calculations and projections exclude the period of
abnormal growth then the housing on the Green Belt is not needed.
The Council has stated in forums that the infrastructure to the South of Leamington Spa has
been investigated and found not to support the required number of houses. However they
also state that their infrastructure plans to the North are not yet completed. Request for
details of the traffic surveys established that they have not in fact been carried out. This is
further evidence that the infrastructure investigation is being used to justify the plan rather
than being the basis for it.
The Council have concluded that more houses in the South of Leamington Spa than is
allocated in the plan cannot be delivered. This is not evidenced anywhere. When challenged
in Forums, the Council stated that the Developers with whom local residents have consulted
(to confirm that the Council assumptions are incorrect) cannot be trusted 'because they
have a vested interest'. Can it be that the Council have therefore only consulted with
Developers / Landowners of the Green belt to the North? Clearly these parties would have a
far greater vested interest to have the Green Belt boundary redrawn!
What appears more likely is that the Council have simply made an assumption on
deliverability rather than carry out a proper investigation. It would appear that the Council
have lost track of the phased nature of the delivery requirements when considering the
deliverability argument.
The conclusion that the area to the South of Leamington Spa cannot accommodate more
homes and therefore there is no option but to put the houses on Green Belt is not
evidenced and is incorrect.
GREEN BELT
The reasoning behind relocating the development from South to North of Leamington is the
result of previous objections from South Leamington with no account taken of the
underlying planning advantages which exist. It is a purely political move.
The Local Plan is governed by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which clearly
states that Local Plans must accord with its principles. The value of Greenbelt is set out in
the NPPF to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open. Green belt land
should not be developed when other suitable land is available for development.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out five purposes for Greenbelt land. In
summary these are, to prevent urban sprawl of built up areas, to prevent neighbouring
towns merging, to protect the country side from encroachment, to preserve the setting and
special character of historic towns and to assist urban regeneration by encouraging the
recycling of urban land. The Greenbelt land identified for development in the Preferred
Option does fulfill the majority of these purposes and its development would therefore be
contrary to the NPPF.
The NPPF requires there to be "very special circumstances" for development in the Green
Belt. It also requires the harm caused to the Green Belt by the development to be
outweighed by the benefit of the development. According to Warwick District Council the
very special circumstances are that there is nowhere else for the homes to be built. This is
demonstrably untrue.
The Council identified available land east of the A452 (Europa Way) and south of Heathcote
towards Bishops Tachbrook however these sites have not been included in the Preferred
Options sites. Presumably, this is because of the policy of 'spreading it around'. That is not a
planning policy, it's a political policy.
The proposals ignore Warwick District Council's study of the Green Belt land at Old
Milverton and Blackdown, which concluded that these areas have high Green Belt value.
The proposals will reduce the "Green Lung" between Leamington and Kenilworth to less
than 1 1/2 miles.
Planning policy dictates that Green Belt must be valued more highly than Green Wedges.
Therefore the Preferred options are flawed as the opposite has in fact been planned.
NO EVIDENCE OF ANY VERY SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES FOR DEVELOPMENT ON
GREEN BELT
No "very special circumstances" have been proven for the use of Green Belt land.
The Council's own previous plan the "2009 Core Strategy" accommodated significantly more
houses and identified suitable sites without using Green Belt. The land south of Leamington
Spa (not in Green Belt), was identified and is still available, for development.
The assessment performed by Warwick District Council shows that this land to the south of
Leamington is easier to develop and already has a substantial amount of infrastructure to
support the development, and the new residents who will live there. It is close to the M40
and there are existing employment opportunities in the South of Leamington Spa as well as
existing out of town shopping facilities and good access to the town centres.
Therefore, the previous plan (the 2009 Core Strategy) is direct evidence that there are
alternative areas for development other than the Green Belt and that consequently there is
no evidence that very special circumstances exist to change the Green Belt Boundary.
Warwick District Council argues that the land in the South of Leamington is not as attractive
to developers because concentration of development in that area may result in the
developers making less profit. Consideration of the developers' financial gain is not a very
special circumstance to permit unnecessary development in the Green Belt. Concentration
of development would encourage the housing to be competitively priced and more
affordable when built in the south of Leamington Spa.
RECREATION VALUE OF OLD MILVERTON AND BLACKDOWN
Milverton Gardens (North of Milvertion) is an important local amenity for exercise and
recreation as there is very little alternative publicly accessible open space in this area.
It is enjoyed by many walkers, runners, riders, and cyclists. It provides a countryside
environment close to the neighboring areas of Leamington Spa. Evidence has also shown
that people are traveling from the Centre and also the South of town to use the amenity,
further demonstrating the value of this amenity to a wide community.
Both the proposed building development and the "Northern Relief Road" would
substantially reduce the amount of land that is available to be enjoyed and have a
catastrophic detrimental impact on the ambience and hence the amenity value of the land.
The implication that somehow the proposed type of development will magically turn some
of it into a maintained park land is both unlikely and unsustainable. It would also detract
from, rather than enhance its value; managed parkland is a poor substitute for access to fine
agricultural land.
North Leamington Forum recently (and ironically at the presentation of these plans!) had to
allocate funds to struggling local groups trying to maintain and create small recreation
spaces within housing developments which the Council will not / or cannot afford to
maintain. This demonstrates the value of the currently free amenity which the community
enjoys.
North Leamington Spa does not have parks such at Victoria Park and Jepson Gardens as do
other areas of Leamington Spa. This area of Green Belt provides an invaluable and
irreplaceable open and free resource to the community. A great many signatures have been
collected on petitions in support of keeping this amenity.
The Housing Assessment fails to identify the footpath between Milverton and Old
Milverton. Policy QE4 in Regional Spatial Strategy for West Midlands states that footpaths
and the green spaces around them must be preserved. The document is being used
powerfully at the moment in the "evidence base" to support council desires, yet has been
heavily cherry picked. Indeed Policy QE6 states "Local authorities should
conserve...protecting and where possible enhance natural features that contribute to the
character of the landscape and local distinctiveness"
INFRASTRUCTURE / PROPOSED NEW ROADS
The Northern Leamington Relief Road, at an estimated cost of £28 million, would ruin Old
Milverton and divert resources from other much needed public investment. As a Charted
Quantity Surveyor it is evident that this estimate is unlikely to be the maximum outturn cost
considering the ground over which the road must run and the bridges and retaining
structures which will be necessary together with the other costs which will be attributed to
it.
Traffic flows in the area tend to be north to south rather than east to west. The road will
serve no purpose other than to take new home owners quickly on to the A46 and to jobs
and shopping opportunities away from our Town. If the development does not go ahead the
road will not be required.
Turning the A452 between Leamington and Kenilworth into dual carriage way will not help
traffic flows. At peak times the delays on the A452 result from commuters wanting access to
the Town centres. Building nearly 3000 houses north of Leamington will simply increase the
congestion. The dual carriage way will have a detrimental effect on the picturesque
northern gateway to Leamington and southern gateway to Kenilworth.
A "Northern Relief Road" will form a natural barrier and encourage further development in
the green belt up to this new road. It will need to be built across the flood plain and will
violate an important nature corridor along the River Avon.
If the proposed development is concentrated in the South of Leamington there is an existing
road network that could be upgraded at considerably lower cost than the £28m allocated to
construct a "Northern Relief Road" so reducing the sale price of the houses.
NEW OUT OF TOWN STORES AND EMPLOYMENT
The proposed "out of town" retail operations will be another blow to independent retailers
in Leamington, Kenilworth and Warwick who make the area an attractive place to live.
Further "out of town" shopping will take trade away from the Towns.
However the Council have stated at Forums that they don't plan out of town shopping,
apparently therefore the Consultation information is inaccurate?
They have also played down the concept of new employment land in the Green Belt in these
same Forums and have been totally unable to give details at to what is alluded to in the
Consultation by these phrases. They indicate this has yet to be thought through. Further
demonstrating that the evidence base is still being developed to justify the plan not the
other way around as should have been the case.
LOSS OF AGRICULTURAL LAND
There will be a loss of a significant amount of high quality agricultural land in Blackdown and
Old Milverton which is unnecessary.
OVERALL LEVEL OF HOUSING PROVISION / NUMBER OF HOMES INCLUDED IN THE
FORECASTS
There appears to be over-provision of housing resulting from the Council relying on
projections from a past period of exceptional growth as noted earlier.
Furthermore the Council have agreed in the Forums that there is a "contingency for the
consultation" to the tune of at least 1400 homes. Detail investigation of the low numbers
assumed for allocations on sites such as the Fire station and other town centre sites indicate
that there is also a further 'hidden' contingency.
The Council appears to be building contingency on contingency. Consequently, even
accepting the population and demand projections, the units proposed for the green belt to
Milverton Gardens (North of Milvertion) can easily be deleted without causing a deficit,
even if no alternative sites were substituted.
The situation is exacerbated in that having identified non Green Belt Land as suitable for
development, but then having rejected it without adequate justification, there is a real
possibility that the owners of this will gain planning permission on appeal resulting in
further over provision of land.
Returning to the 1400 homes contingency alone. If this "buffer" is removed from the
forecast there is no need to include the Green Belt land at Milverton Gardens (North of
Milvertion) (L03 & L07) in the proposals.
ALTERNATIVE PLAN
The Council have said in Forums that in making objections to the plan, residents should also
give solutions. However the Council have done little to publicise the very short 8 week
consultation. Furthermore the Council have refused requests for an extension until the last
few days (It was slipped quietly into the Consultation details page after the 18th July with no
announcement and the Web landing page was not updated to make the public aware of the
change). This gives the impression that this was a consultation in name only and very little
time has been available for people to make alternative proposals. However the plan is
poorly put together and there are clear considerations and alternatives which should have
already been accommodated.
Significant areas of land to the South of Leamington Spa have been stated by the Council to
be undeliverable. This is incorrect.
Developing the land to the South of Leamington has significant advantages:
 The employment land is to the South and local employers are already saying they
need much more affordable housing in this area.
 The transport routes to M40 exist in this area and relatively affordable traffic
solutions will accommodate the expansion.
 The infrastructure already exists in this area, even to the point that traffic islands
have been built to take some of the new development!
MY KEY POINTS OF OBJECTION ARE
1. Local Amenity: The land proposed for development is a vital local amenity for
exercise and recreation; the recreational value of this land would be lost. The heavily
used footpaths make this element of greenbelt one of the most valued in the area. It
is for this reason there is such strong opposition.
2. These areas of greenbelt meet 4 of the 5 purposes of greenbelt land and should
therefore be protected from development. The Greenbelt Study undertaken by the
council is highly subjective and residents don't believe this is a sound basis for the
Preferred Plan.
3. Greenbelt land should not be developed because the Local Plan is governed by the
National Planning Policy Framework which states greenbelt should only be built on in
exceptional circumstances, and local residents believe exceptional circumstances
have not been demonstrated. In particular there is suitable land identified by the
Council to the East of Europa way and South of Heathcote that have not been
included in the local plan. Namely Grove Farm.
4. The apparent Council policy of spreading development around the county is not an
appropriate planning policy, but is rather a political policy and thus this greenbelt
land should not be built on.
5. There is further adequate land available around Radford Semele, this land has been
unnecessarily discounted by the Council due to the presence of gas mains, but this
land is viable in spite of the 100m exclusion zones by incorporating these zones into
part of the open space of a garden town.
6. The National Planning Policy Framework states that one purpose of greenbelt is to
prevent urban sprawl, the Preferred Option ignores this and causes sprawl, which is
compounded by Southward development of Kenilworth.
7. Even accepting the population and demand projections for housing the units
proposed to be built on the Green Belt land to Milverton Gardens (North of
Milvertion) could be deleted by omitting the 1400 over provision without causing a
deficit; residents believe this should be done.
8. Non greenbelt land that has not been included by the council is likely to have
planning permission granted on appeal from developers resulting in an overprovision
of land and needless development of this greenbelt.
9. The existing infrastructure is not appropriate to the new development, requiring a
£28 million relief road. The need to include such a massive undertaking invalidates
the argument that there is exceptional circumstances to build on the greenbelt. The
£28 million, even if raised from developers, is a waste of public money and will have
an adverse impact on the price of the houses and undermine the aims of affordable
homes
10. There is significantly better infrastructure in the South with access to the M40,
where development should therefore be placed.
11. There are inadequate employment facilities in the North of the town surrounding
the proposed development site and little evidence how the employment land, which
the Council propose to allocate, would be used. In contrast there is a good track
record and existing employers in the South of the town who chose to be locate close
to the M40. The plan must be evidence based and there is not enough evidence to
suggest there will be enough employment opportunity in the North of the town.
12. If additional housing is required for Coventry and Warwickshire Gateway then that
housing should be adjacent to the airport site to allow sustainable transport e.g.
cycling, avoid congestion, avoid coalescence, and justify exceptional circumstances.
If this were not possible then non-greenbelt land in the South should be released
capitalising on the M40 infrastructure and improved road layout near the site that
has already been identified by Councillors.
13. To be sustainable housing should be planned close to proposed employment
otherwise it will have adverse impacts on commuting and travel. If for example
people end up having to commute to the Coventry Gateway project then and is
contrary to a sustainable community and contrary to the declared aims of the
Gateway project.
14. The preferred options plan states that it is vital to ensure that new housing is
affordable, construction on the greenbelt to the North of the town will not create
affordable housing. House prices are higher in the North of the town and the cost of
the relief road will be passed on by developers to new homeowners in the
development. Furthermore if development is focused in the South then an increase
in housing supply will ensure that the developers focus on delivering good quality
affordable homes. This is a simple supply and demand argument.
IN CONClUSION
I strongly urge you to reconsider your plans. There are no grounds in your evidence base to
justify building on any Green Belt Land at Milverton Gardens (North of Milvertion) and
Blackdown.