Object

Representation ID: 50782

Received: 31/07/2012

Respondent: A C Lloyd Homes Ltd and Northern Trust

Agent: Framptons

In considering the scale of proposed locations for growth in the Green Belt north of Warwick Leamington and on land south of Warwick, the Council's evidence base on firstly, green belt matters does not provide the exceptional circumstances necessary to justify the proposed scale of green belt release.

Very substantial blocks of land have been identified for release. There is no rationale that justifies why these blocks should be released or why a more disaggregated approach has not been applied i.e. an exercise that requires a field by field analysis of the implications of green belt release - for example, this is the type of exercise currently being undertaken in Chester when it was established that in principle greenbelt land was required.

Secondly, the Council accept that the scale of housing growth makes it necessary to locate development on green field land outside the existing built up area and go on to contend (in paragraph 7.30) that the option for focussing development outside the Green Belt in the Heathcote area would have significant impacts on the natural and historic environment due to the high concentration of new development to the south of the towns with increased cross-town traffic.

We note that in the previous Core Strategy Preferred Options June 2009 para 3.14, the Council stated that developing growth to the south of the town would "minimise journeys through the historic town centres to the main employment areas and transport connections to the south and to avoid incursion into the West Midlands Green Belt to the north, east and west of the urban area ... "

The green belt 'exceptional circumstances case' is set out in paragraphs 7.26 - 7.33 of the draft plan. These arguments seem weak especially as one of the key concerns (expressed in paragraph 7.30) is the 'continued southerly spread of development and the impact of closing the gap between WarwicklWhitnash and Bishops Tachbrook'. In other words, this location which has no current policy protection is considered to be more important to retain as undeveloped than taking land out of the green belt which demonstrably services a green belt function and the purposes of including land within it.


It is considered that the Council's evidence base does not support the strategy for Green Belt release north of Warwick and Leamington.