COMMENTS ON THE REVISED DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF THE WARWICK DISTRICT LOCAL PLAN - 2013
INTRODUCTION:
Because of having to be away from Warwick for the latter part of June and into early July it was only at the presentation at Aylesford School on 15/07/2013 that I was able to find out more about the "Revised" proposals. Unfortunately the presentation by WDC personnel on that night was less than impressive, the acoustics were bad resulting in part of the presentation not being fully audible and the attitude seemed to be, "this is what you are going to get so you will have to put up with it". It was certainly not a "consultation" process. However, having now been able to read the documents issued I will at least comment on the "revised" plan and the potential problems it will create if implemented. Also, as the forms provided for comment do not seem to give enough space to fully comment I am using this format to cover a range of points.
HOUSING PROJECTION AND LOCATION:
The projected figure of an additional 6.600 new houses seems excessively high and with a very large concentration of the same in the area immediately south of Warwick. That, in turn will produce problems with congestion and transport. Also, there does not seem to be any mention in the "Revised Plan" of those sites which have previously had planning permission but have not been developed. (There are a number in Warwick still not started). Nor is there any mention of the number of empty houses available for sale or for rent. Until all those numbers are included in the figures the true need for "new Build" cannot be fully assessed.
Also, it has been reported that Stratford District Council have approved a "draft" strategy to build a new 4000 home "town" in the Lighthorne area just south of Warwick. If that goes ahead it would also have some effect on the infrastructure requirements, (as mentioned below), within the Warwick Local Plan; yet no mention is made of that scheme has been taken into account when preparing the Warwick Local Plan.
ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE:
Much is made in the plan of the proposed improvements to road junctions, new traffic lights, etc. to enable traffic to move faster into Warwick & Leamington, but no solution is given to the problems caused when the cars reach the towns. Warwick has natural "bottlenecks" in The Butts, Jury St., High St., Smith St., Nicholas Church St. Friars St., Hampton St., and Theatre St. etc. etc. Unless those roads are widened, (by demolishing listed buildings!), or a new road around the town is built, there will be a massive congestion problem, (there already is). No solution to this is offered in the "Plan" and needs to be prior to any approval for new houses.
AIR POLLUTION:
Where we live at present, (on Friars St. and by Hampton St.), is already at, or above, the recommended levels, as is parts of the Warwick Town Centre. The revised Plan does not address this problem.
HEALTH:
Apart from the additional health problems that can be caused by any increased traffic congestion there is no mention of the capacity of Warwick Hospital to cope with a massive increase in population. The present hospital is surrounded by housing and cannot expand, can it cope with such an increase as is projected by the "Plan"?
SITES FOR GYPSIES & TRAVELLERS:
The need for such sites is recognised and the concept supported. Indeed it is needed to stop the current problems that occur when car parks and public parks are used unofficially and left in a mess. However, even a casual glance at the Plan shows a marked imbalance of the distribution of the possible sites over the whole of the District. Of the 20 possible sites listed only four are in the northern part of the District with the remaining 16 in the southern part, with the biggest cluster just south of Warwick. This should be re-examined to ensure a more equitable spread of the burden on the residents of the District.
CLOSING OBSERVATIONS:
The above points are general rather that specific but clearly indicate a need for a more "in-depth" approach to what the District as a whole needs. From the information provided the people who have drawn up the Plan do not seem to have considered all the facts nor how to overcome, or at least alleviate, the problems that will be created by placing the bulk of the predicted new dwellings into one main location. To gain the support and the trust of the residents of Warwick District more openness and consultation than in the past is now required. In addition, serious consideration should be given to giving equal protection to open land to the south of Warwick and Leamington as that given to the "green belt" area located to the north of the towns so that all the open "greenfield" sites can be considered equally and the load spread more equitably throughout the District.