Object

Representation ID: 54881

Received: 29/07/2013

Respondent: Mr & Mrs P Lightfoot

Number of people: 2

Objects to the RDS Plan for the following reasons:

1. Concentration of proposed sites for development to the South of Warwick: Loss of rural approach to the historic town of Warwick permanently blighting the image of the town and destroying the traditional close relationship of the town with the countryside; Creation of an urban sprawl merging Warwick and Leamington Spa; Transport and traffic problems concentrated in one area of the town resulting in major congestion and environmental health issues; Damage to existing residents' quality of life;
Damage to health due to illegally high pollution levels in Warwick; Density of housing replacing agricultural land leading to an increase in flooding issues already reported in the area; Large suburban concentration of housing leading to the development of out of town shopping areas to the detriment of Warwick and Leamington Spa town centres;
Inadequate replacement (strip of country park) for the acres of rural land lost to development.

2. Unsustainable transport and road systems: Some of the proposed improvements to junctions (eg Greville Road / Emscote Road, and Portobello Bridge) have been in the pipeline for years and are urgently needed to cope with existing traffic volumes let alone the increased traffic which would be using the already congested Emscote Road; The Myton Road area currently suffers high congestion which has not been improved by recent changes to the road systems designed to ease the traffic problems on paper so cannot sustain the proposed increase; Proposed enlargement of the junctions in and surrounding Warwick town centre would destroy the appeal of the historic town to visitors and result in traffic jams along narrow historically important streets; Proposed dual carriageways would still all converge on narrow routes across the river in Warwick and Leamington Spa; The historic bridge over the river at Warwick might not survive if traffic volumes increase to the level proposed in that area

3. Inadequate healthcare, infrastructure and schools: Emergency vehicles would face insurmountable problems reaching Warwick Hospital through congested routes; Warwick Hospital does not have a site large enough or finances available to expand to cope with the proposed increase in population; Proposals for building new secondary schools are suggested as 'possible' implying that existing secondary school sites would need to expand to absorb the population increase inevitably leading to increased congestion on school routes, particularly in the already congested Myton area; Public transport is already inadequate in the Warwick area (e.g. lack of frequent bus service along the Myton road) and the proposals for improvement are negligible so increased car journeys are inevitable.