I wish to respond and object most strongly to the Revised Local Plan. The first point I would make is that the process seems hopelessly flawed. In 2009, before the last election, the fields between Myton Road and Europa Way were earmarked for development and residents in the area objected formally in their hundreds. (Please check records. ) Yet in 2012 the Preferred Options once again earmarked this area: this time for far more development. Last year again we objected. Why is the consultation process not taken seriously?
Level of Growth
It is my understanding that during the last 12 or 13 years Warwick has undergone a large increase in population, indeed 12% since 2000, which is approximately twice the rate of increase for Warwickshire and twice the national average, and indeed three times the increase for the West Midlands. I would therefore strongly question the need for this level of growth and object to it.
Broad Location of Growth and Transport
I object to the urban fringe development of fields to the West of Europa Way. As no doubt you are aware Warwick has geographical limitations because of the river and the historical centre. Traffic from the Myton Road area is funnelled onto the Banbury Road Bridge and through the constricted town centre. The Revised Local Plan would necessitate that perhaps an extra thousand cars per day would need to cross Warwick in order to reach the A46. As someone who lives and works in Warwick and takes the children to school in Warwick, I foresee massive irresolvable problems with traffic by increasing the number of cars on roads which cannot be improved or widened.
I object to the proposed development of this area with relation to traffic on Myton Road. Myton Crescent is impassable for half an hour at the beginning and again at the end of the day due to Myton school traffic. Similarly, the Banbury Road end of Myton Road suffers in the same way when Warwick Preparatory School and Warwick Senior School begin and end.
If new employment is being created in Coventry and Gaydon, surely the sustainable planning option would be to build dwellings there? Alternatively, local villages where there are good transport links and the potential to improve road access should be developed, rather than the urban fringe development of Warwick. Hatton has a station and easy access to the A46 and Barford has immediate access to the M40 and A46.
Historic Environment and Green Infrastructure
I object specifically to developing the area west of Europa Way. It was designated an area of restraint when building work on the Technology Park took place. The notion that the Myton area will be some sort of 'garden suburb' seems to be nonsense when you look at the number of buildings proposed and the impact on the environment.
Climate Change
I try to walk my children to school when I can and I am horrified by the discovery that the entirety of Warwick town centre road network is in breach of Nitrogen Dioxide levels. This problem has been in existence long before the Preferred Options have been set out (Warwick District Air Quality Action Plan 2008), and remains in breach of these regulations today. I object to the increased public health risk which adding more cars to the centre of Warwick at peak times will certainly contribute to. Slightly outside the centre of Warwick, anyone who lives in Warwick knows how congested Myton Road is for 1.5 hours at the start of each day and again from 3.30pm until about 6pm at the end of each day. I walk past stationary vehicles and noxious fumes as I walk my children to and from school. The new Morrisons has increased congestion further. The idea of adding thousands more houses to this area and cars to this road network is desperately poor planning.
Myton Crescent floods whenever we have heavy rain, even if only for a short period of time. Houses in Myton Crescent and The Malins are at serious risk of flooding if the relief offered by the fields on the area of restraint were to be removed by building on these fields. The Revised Local Plan would seem to me to be negligent in that it is not future-proofing residents against our increasingly erratic weather patterns. I attach a photograph taken this week to stress my point.