To whom it may concern,

I have read the proposed new local plan and it has raised numerous concerns with me as to the detrimental effect which it will have on Warwick, as I have listed below.


Number of Homes
The sheer number of homes which the plan provides for is excessive. The claim that we need over 12000 new homes is in direct contrast with the assessments of projected local need which claim we need only around 5000 new homes to meet the local needs. The additional homes will only create an influx of people who will live in Warwick because there are homes here but then commute to Birmingham or Coventry for work, bringing Warwick itself nothing but strain on its infrastructure and increased traffic and air pollution. Further to this, the strategic housing land and availability assessment which Warwick District Council themselves compiled indicates the districts maximum capacity for expansion by 2029 is a little over 13,000 homes, meaning that the local plan would use up more than 90% of this capacity with homes which we do not need and would force any further expansion to come at the expense of the local environment to a greater extent even than the current plan does
Environmental Cost
Warwick is primarily a town of great historic and natural beauty, but the proposed plan would seriously damage the environment of the town. At the moment Warwick has only one scenic entrance to the town and the proposed development would rob Warwick of this natural beauty. While the land to the south of Warwick is not a part of the greenbelt this is no reflection on its nature as green land of equal if not greater beauty than the greenbelt land to the north of Leamington and yet Warwick District Council seems to have decided that it is expendable.
Cost to the Town
The development of a large suburban housing area will by necessity require an increase of traffic through the town. Most households today have 2 if not 3 cars and this will be especially true of a large out of town housing development. As such Warwick's already criminally poor air quality will be further reduced. Further to this, one of the most prominent features of Warwick is the river Avon and in order to get into or through Warwick anyone in the proposed new homes will have to pass over the bridge, which is already strained by the amount of traffic passing over it and any increase to this could seriously damage its structural integrity. The proposed local plan could seriously damage an important historical part of Warwick's heritage and do so in a way that places people in danger.
Strains on Infrastructure
The proposed local plan would increase the population of Warwick by nearly 20% from its current level, and doing so would place an incredible strain on Warwick's social infrastructure. The education needs of the families moving into the new homes would be too great to be met by the schools in the area, and the health needs would put a strain on local health centres and in particular on Warwick Hospital which the hospital and health centres simply do not have the capacity to handle. Additional strain on drainage and even on water needs would be great and Warwick may well be unable to cope with the increases which the local plan proposes.


I hope that you will take these concerns into account when redrafting the plan and that a new local plan which will truly benefit Warwick will soon be drawn up