Dear Sirs,

KENILWORTH TOWN DEVELOPMENT PLANS:
CASTLE FARM AND THE MERE PROJECT

1. I and my wife Catherine are at present abroad and unable to attend the various meetings at which it is understood it maybe decided to turn Castle Farm at the rear of our property into the new Kenilworth Rugby club with associated facilities including a road junction and road from Castle Road to the new development which will inevitably have the most severe impact on the existing quality of life for the residents on that side of Castle Road, quite apart from the additional risk of serious accidents on what is already a very scary road.

2. Castle Road residents benefit from the presence of the Abbey Fields on one side and an agricultural aspect and views and ready access also available to other members of the public including dog walkers especially up to the Castle. There is no doubt that all of the latter will either be significantly disrupted or disappear as soon as the bull dozers arrive on site.

3. We are also highly concerned to learn of the "Mere" project, which would appear to be a very expensive and unwanted development for which the motivation is commercial since apparently a hotel complex is going to be incorporated into that development. I have lived in Kenilworth for 57 years and one of the great sources of local pride to me and the several thousand other residents/ratepayers has been the knowledge that we the people of Kenilworth are the owners of our Castle as is evidenced by the huge amount of support which the periodic events at the Castle receive from the local population. Whilst the reasons for allowing English Heritage to take over the management of the Castle are generally understood, it does now appear that that was just the first step in a process which will further limit the access and enjoyment of the Castle and its surrounds by those who actually own it.

4. Quite apart from which there is huge concern about the drainage consequences of the construction of the mere. No one who lives in Kenilworth is unaware of the periodic floods which occur in parts of the Abbey Fields adjacent to Castle Road. What is not generally known is that properties on the opposite side of the road are also subject to a particularly high water table which has in the past resulted in the flooding of cellars and there is a real risk that the presence of the mere will raise the level of the water table further with disastrous results.

5. We therefore wish to add our objections to both of these hugely damaging development proposals in the hope that these matters are not permitted to proceed further.