Object

Gypsy and Traveller Site Options

Representation ID: 55546

Received: 29/07/2013

Respondent: Ms Lorraine Benton

Representation Summary:

Dangerous stretch of road with accident history; vehicles exceed 40mph speed limit; high risk to children crossing; history of planning refusal on road safety.
Close to canal; high risk to children; impact on local businesses and visitors.
Detrimental to heritage (Stairway to Heaven visitor attraction) and tourism; fear of crime; newspaper records of crime and mess.
Poor street lighting.
Eyesore approach to Warwick. Potential danger from loose dogs.
Emissions risk to residents from petrol station and road - carcinogenic. High pollution levels in area (above European Guidelines).
Weils disease risk.
Noise impact of 24hr garage.
Loss of Green Belt - inappropriate development. Danger to wildlife, arable productivity and visual amenity.
Risk of flooding. Flood Plain on road and increased risk from proposed housing. Overflowing ditches unsuitable for settlement. Mouchel Report advice re: canal flood risk and development location.
Limitations of local stores and school at capacity; surgery full; roads unable to sustain additional vehicles without investment.
Imbalance in traveller population.
Access/egress risk on busy road. Ugly Bridge requires maintenance and support.
Potential danger of railway to children.

Full text:

Details of objection:

1. ROAD SAFETY AND CONGESTION
* Dangerous stretch of highway (several fatal accidents over the last 5 years)
* 40mph speed limit not adhered to, hence creating high risk for children crossing the road to and from school etc
* Previous planning applications by the owner of Oaklands Farm have been refused because of the heightened risk to road users
2. CANAL
* High risk to children, particularly those not supervised
* Narrow boats (holidaymakers, will cease to park up close by, creating an impact on local businesses)
* Bird spotters, anglers, picnickers, walkers, runners, cyclists will avoid the area close to the gypsy site

3. HUGE IMPACT ON THE NATURAL AND HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT
* 'Stairway to Heaven', well known and popular visitor attraction and has historic canal heritage - detrimental to it's heritage!
* Gypsy site will seriously affect local tourism
* Fear of crime
* Threat to peaceful 'way of life'. It is not racist to state that gypsy camps frequently cause an increase in crime and mess. It is a statement of fact. (Mail Online, January 2009).
* Poor street lighting

4. BAD IMAGE TO VISITORS
* Eyesore on approach to Warwick, sending out bad vibes to visitors as it is in full view on the approach to the historic town of Warwick
* Loose/dangerous dogs from the travellers may wander onto the road/canal, frightening people and causing accidents

5. HEALTH RISKS
* High risk of harmful emissions to those residing in caravans with pollutants from petrol station and the road - National News - avoid developments within 100m of a petrol station/dangers of combining road pollution - fatal cancer in children and the elderly
* Potential risk of Weils disease if living conditions allow the spread of vermin, which is possible from the storage of food etc
* Noise level from 24 hour garage (lack of sleep etc)
* Warwick already suffers from pollution levels above European Guidelines on safety

6. LOSS OF GREENBELT
* Endangering wildlife, (Kingfishers, water voles, protected slow-worms and grass snakes etc) arable productivity and visual amenity
* Greenbelt cannot be replaced
* Inappropriate development
7. RISK OF FLOODING
* Flood plain on road adjacent to Oaklands Farm and with proposal of additional housing at Hatton Park this is likely to worsen
* Ditches overflow by Ugly Bridge - not suitable for a settlement
* Mouchel Report compiled for Warwick District Council April 2013 states "avoid development near canals as they can be at risk from flooding".
8. INFRASTRUCTURE
* Local stores limited in range of produce and higher in cost
* Local school is at capacity. (Also consider walking distance to local school, doctors etc)
* Doctor's surgery is currently a full patient load (Again walking distance)
* Roads not able to sustain heavy/additional vehicles without thousands of pounds being spent

9. DEMOGRAPHIC
* Strong possibility that travellers will exceed the total number of residents in the immediate vicinity of Birmingham Road and will spread rapidly, hence taking over the area
10. EGRESS
* Entry to and from site poses risks to pedestrians and motorists as not suitable due to the high volume of traffic in the area and the movement of gypsy and travellers vans, caravans etc will increase these risks
* Ugly bridge will require maintenance and support
11. RAILWAY EMBANKMENT
* Unsupervised children climbing the railway embankment and the nearby railway bridge will be an accident waiting to happen (just like the canal)
I trust that the above objections will be taken into serious consideration and I look forward to receiving updates at the earliest possible convenience. However, please also consider the cost to the general public of setting up this site, is this what we are paying our council tax for? Will the gypsy and travellers be paying council tax? and if not, why not! Regards.