Object

Representation ID: 57024

Received: 29/07/2013

Respondent: Mr Armitage, Mrs Grimes and Richborough Estates

Agent: Strutt & Parker

Flexibility:

Over the past two years (2011 to 2013) the District has delivered 447 new dwellings - see Table 2 in the RDS - leaving the District some 919 dwellings short of their target for housing delivery early in the Plan period.

It is accepted that the current economic climate and access to development and mortgage finance has been difficult, but an important contributory reason for the historic under-provision has been the lack of a supply of deliverable housing sites.

It is unrealistic to expect the entire District's housing needs to be met at the later stages of the Plan period.

A failure to allocate sufficient land for development puts the Plan at considerable risk of being found unsound. It is better in terms of soundness to address this shortfall now.

By allocating sufficient land in sustainable locations around the principal urban areas of the District, the Council will be able to maintain a rolling five-year supply (plus buffer) of deliverable housing sites.

It is acknowledged that a Green Belt Review has already been carried out, but this was carried at a strategic, sub-regional level but believe that a localised Green Belt Review should be carried out around the most sustainable boundaries to identify sites on an individual basis suitable for release from the Green Belt.

Kenilworth is one of the most sustainable and desirable locations for housing within the District and should accommodate a larger proportion of new housing, particularly given its proximity to Coventry and the role it plays in the cross boundary Housing Market Area.

The RDS allocates some 700 new dwellings to Kenilworth all of which are to be accommodated on the proposed Strategic Urban Extension at Thickthorn.

This scale of growth is equivalent to approximately 10.5% of the total housing growth proposed within the District and would increase the size of the settlement by 7%.

There is no technical evidence to suggest that Kenilworth could not accommodate an increase of say 10 or 12% growth.

To be consistent with national planning policy, which seeks to boost significantly housing land supply, it is submitted that Kenilworth is suitable for a greater scale of housing growth, depending upon environmental and technical considerations.

There are no non Green Belt options available to Kenilworth for accommodating its future growth, which is a fact acknowledged by the Council in its emerging strategy for the town.