The Save Warwick Group sees no objection to the proposal to allocate employment land off the Stratford Road in Warwick as an exchange for the land previously allocated for employment north of Gallows Hill.

We strongly object to the proposal for a football stadium in the latter location where it would form a serious physical and visual intrusion into the historic heritage landscape consciously designed by the Earl of Warwick in the late 18th century as a formal entry into Warwick from the south. The importance of safeguarding this area from the harmful impact of new development was picked up by the inspector at the examination into the existing local plan and was repeated by English Heritage in their objection to the local plan and to the subsequent application for housing on the Strawberry Field which lies to the immediate south of Gallows Hill. The need to protect this area from distant visual intrusions was reinforced by the appeal decision into the proposal for 125 houses at Mallory Road where the appeal was rejected due to the impact of the development on the settings of listed buildings and the views into and from St Mary's. The visual intrusion from the development of a football stadium in this location with its lighting towers and grandstands would be unavoidable and far more intrusive than the appeal site especially at night when the floodlighting will be a major source of light pollution.

The potential impact of developments to the north of Gallows Hill on the open area to the south that forms the context to Warwick Castle Park was fully appreciated by Warwick District Council in the 80s when they approved the Warwick Technology Park with the condition that it should be shielded by earth embankments and heavy planting with dense established trees. With this precedent it would clearly be desirable for this landscape strip to be continued along the northern edge of Gallows Hill within the county council's site to mask the residential development from the heritage landscape area to the south. Whilst this may be too much detail it is of sufficient importance to require it to be built into either the local plan or as a condition to be imposed on the development proposed to the north of Gallows Hill.