I have lived in Leamington Spa for 22 years, all of this time within half a mile of the land north of Milverton. During this time I have become very familiar with the area, and it is clear to me that the "exceptional circumstances " required by the National Planning Policy Framework to remove the land North of Milverton from the Green Belt have not been demonstrated by Warwick District Council. There are a number of issues and faults with this proposal as follows:
1. The proposed development is to support Coventry City Council's housing need, but there are sustainable sites closer to Coventry that should be used in preference to the land north of Milverton. I cycle past these sites every week day on the way to Coventry station, using them would reduce unnecessary commuting and prevent even further congestion than already experienced on the Kenilworth road - at peak times a journey that should take ten minutes from Milverton to Coventry already takes half an hour in a car. Further expensive and disruptive road building would be needed, making the plan unworkable.
2. Given house prices in Leamington compared to Coventry, in practice it is unlikely that the majority people who want to work in Coventry will be able to afford to buy houses on land North of Milverton and therefore this development proposal will not support Coventry's housing need.
3. Precedence for releasing land from the Green Belt requires the "value" of potential sites to the Green Belt to be taken into account and those with the least value to be removed from the Green Belt first. WDC, in cooperation with Coventry City Council, has already assessed sites on the edge of Coventry as being of lower Green Belt value. Even if development at Old Milverton was acceptable as a sustainable location for development, there are sites closer to Coventry with a lower Green Belt value that should be used in preference to the land north of Milverton.
4. Myself, my family and my friends make extensive use of the footpaths and green belt land in this area on a nearly daily basis. It is clear that a valuable local asset will be lost, and the picturesque northern approaches to Leamington will be destroyed. This will significantly impact the quality of life for residents and make Leamington a much less desirable area to live in. All residents will be deprived of an area which is highly valued and sustainable for walking, running, cycling, riding, bird watching and is also used by local schools for educational walks. Effectively the "green lung" between Leamington and Kenilworth will be reduced to less than 1 1/2 miles, further devaluing the character of the area and merging the two towns.
In addition, the proposed park-and-ride scheme is unsustainable. This is because:
* There will be no dedicated buses, so users will have to time visits to coincide with the existing bus route timetable. As the new residents will not want to use the park and ride, congestion along the Kenilworth road at weekends will reach the point that people will be discouraged from shopping in Leamington.
* Shoppers are therefore unlikely to use the park and ride when there is plenty of parking in Leamington. I never fail to get a parking space in Leamington, even at busy times.
* The site is too close to Leamington. It would be better if the site was focused on the A46 roundabout with the A452, which could form part of the Thickthorn development, and provide for Leamington, Warwick, Kenilworth, Warwick University and potentially Coventry. Oxford appears to have the only park and ride scheme in the country which really works and this is because there is such limited parking in Oxford city centre.
On this basis I believe that the land north of Milverton should remain in the Green Belt. The development proposed should be reallocated to alternative sites closer to Coventry which have a lower "Green Belt" value and are capable of delivering the required housing in a location more convenient to the intended residents. This approach would have the benefit of significantly reducing both costs and disruption for existing residents.