Object

Proposed Modifications January 2016

Representation ID: 68681

Received: 21/04/2016

Respondent: Mr Ben Orme

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Representation Summary:

unaffordable and unworkable transport proposals
Adverse impact on historic environment and landscape
Demand for housing can be met elsewhere so site not needed

Full text:

As a long-standing resident of Bridge End it has been with a rising sense of despair that I have viewed the way in which the local population's legitimate concerns have been steam-rollered - putting the rubber stamp on plans which sadly will blight this historic approach to the county town of Warwick for ever more. Nevertheless, I would like the council to take into account my views even at this late stage.

1. The proposed modifications may address the shortcomings of the local plan which were identified by the Inspector in his letter dated June 2015 which followed his examination dealing primarily with the numbers of houses to be provided in the new plan. That examination did not deal with many other aspects of the plan to which objections were submitted, and the new plan does nothing to address these shortcomings which alone may be considered significant enough to make the plan unsound. Therefore, the original objections still stand and must not be omitted from any further examination of the plan.
2. The unaffordable transport proposals on which the plan was based were subject to serious objections as they were unworkable. The impact of the new development areas (including those permitted under recent planning consents) on transport plans has not been satisfactorily explained or exposed to public scrutiny and, hence, must still be regarded as unsound.
3. The inspector into the appeal against the proposed development at the Asps agreed the importance of ensuring there should be no new development adjoining the Banbury Road on the southern approach to Warwick because of its potential impact on the settings of the Grade 1 listed Warwick Castle Park, the Grade 1 listed Warwick Castle and the Warwick Conservation Area. In the event, the development was permitted by the Secretary of State who, despite accepting the Inspector's view of the importance of these factors, agreed to the development on the basis, principally, that (in the absence of an adopted local plan) satisfying the predicted demand for housing should take precedence. Now, however, the anticipated demand for housing can be met within the new plan and there is the opportunity to plan to safeguard the remaining important open areas from development. For this reason we object to the allocation for housing of the land west of Banbury Road and at the northern end of Gallows Hill, known as "The Strawberry Field." - which would be even more damaging and much of which is, in any case, liable to flooding.