I wish to object strongly to the proposal outlined in the current Warwick District Plan to make substantial additions to the houses in Hampton Magna.
I and my family have lived in Hampton Magna for over 45 years and am well aware that permission for building in a Green Belt area was to be strictly restricted to the area vacated by the abandonment by the military of Budbrook Barracks.
This being the case, the infrastructure, such as sewers and narrow access roads provided was only sufficient for a limited number of houses. Indeed, as far as sewers are concerned, they were not even sufficient for the houses that were built, let alone any future development of the village - a fact evidenced by the fact that our garden has been flooded with sewage several times in the last few years.
The original proposal to build 100 houses on the land now owned by the Henry 8th Trust was ill conceived due to the factors relating to the infrastructure, but to increase that number to 130, AND build 115 on the land to the south of the village is, in my opinion, indefensible.
I have been led to believe that the present housing developments such as that to the east of Stanks Roundabout on the previous site of IBM, and the huge development Chase Meadow have already been included in the total that must be bourn by Warwick District. I am told that the increase in number is due to our area being compelled to take up the overflow from Coventry. If that is indeed true, I can only assume that the housing will be for people already working in Coventry - people whose travelling to and from work will add to the ever-increasing traffic congestion on the roads.
It seems to me that the increased designated area was selected without any local consultation and, I can only surmise, without even a site visit. I believe that, as new access and a new sewage system would be required for any additional housing, it would, in the long term, be more cost effective (being closer to the Warwick sewage works) to construct an access road from the A4189 and build on the land adjacent to the A46. This would not only mitigate against an increase of traffic in the village but would also leave a area of breathing space for wildlife between the present and the planned development, away from the hazards of road traffic.
On a purely personal level, as a member of the RSPB, I am concerned for the wildlife in the farmland surrounding two sides of our property. Beside the large number of birds which frequent our garden, it is a joy to hear the song of the skylarks that nest in the adjoining field and watch the flight of the resident bats in the evening.