Hampton Magna

RDS 5 PARA 4.4The local roads round the village already have to cope with the rat run from Henley Road to the station which was forced upon us with the WCC compulsorily purchasing the land the giving it to Chiltern, a private enterprise, then using our community tax to fight us at the enquiry . We don't deserve a further problem being forced upon the village by creating more congestion.

I object to the proposals for building 150 houses. This would increase the village by 25% and as such would have an effect on many local services.
1 drainage and sewerage which is already at capacity.
- drainage of surplus water is already an issue on old budbrooke road after heavy rain
- sewerage and drainage to the houses is inadequate at present with frequent blocked drains.
2 Busier Roads
- the traffic light system by warwick parkway has on occassions been grid locked as people use this as a 'rat run' if there are problems on the A46 and motorway.
- old Budbrooke road used regularly as a 'rat run' by daily commuters and this will increase once the houses are built with each house having at least 1 car.
3 the local school is already full.
- more children in the village would mean they would have to go to alternative schools. parents would have to then drive them instead of walking them, which is both unhealthy for the child and adding more unwanted traffic on the roads.
4 building on greenbelt
- we have already had some of our greenbelt developed on with the building of warwick parkway and carpark.

The only people who will benefit from this option are the landowners; to date their two submissions are the only ones to support the scheme, 100% of the remainder object; those who profit from this will receive none of the inconvenience they create!

The criteria the Council is using to prioritise a village for development (Settlement Hierarchy Report dated June 2013), only considers the services currently provided in that village, including:

A shop/ general store selling food and day‐to‐day household goods;
A primary / junior school;
A post office;
A community building, e.g. public house, church, social club or village hall,
An hourly daytime bus/train service to a major town.

These are all essential services, which can all be developed comparatively easily. However what it fails to consider is the given infrastructure that underpins the whole community, including the roads, the sewers and the electricity supply.
Hampton Magna was conceived in the 1960s and building continued until the 1970s, and in every respect has not changed at all. In fact it looks exactly the same as when we moved here in 1985.
Roads and traffic:
Hampton Magna is accessed by Old Budbrooke Road, a country lane that increasingly is being used as a shortcut for drivers wanting to avoid the Longbridge roundabout; this creates additional congestion at the railway bridge and at its junction with the A4177. In recent years the volume of traffic has also increased (which is the whole idea) with the development of Warwick Parkway Railway Station. They have built car parks, overflow car parks, and a multi-storey car park, and as the train service improves so the number of passengers and their cars increase. More recently cars are being parked in increasing numbers in Hampton Magna itself.
The roads within Hampton Magna are narrow estate roads, which have become increasingly congested over the years as car ownership as increased. In 1968 a single car family was the norm but in 2013 three cars in a family is commonplace.
The school is now taking pupils from the new developments in Chase Meadow and Hatton Park, and the vast majority of those children come to school by car. For an hour in the morning and the evening passing through a wide area around the school is virtually impossible as the roads become gridlocked.
Parking on pavements is now the norm, which creates hazards and dangers for parents with young children, unaccompanied children and older people alike.
An additional 150 homes in Hampton Magna could bring an additional 300 to 450 cars to the area, add to that the huge increase in delivery vans as internet shopping as exploded, the village will collapse!
Sewage system:
As we know building in Hampton Magna was completed in the 1970s. At that time Severn Trent were asked to adopt the Sewer system, and they said, "no thank you", because the system did not comply with the national standards. Today the situation is the same. I clearly remember about 10 years ago paying out £750 towards the cost of a repair, 200 yards from my house
Connecting an additional 150 homes will overwhelm the substandard sewage system creating all sorts of problems and additional expense for the residents of Hampton Magna.
Electricity:
Again our supply has remained the same since it was installed 40/50 years ago and disruption to the supply is not uncommon, again the demands placed on the system by an additional 150 homes will create an increase in disruptions and failures.

Hampton Magna is fortunate that it has a good standard of service provision; school, GP, bus service and post office. Which appears to be the basis for Hampton Magna being a Primary Service village.
The School:
The school has not changed since my children attended it in the 1980s. We know that it is now taking pupils form further a field including the new developments at Chase meadow and Hatton Park. We know that the school has increased its standard numbers and that it is already over subscribed. Many of the families who move into the 150 proposed new homes in Hampton Magna will have young families; children who require and have aright to a good education. Today the School is full!

If rural villages are to have additional developments as described, then I believe that those developments should be made in those areas where the infrastructure can best support that development. Hampton Magna is not one of them, the roads and the sewers are as they are and cannot be changed. However there are villages that have the infrastructure capacity where additional services could be provided; this was corroborated by Mr David Barber, Development Quality Manager of Warwick District Council. Who when speaking at an open meeting at Aylesford School on Monday 15 July said that that villages would benefit from increased populations as it would bring additional services to them. After the meeting I asked Mr Barber to clarify this point, and he informed me that some of the villages being considered welcomed the development opportunity. Hampton Magna is not one of them!

The council has the flexibility to amend these proposals and I would ask that further development of Hampton Magna be withdrawn as an option.

I strongly object to the local plan implications for H Magna for the following reasons:
Green belt should only be used in exceptional circumstances
The village has already suffered erosion with Warwick Parkway, Hatton Park and Chase Meadow
The proposed 150 houses, would increase the village by 25% as there are currently 600.
Traffic congestion, sewarage issues
There are Pippistrell bats in the oak trees surrounding the site, a protected species
The GP practise is over loaded with patients
The tenant farmer will lose his field
The preferred site constantly floods
The noise from the A46 would be worse for any new build

I strongly appose the new local plan for new house building for a number of reasons.
For some reason the term greenbelt does not have any meaning with regard to the new local plan. It is completely wrong to further erode our valuable farm land and in so doing encroach on natures habitat.
My objection is regarding the additional 120 to 150 houses proposed for Hampton Magna.
The increase in traffic alone will cause great problems. We already have to form a long queue at rush hour to join the Birmingham road.
Our primary school and medical centre are already over subscribed.
In the preferred build area we have an abundance of wildlife, bats, hawks, all manner of other birds who will loose this amazing habitat.
The preferred build area suffers greatly from flooding.

The major concern relates directly to the use of current grade 1 arable land bordering Hampton Magna being turned over to building sites. There is already a shortage of food stock, both within the UK and world wide, which with continuous population increase will only become of epidemic proportions. Non consideration of this issue represents a Council policy of gross negligence. There is land available surrounding Hampton Magna which is currently used for non necessary grazing, eg alpacas, horses, empty fields, station overspill parking, which add nothing to the food chain. surely these are the areas that must be allocated for building. Brown field sites are not liked by developers due the cost of cleaning before building. Green fields are cheaper for them to develop and so they target these!
Traffic problems relating to the local school [which child intake also includes Hatton park] and excessive travel to Warwick Parkway is already at a very dangerous level in the local lanes. Any enlargement in housing can only exacerbate this problem.
As the major cost associated with Hatton Park development was the installation of an efficient sewer system similar would apply to any expansion of Hampton Magna. This must represent a critical expense which is normally under quoted in early planning stages. These costs must be realistically stated in order to compare alternative sites which already having sewerage facilities.

The scale of the proposed development is not appropriate for the village infrastructure. The road network into the village is not sufficient to cope with the proposed development - the main access is via a single file road under the railway bridge and this already struggles to cope with the traffic volumes created by the continuing popularity and expansion of the Warwick Parkway train station.

The new development would also only be accessible via two small roads leading into the proposed site and these would not be sufficient to cope with an additional 300+ vehicles each day (assuming 150 homes with each house averaging 2 vehicles).

Whilst I accept new homes need to be built somewhere, the infrastructure of the village does not lend itself to new development and therefore is unsuitable for the proposed plan.

We must stop eroding the Green Belt. Warwick Parkway station was built on Green Belt land adjacent to Hampton Magna and has been greatly expanded recently. The scale of the development is inappropriate in relation to the existing village population and infrastructure and will result in increased traffic volumes especially as the roads through and around Hampton Magna are used as a short cut at peak times now.

Hampton Magna

Further erosion of greenbelt land will be detrimental to village life.

Budbrooke Primary School is already 'overstretched' following increased intake of pupils from Hatton Park & Chase Meadow - added capacity pressures will detract from the 'family' feel of the school.

Concerns re volume of traffic/congestion.

We moved to Hampton Magna to bring our children up in a village - absolutely love it here - it will lose it's 'heart', if this plan goes ahead.

I object to the proposal to add 100-150 houses to Hampton Magna. I strongly believe there should be more focus on brown field sites and not taking the option to build a excessive proportion of the required housing on green belt land. Green belt should be a last resort and should be protected. Expanding Hampton Magna by this amount would destroy the character of the village and overstretch the already busy roads and school.

Building on Greenbelt can only be approved in 'very special circumstances' and also if other land has not been allocated. This plan falls short on both counts. One of the main purposes of Green belt is to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; Hampton Magna has played a big part of the History of Warwickshire and any extension/local development would ruin the character of the village.
My main objection would be the strain on the already saturated road infrastructure - there is no way the routes into Hampton Magna or within Hampton Magna would be able to absorb an increase in traffic.
I am unsure as to where the demand for these new houses will come from but I am sure if built it will ruin the individual character of Hampton Magna.

there is huge strength of feeling within Hampton Magna at the proposal to expand it disproportionately by redrawing the village envelop to access Green Belt land.

This and other strong valid reasons of objection are contained in the attached petition signed by 831 Hampton Magna village residents. Full details of the background and stats behind this are in the attached petition document.

The village can not support this amount of homes, school has maximum size classes and the number of children represented for 600 homes is low due to aging population. To expect the overflow to drive to schools to be built is oppose to all conserving energy plans.
2. The roads are not able to sustain the traffic as there is a single lane under RR bridge and roads are narrow and not built for that number of cars(at least 100 new cars and probaly more..
3. In the next 10 years the resales of current homes will be over 15% due to the aging population this is much more then usuaL Many of the homes here are stilled owned by the elderly who bought them in the 1960s One has just take a look at the over 60's Coffee morning.
4. If the idea is affordable housing then how will new costruction compete with resales in our village has anyone even checked to see what prices are in this village. Instead of making more affordable housing I think we will see prices here go up therefore less affordable housing
5 Exsisting wildlife will have no place to go their habitation has already been disturbed with the A46 flyover, including pheasants, hedgehogs who are just coming back to previous levels since that construction, and many birds to name just a few.
6. It has been said that there will be many who will want these new homes as comutting to London from Warwick Parkway seems to be convenient. Who among us hasn't been crushed whilst standing up all the way to London. Not being able even to get on the train they had reserved.
7.Having looked at the King Henry vll trust documents I think it is very ify if the trust can sale the land, it is to over the years earn money from the land this sale would stop that ability to help churches, schools and others who apply for help. How can that meet the intention of the trust? And for it to sell in a bad market might be a considered irrisponsible.

I object for the following reasons:

1. The number of new houses is so large that it will change the character of the village in a detrimental way.

2. The traffic generated will cause more congestion on the roads to the village, and the roads in the village which will be turned into through routes to the new houses will become more dangerous. This will affect children who walk to and from the school and the playing field, and anyone walking to the village amenities. The mixing of these local walkers with commuter traffic in and out of the village is a recipe for accidents.

3. The village infrastucture is coping sustainably with current demands so it does not need 'propping up' by extra development. On the contrary, extra development on this scale may stretch it to the detriment of current villagers.

4. The Green Belt should be protected. It is there for a reason and the plan shows no convincing reason why this part of it should be destroyed.

Erosion of green belt & disruption of views of Warwick town from affected area; the scale of development too large - currently standing at circa 600 dwellings, proposed increase of up to 25%. Too much.
Green belt has seen more than enough erosion already; most obviously in the immediate area by Warwick Parkway railway station, which has already increased car parking capacity twice. Even then, rail users are increasingly resorting to parking cars in Hampton Magna, often in dangerous positions. It is possible that it will need to increase in size and proportion again to meet demand caused by 25% growth in village.
The road infrastructure is insufficient for a substantial increase given the existing congestion which centres of the single track road beneath the railway bridge.
Land suggested for gypsy sites should be used for house building. Whilst it is acknowledged that WDC is duty bound to address the issue, it is not particularly welcome when other essential services are being reduced or abandoned altogether.
Existing services are already fully subscribed.

The green belt must not be eroded further and should be protected in line with government guidelines only use in exceptional circumstances. It would compromise the character of the village. The local facilities are already fully utilised and do not need sustaining. HM has already had the train station with parking problems and the expansion of the car park. Traffic is already a problem around the school and to get out to Birmingham Road. Budbrooke Road is also a rat run with people using to cut through to the station or M40.The drains in HM are also unable to cope.

The scale of the proposed development is out of proportion to the existing village in adding 200 + additional cars to the already busy Hampton Magna village and the access roads, which are already clogged in the morning with vehicles gaining access to the station and the to A46 / Birmingham road, and parents bring their children to the school and nursery.

The green belt needs to be protected and not eroded when then there are other suitable sites, where the increase and impact is less significant.

I enjoy walking in the fields surrounding Hampton Magna and viewing the wildlife and enjoying the green space. This is important to me, and why I chose to live in the Hampton Magna village 19 years ago. The school would needed to be expanded to cope with the increase in young families, which would involve further building on school land.

The surrounding area of Hampton Magna has seen development creep up upon it over the years with the development of the station, and the industrial estates.

The local facilities, such as the doctor can only just cope with appointments, and the extra housing will put further stress onto this service.

The increase in traffic on the estate would effect the lives of the families living here, with increase in noise and the road safety aspect impacting on the children cycling and playing in currently quiet low traffic roads.

The legacy of the land around Hampton Magna needs to be kept as it is, for future generations to enjoy and benefit from the rural environment in this ever increasing crowded land we all live in.

I ask that this development of Hampton Magna is stopped, please.

EROSION OF THE GREEN BELT SHOULD ONLY BE IN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES ACCORDING TO GOVERNMENT GUIDLINES. COMPROMISE THE CHARACTER OF THE VILLAGE. LOCAL FACILITIES ARE FULL TO CAPACITY AND DONT NEED SUSTAINING. ALREADY TAKEN TRAIN STATION WITH ALL SORTS OF PROBLEMS. TRAFFIC ON AND OFF THE BIRMINGHAM ROAD IS A PROBLEM. DRAINS IN HM CANNOT COPE ALREADY. THERE ARE LANDFILL ISSUES. THERE IS OFTEN SERIOUS FLOODING ON ACCESS TO AND FROM HM.

The existing infrastructure which the proposal is based so strongly on is already at saturation. The school has no additional capacity and with the local pub currently closed there only really remains a small local shop to cater for residents.

The fact that the proposal would require changes to the green belt land defeats the objective of having green belt land in the first place and it would be to the detriment of the village as it currently stands.

There is strong objection from the vast majority of the village residents that should be considered and the decision should be reversed.

Scale of proposed development is disproportionate to the size of the village and the infrastructure cannot support this level of development . Budbrooke school is at capacity and although being developed further, this is to support the current demand and reduce class sizes which are very large at present. The development of Hatton Park and Chase Meadow has resulted in much higher flow of traffic through the country lanes of Hampton Magna and Hampton on the Hill and any further development will only make this worse. Green belt needs protecting to preserve the villages otherwise they'll be swallowed by Warwick!

REVISED DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY - LOCAL PLAN

VILLAGE ALLOCATIONS - PRIMARY SERVICE VILLAGES

REFERENCE NO. C - HAMPTON MAGNA

Objecting strongly on the basis that the logistical side of the problems will immediately become evident together with other major problems, should a substantial development of this nature be located within the restricted confines of Hampton Magna

The Green Belt must not be eroded further and should be protected in line with central government policy to only use green belt land in "exceptional circumstances". The plan does not reflect this last resort position given the uncertainty over housing needs. The Green Belt open character of the village should not be compromised.
The scale of development is inappropriate in relation to the existing village population.
Services in the village are already fully utilised and do not need further "sustaining" through population growth.The existing infrastructure could not cope with increased levels of traffic.
Suggest remove development in Hampton Magna from plan fully.

The green belt must be protected in line with government policy. The plan does not reflect that the use of green belt is being considered due to exceptional circumstances.
The scale of the development is inappropriate in relation to the size and needs of the current village population.
Village services are fully utilized and do no need sustaining through population growth.
The existing infrastructure is over stretched and could not cope with added traffic.
The District council is completely disregarding the feedback and wishes of the community that you serve!

Revised Development Strategy - Local Plan
Village Allocations - Primary Service Villages
Reference No. C - Hampton Magna

Objecting strongly on the basis that the logistical side of the problems will become immediately evident together with other major problems, should a substantial development of this nature be located within the restricted confines of Hampton Magna. Up to 200 dwellings can be envisaged as an ultimate development within the are available. This would bring up to some additional 400 vehicles to be injected into the village traffic flow and highlights the logistical problems that would develop immediately any action commences to service the development area.

This is a lovely village and I decided to stay here because it is such a small community. We were given assurances when we moved here that the village was protected from development as it is flanked by green belt. Other villages have been excluded from the plan due to green belt arguments and Hampton Magna is no different.The village has already seen significant housing development all around it plus Warwick Parkway built on green belt land and as a result traffic congestion/danger is an ongoing problem with single track access from A429. Our Village does not need further "sustaining"

I am strongly opposed to the plan of allocating 100-150 new houses in Hampton Magna which is surrounded by green belt land. In RDS3 you state that the location for development should "protect green belt land" and "avoid coalescence". The green belt was established to prevent this scale of development and I do not believe we are in a position where "exceptional circumstances" should prevail.
Also in section 4.3.14 you refer to feedback from the parish council. Their report for local housing needs identified just 5 dwellings required.
I also do not agree with the need for a large number of houses to make the village sustainable. Which facilities do the district council think will close without expanding the village by about 20%.
Of the new houses how many will simply be brought by London or Birmingham commuters using the parkway station and so will not benefit existing local people.
On a practical point have the district council considered how a large 100-150 house development would be accessed? Lorries delivering building supplies would not be able to use Old Budbrooke road because of the low railway bridge and so would have to attempt to negotiate the traffic calming measures and parked cars in Hampton on the Hill.
If this consultation is being taken seriously then the district council should listen to the views of the parish council and the local residents, 830+ have signed a petition to object to your development strategy.

We are strongly opposed to the suggested development of up to 150 houses in the village of Hampton Magna. The village has already had its fair share of green belt destruction with the erection of Warwick Parkway station, followed by additional car parks, Hatton Park estate to the north, Chase Meadow to the south and IBM site development to the East. Government policy states that the use of green belt land should only be used in exceptional circumstances - so surely the plan is contradictory? We can not afford to loose anymore green belt land. The school is already working to its full capacity and is over subscribed. The road in and out of the village is single filed traffic light controlled and in rush hour ques can back up from the Birmingham road junction. There is also a significant increase in traffic volume at school drop off and pick up time which already poses a hazard to children which would only get worse with the addition of more houses. The village already has approx 600 homes and the addition of another 150 will push the infrastructure of the village beyond its limits.

The number of houses included for Hampton Magna far exceeds that identified in the Parish Council's Housing Needs Survey. The village appears to have been allocated a number of houses to fit in with the plan rather than because that many are required or can be sustained. Existing infrastructure would be put under further strain from such a large number of new homes. Whilst the village is relatively well served with a GP surgery and a primary school, I understand that both these are at capacity so this should not be used as a justification for building more homes.
All suggested housing sites for Hampton Magna are on Green Belt land whilst the Plan states that Green Belt should not be used for development if brown field land is available. Redefining the Green Belt boundaries in order to build is unacceptable and will affect the quality of life of many residents.
Hampton Magna residents objected strongly to the original plan and the proposals for development around the village but their concerns have been ignored and the number of houses ear-marked for the village has increased.

I do not object to new housing in this area but I do object to the use of working farm land being turned over for housing. Although told that no area for housing in Hampton Magna has yet been agreed, it is understood farm land (green belt) owned by King Henry VIII Charities, off Daly Avenue/Gould Road is the preferred site. I am very concerned that a working farm should be broken up this way. If this should happen the farmer could decide that the remaining land would no longer be viable and yet another farm would disappear. Agricultural colleges across the country are enjoying a rise in students studying for careers in agriculture but there will not be any farms available in Warwickshire for these future farmers if care is not taken now to maintain this industry. How will we feed everyone!
Has the council considered rebuilding Budbrooke village? The village was all but lost to the black death. Only the church and vicarage, 5 or 6 cottages, two working farms and one which I believe is considering diversifying (brewery), remain. Building here would link the 3 villages(Hampton Magna, Hampton on the Hill, Budbrooke). At the moment the area is shown as Budbrooke and Hampton on the Hill on most maps yet there is no Budbrooke village. Some cottage style houses of various sizes would sit well here where I would imagine it will be very difficult to build housing sympathetic to the unusual(?) design of housing in Hampton Magna. At present about half of primary age children from Hatton Park attend Budbrooke School in Hampton Magna (confusing isn't it), the other half attend Ferncumbe School in Hatton Green (another parcel of land which could be considered surrounds the school and church there). All the children from Hatton Park would probably have to attend Ferncumbe which may have to be extended again. Ferncumbe School has very few children attending from Hatton Green itself.
The local plan suggests 150 houses to be built in Hampton Magna, an approximate increase of 25%, in three phases. If building here is granted permission please consider leaving the building until stage three to see first if it will be required and also build in one stage. Villagers will be very upset to lose the green spaces around the village but to have on off building and all the disruption this will entail over 15 years will be unbearable. The village has over recent years had to live with the building of Warwick Parkway Station and continues to live with the increased traffic through the village from this.

(1) The proposed numbers of additional houses is excessive for a village of this size and will overload the local facilities, such as the school (already oversubscribed), shops, and local meeting places.
(2) It will generate additional traffic on the roads serving Hampton Magna which are already narrow and with numerous sharp bends making them unsuitable for increased traffic. The main access route to and from Hampton Magna (via Old Budbrooke Road to Warwick Parkway station and to the junction with the Birmingham Road, as well as the junction with Warwick Bypass, is already congested at busy times of the day and cannot easily be upgraded.
(3) The preferred site for proposed new housing (land between Arras Boulevard and Daly Avenue) is unsuitable for a number of reasons :-
[a] It extends the village 'envelope' into a greenfield area between Hampton Magna and Warwick, destroying valuable arable land and wildlife habitats.
[b] Access to this area (from either Arras Boulevard, or Daly Avenue) will involve considerable amounts of additional traffic passing through the existing residential areas of Hampton Magna (with increased vehicular pollution, noise nuisance and risk of accidents).
[c] The site will be close to Warwick Bypass, the Service area on Warwick Bypass, as well as the proposed Gypsy site (GT17), resulting in additional noise, pollution and other nuisance.
[d] The fields concerned are poorly drained and subject to flooding/standing water during the winter months and/or after heavy rain.
(5) An alternative proposal for housing development between Gould Road and Warwick Parkway station, would have many of the same disadvantages and would extend the village 'envelope' considerably to include the station area, etc.
(6) The proposed sites for housing use up valuable greenfield / arable land for housing, when more suitable brownfield and infill sites are available around the district.