DS19

Object

Representation ID: 67488

Received: 12/12/2014

Respondent: Jaguar Land Rover

Agent: Gerald Eve LLP

Legally compliant? No

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? No

The Strategic Employment Land Study identifies Fen End as a key Strategic Employment Allocation providing 10ha of existing employment land within the District. The SELS Update provides numerous references to the automotive industry being seen as a key growth sector that will drive the demand for strategic employment sites in the short, medium and longer term. Fen End is now
owned and operated by Jaguar Land Rover and has significant potential to provide further advanced facilities to further strengthen the District's role in the automotive sector. The Council has revised the Green Belt boundary as part of the emerging Local Plan. The policy sets out 13 sites which are to be removed from the Green Belt which includes land in the vicinity of Coventry Airport (sub regional employment site) and the University of Warwick. We object to the draft policy on the basis that the Fen End site, which has been identified as an important investment site in the Updated SELS is not included as a site to be removed from the Green Belt. It is considered that the Fen End site as a whole together with the extant planning permission does not make a significant positive contribution to the Green belt as set out in para 80 of the NPPF. It is considered that this site does not perform any of the functions of including land within the Green Belt for the following reasons;
* The site is contained by strong defensible boundaries. There is no potential for urban
sprawl;
* The allocation of the site would not cause the merging of neighbouring towns;
* There would be no future encroachment into the existing countryside as the site is
contained by the test track, part of which which runs along the south east boundary of
the site;
* The allocation of the site for employment uses associated with Jaguar Land Rover would
not impact on the character of historic towns; and
* The allocation of the site for employment would not have a detrimental impact on urban
regeneration as the Council has already clearly identified the site as an important
Strategic Employment Site and the need to release suitable sites from the Green Belt. In order to ensure that draft Policy DS19 is 'sound' the entire Fen End site should
be removed from the Green Belt to ensure that the site's future use is secured and that future development of employment generating uses are not restricted.