Mod 3 - Policy DS4

The draft local plan does not meet the criteria of "Exceptional circumstances" required to develop this Green Belt land.
The argument that the only land available is in Old Milverton is incorrect. The additional housing required to assist Coventry meeting their targets should be located closer to Coventry. The distance for commuters would increase pollution.
Sufficient land is available at a reasonable rate on the environs of Coventry that can be used without affecting the Green Belt of Old Milverton.
Therefore the Exceptional Circumstances requirements have not been met. The Local Plan significantly underestimates the capacity of land adjacent to Coventry to deliver Coventry's housing needed and therefore the development in Old Milverton is not required.
In a similar case in Cheltenham and Gloucester the Planning Inspector ruled that when releasing land from the Green Belt the "Green value" of the land should be rated and the least Green rated be removed first.
WDC and Coventry City Council have assessed the sites on the edge of Coventry and agreed that they are of a lower Green Belt Value.
Therefore the lower green belt value land should be released for the Local Plan and not Old Milverton land in North Leamington.

The Green Belt has been very effective in preventing Leamington joining with Kenilworth and Warwick. It thus does the job it was designed to do and assist in preventing the area from Wolverhampton to Leamington becoming one metropolis.

The WDC has complied with the duty to work with other local councils (Coventry City). In doing so it has not reacted the information that is included in the Coventry City Local Plan. Cooperating councils should provide housing land close to Coventry. Old Milverton is not close enough to Coventry to support the additional housing needs.

The change of terminology from 'Urban' to 'Built-up' alters the intent of the comment. It now supports development outside of the urban area; This does not encourage the re-use of existing resources such as brownfield sites, but encourages the possibility of further development outside of the urban area. Such development by nature is not sustainable as it does not encourage re-use, only new-use.

Ref: Old Milverton Lane Development.
The draft local plan does not meet the criteria of "Exceptional circumstances" required to develop this Green Belt land.
The argument that the only land available is in Old Milverton is incorrect. The additional housing required to assist Coventry meeting their targets should be located closer to Coventry. The distance for commuters would increase pollution.
Sufficient land is available at a reasonable rate on the environs of Coventry that can be used without affecting the Green Belt of Old Milverton.
Therefore the Exceptional Circumstances requirements have not been met. The Local Plan significantly underestimates the capacity of land adjacent to Coventry to deliver Coventry's housing needed and therefore the development in Old Milverton is not required.
In a similar case in Cheltenham and Gloucester the Planning Inspector ruled that when releasing land from the Green Belt the "Green value" of the land should be rated and the least Green rated be removed first.
WDC and Coventry City Council have assessed the sites on the edge of Coventry and agreed that they are of a lower Green Belt Value.
Therefore the lower green belt value land should be released for the Local Plan and not Old Milverton land in North Leamington.

The Green Belt has been very effective in preventing Leamington joining with Kenilworth and Warwick. It thus does the job it was designed to do and assist in preventing the area from Wolverhampton to Leamington becoming one metropolis.

The WDC has complied with the duty to work with other local councils (Coventry City). In doing so it has not reacted the information that is included in the Coventry City Local Plan. Cooperating councils should provide housing land close to Coventry. Old Milverton is not close enough to Coventry to support the additional housing needs.

The exceptional circumstances required to remove green belt have not been demonstrated. As the proposed development is to support Coventry's housing needs, it does not make sense to build houses that will require people to commute when there is lower value green belt land available within the district but adjoining Coventry.

I feel 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.
It is to support Coventry City Council's housing need. There are sustainable sites closer to Coventry more suited. They would be more accessible to people wanting to live and work in Coventry.
We moved to North Leamington to be able to use this green belt land for the safety and well being of our family. The loss of this area would significantly affect our health and way of life.

Removal of land north of leamington from the green belt is unsound for several reasons. It is reducing the clear rural definition between leamington spa and kenilworth towns, and spoils the approach in to leamington from the north. Access in and out of leamington spa along the kenilworth road is very congested especially at peak times, and I do not feel that the infrastructure could cope with the additional traffic that such a development would generate.

There are several green belt areas closer to coventry which have been graded lower than this area of leamington spa and therefore would be more suitable for meeting the housing needs of coventry council at a more affordable level.

Leamington spa is also surrounded by land suitable for development on the southern edge which is not in the greenbelt. Development on this land would have no effect on surrounding areas as there is it would still provide a clear definition between leamington spa and more southerly towns/villages.

Stop developing highly productive farming land

destroying wildlife habitat, including the bats !

deprive local residents of walking , cycling, riding, bird watching land also used by local schools

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.
The proposed development is to support Coventry City Council's housing need. There are sustainable sites closer to Coventry that should be used in preference to the land North of Milverton to reduce unnecessary commuting, inevitable congestion and further road construction.
In practice it is unlikely that people who want to live and work in Coventry will buy houses on land North of Milverton and therefore this development proposal will not support Coventry's housing need.
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 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 with a lower Green Belt value that should be used in preference to the land north of Milverton.
The "green lung" between Leamington and Kenilworth will be reduced to less than 1 1/2 miles.
The picturesque northern gateway to the historic regency town of Royal Leamington Spa will be destroyed.
Highly productive farming land will be lost together with long established wild life habitat.
The residents of local towns 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.
The proposed park-and-ride scheme is unsustainable because:
 There will be no dedicated buses, so users will have to time visits to coincide with the bus timetable
 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.
 Much of the traffic using the A452 crosses to the south of Leamington where there are the major employers
 Shoppers are unlikely to use the park and ride when there is plenty of parking in Leamington
 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.
 There are already a lot of car parks in this area of Green Belt with impervious surfaces all of which reduce the areas ability to absorb rainfall and contribute to flooding
A railway station is unviable because the railway line is in a deep cutting in Old Milverton making construction impractical

I do not believe that the local plan is consistent with national policy as set out in the NPPF. The local plan has not demonstrated exceptional circumstances as required by the NPPF to removing this area of green belt. This will also negatively impact on the natural landscape as you come into North Leamington, and it is a much used recreational area for the local community and we will lose valuable high grade farming land. I also consider that the scheme is not sustainable as it lacks adequate infrastructure as it will have a negative impact on the surrounding roads and local communities throughout Leamington. This type of ribbon development in my experience also causes confused and unsafe traffic conditions and an ugly countryside.

The removal of the green belt should be stopped.
The area provides a highly valued walking area that is used by 1000s of people as well as schools.
If Coventry requires more housing use the lower value land that is far nearer to the city and would not cause the congestion and infrastructure changes in Old Milverton.
Warwick District Council have not demonstrated the exceptional circumstances required to make the change to the green belt.
A park & ride built near to the A45/M40 junction would be more logical. People mainly work in the south of Leamington .

The removal of the green belt should be stopped.
The area provides a highly valued walking area that is used by 1000s of people as well as schools.
If Coventry requires more housing use the lower value land that is far nearer to the city and would not cause the congestion and infrastructure changes in Old Milverton.
Warwick District Council have not demonstrated the exceptional circumstances required to make the change to the green belt.
A park & ride built near to the A45/M40 junction would be more logical. People mainly work in the south of Leamington .

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.
The proposed development is to support Coventry City Council's housing need. There are sustainable sites closer to Coventry that should be used in preference to the land North of Milverton to reduce unnecessary commuting, inevitable congestion and further road construction.
In practice it is unlikely that people who want to live and work in Coventry will buy houses on land North of Milverton and therefore this development proposal will not support Coventry's housing need.
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 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 with a lower Green Belt value that should be used in preference to the land north of Milverton.
The "green lung" between Leamington and Kenilworth will be reduced to less than 1 1/2 miles.
The picturesque northern gateway to the historic regency town of Royal Leamington Spa will be destroyed.
Highly productive farming land will be lost together with long established wild life habitat.
The residents of local towns 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.
The proposed park-and-ride scheme is unsustainable because:
 There will be no dedicated buses, so users will have to time visits to coincide with the bus timetable
 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.
 Much of the traffic using the A452 crosses to the south of Leamington where there are the major employers
 Shoppers are unlikely to use the park and ride when there is plenty of parking in Leamington
 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.
 There are already a lot of car parks in this area of Green Belt with impervious surfaces all of which reduce the areas ability to absorb rainfall and contribute to flooding
A railway station is unviable because the railway line is in a deep cutting in Old Milverton making construction impractical

This development is to support Coventry City Council's housing requirement.The question of sustainability is very evident in this poorly proposed idea.Sites closer to Coventry could be used in preference to the Land North of Milverton. These other sites would reduce unnecessary commuting and even greater congestion than already exists.
Prospective purchasers of houses built on Land North of Milverton will not be people wanting to live and work in Coventry.

The exceptional circumstances to remove Land North of Milverton from the Green Belt by Warwick District Council to provide Coventry City Council housing have not been met on sustainability grounds.
Development of the Land North of Milverton will lead to extra commuting and greater road traffic on roads already very busy. A totally unnecessary outcome.

The Plan is unsound because the development proposed is on designated Green Belt land, which can only be allocated for development under Exceptional Circumstances which have not been proven.

Highly productive farming land will be lost, with long established wild life habitats.

The Green Belt area makes a strong contribution to health and wellbeing , being available for sports and recreational pastimes.
The proposed development is intended to assist housing provision for Coventry but is not convenient for commuting to Coventry;, the commuter routes are already congested at peak times. Unnecessary commuting is environmentally damaging.

The modifications will merge properties on the Kenilworth Road, Hopton Crofts, Northumberland Ave and Old Milverton.

It will not preserve existing rights of way or an area that is used for education, and running.

Assessed need for additional housing cannot automatically constitute as an exceptional circumstance.

Lesser value GB has been identified by Coventry. This land should be allocated in preference to the GB North of Milverton.
A sound plan should minimise journey lengths.
Will People who work in Coventry purchase property in Leamington Spa
How can the development help Coventry achieve their housing target.

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.
The proposed development is to support Coventry City Council's housing need. There are sustainable sites closer to Coventry that should be used in preference to the land North of Milverton to reduce unnecessary commuting, inevitable congestion and further road construction.
In practice it is unlikely that people who want to live and work in Coventry will buy houses on land North of Milverton and therefore this development proposal will not support Coventry's housing need.
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 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 with a lower Green Belt value that should be used in preference to the land north of Milverton.
The "green lung" between Leamington and Kenilworth will be reduced to less than 1 1/2 miles.
The picturesque northern gateway to the historic regency town of Royal Leamington Spa will be destroyed.
Highly productive farming land will be lost together with long established wild life habitat.
The residents of local towns 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.
The proposed park-and-ride scheme is unsustainable because:
 There will be no dedicated buses, so users will have to time visits to coincide with the bus timetable
 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.
 Much of the traffic using the A452 crosses to the south of Leamington where there are the major employers
 Shoppers are unlikely to use the park and ride when there is plenty of parking in Leamington
 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.
 There are already a lot of car parks in this area of Green Belt with impervious surfaces all of which reduce the areas ability to absorb rainfall and contribute to flooding
A railway station is unviable because the railway line is in a deep cutting in Old Milverton making construction impractical

For clarity this objection refers to:

Modification: Removal of land north of Milverton from the green belt
Mod Number: 16
Paragraph Number: 2.81
Mod. Policies Map Number: H44

The exceptional circumstances required by the national planning framework to remove the land north of milverton from the green belt have not been demonstrated by warwick district council . In practice it is unlikely that people who want to live and work in coventry will buy houses on land north of milverton and therefore tis development proposal will not support coventry housing needs.

The proposed development is to support Coventry City Council's housing need. There are sustainable sites closer to Coventry that should be used in preference to the land North of Milverton to reduce unnecessary commuting, inevitable congestion and further road construction.
In practice it is unlikely that people who want to live and work in Coventry will buy houses on land North of Milverton and therefore this development proposal will not support Coventry's housing need.

Greenbelt land should not be used for development, there are plenty of empty properties and brown field sites in the area which should be used for development before greenbelt land is destroyed. I would recommend that all unused property and brownfield sites in the area are identified and assessed to meet the need for housing before contemplating destroying greenbelt land

This modification is helpful as it clearly prioritises land on the edge of the built up area for development where greenfield land is required for housing. As an example, it is considered that SHLAA Site C27/C28 also complies with this policy, and is broadly equal in application of sustainability criteria, to other sites which are being "allocated" by the Council. Further details are set out elsewhere and can be amplified at the Examination.

It is recognised that a Policy is required to remove land from the Green Belt.
For compliance with a proposed amendment to Modification 14, this Modification 16 should also list 'Land at Cryfield Grange / Land South of Gibbet Hill Road'.

This is Coventry's housing development, yet it is 10 miles away from Coventry City Centre
The exceptional circumstances required by the National Planning Policy Framework to remove the land north of Milverton have failed to be adequately demonstrated by Warwick District Council.

It is understood that the development is in support of Coventry City Councils housing need, yet there are suatainable sites closer to the City, than Leamington at nearly 10 miles away. Use of sites closer to the City will reduce the carbon emissions, congestion and infrastructure overload that will inevitably come with the north Leamington site.

Furthermore, people who want to live and work in Coventry are unlikely to be looking at purchasing houses in Leamington/North Milverton so this will not solve Coventry's deficit problem.

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 co operation with CCC, has 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 with a lower Green belt value that should be used in preference to the land north of Milverton.

The 'Green Lung' between leamington and Kenilworth will be little more than a mile.

Highly productive farmland will be lost forever along with long established wildlife habitats.

The local residents will be deprived of an area which is highly valued and sustainable for walking, running , cycling, bird watching and is used by the local schools for educational walks.

The proposed park and ride scheme is unsustainable because

In the absence of dedicated buses, users will have to time their journeys to co-inside with the bus timetable.

The site is too close to Leamington. If it was focused on the A46 roundabout with the A452 Kenilworth/Coventry/ Warwick and Warwick University people might use it.It is clearly a thinly disguised effort to get around the sustainability question surrounding the site.

Shoppers are unlikely to use the park and ride when there is plenty of parking already in Leamington.

It does not appear that exceptional circumstances required to remove land from the Green Belt have been demonstrated. It is illogical to build houses for housing demand in Coventry in a different location. Furthermore, it will increase pressure on infrastructure.

EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES required by the National Planning Policy Framework to remove land from the Green Belt have not been demonstrated.
The development is to support Coventry's housing needs. There are sustainable sites closer to Coventry.
Development will not support Coventry's housing need.
Sites on the edge of Coventry are of lower Green Belt value. The'green lung'; between Leamington and Kenilworth will be reduced unacceptably.
Highly productive farming land will be lost together with long established wild life habitat.
The area is highly valued by the community and sustainable for multiple activities, including being used by local schools for educational purposes.

EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES required by the National Planning Policy Framework to remove land from the Green Belt have not been demonstrated.

The development is to support Coventry's housing needs. There are sustainable sites in Coventry.

Sites on the edge of Coventry are of lower Green Belt value.

Development will not support Coventry's housing need.

The ''green lung'' between Leamington and Kenilworth will be reduced irrevocably.

Highly productive farming land will be lost forever .

The area is anestablished wildlife habitat. I have observed fieldmice, voles, toads, herons, woodpeckers, fieldfares, sparrowhawks, buzzards and migrating birds

The area is valuable and sustainable for multiple activities

The proposals are to build in Green belt land. This land is Green belt as it is of huge local importance. It is used to grow crops, it is of massive recreational importance and it supports wildlife that would be marginalised without this green space.
There is no where else left that offers what this green belt lands provides to people and animals.

I feel the plan is unsound. Firstly, the housing allocation is for Coventry and there have been sites identified by Warwick District Council and Coventry City Council nearer to the City. This site demonstrates poor sustainability for Coventry workers and the idea of a park and ride is unnecessary as there is adequate parking in Leamington already.It has been demonstrated that park and ride systems are poorly used except in areas like Oxford where the parking availability is low. Furthermore, the local infrastructure, i.e. the already congested A452, will not support the added traffic.

Coventry houses for Coventry people.
So why build them on Land North of Milverton adjoining Leamington Spa?
A ridiculous idea from a sustainability view point, specially when other Green Belt Land of lower value nearer Coventry has been assessed jointly by Warwick District Council and Coventry City Council as been suitable for development.