Mod 14 - Policy DS15

Development of green belt site at milverton is a poor choice. Poor infrastructure, already very busy road. Park and ride not financially viable

The proposed development on land adjacent to the Kenilworth Road is to support Coventry City Council's housing need. In practice it is unlikely that people who want to live and work in Coventry will buy houses here and therefore this development proposal will not support Coventry's housing need. Further, the addition of 250 homes will add considerably to the already heavily congested route between Leamington and the A46. While I don't object to a park & ride scheme in principle this has no relevance to Coventry's housing needs. Locating it at Blackdown is a poor decision as it is too close to the centre of Leamington and will do nothing to ease the traffic congestion along the A452.

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

Exceptional circumstances to remove the land north of Milverton from the green belt have not been demonstrated.
There are many other sites nearer to Coventry which could be used for Coventry's housing need. People who live and work in Coventry will not want to buy new expensive houses in Leamington.
The area of green belt in question has a high 'green belt value'. It's loss would have a detrimental effect on local residents.
Farm land & wildlife habitat would be lost.
For many reasons, the park & ride scheme will not work.

Exceptional circumstances to remove the land north of Milverton from the green belt have not been demonstrated.
There are many other sites nearer to Coventry which could be used for Coventry's housing need. People who live and work in Coventry will not want to buy new expensive houses in Leamington.
The area of green belt in question has a high 'green belt value'. It's loss would have a detrimental effect on local residents.
Farm land & wildlife habitat would be lost.
For many reasons, the park & ride scheme will not work.

Park and Ride North of Leamington.
People won't see it as a proper park and ride. Just buses calling and they take pot luck to get a seat after waiting huddles in a shelter
It need to be by the A 46 roundabout for easy access and to serve Warwick and Kenilworth if the need arose.
Much a452 traffic for South Leamington industry not for the centre.
Car parking in Central Leamington adequate at present. Future needs can be addressed on the future.
More tarmac means rainwater does not run off easily and this contibrutes to flood risks

This land is a much-used green space which improves the quality of life of walkers, cyclists and runners from all around the town.

The land designated to be removed from the green belt would be of no effective use to meet the stated housing needs of Coventry. It is not on an adequate access route. It is also too far away from Coventry to be appealing to people working there. And it would substantially increase road traffic.

There are green belt sites already designated of lower value than this area, which could be developed instead.

I believe that the plan is unsound because Warwick District Council has not demonstated that there are EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES to justify taking the land North of Milverton out of the Green Belt.

The New Local Plan states that Coventry City Council is "unable to meet its housing need." And therefore suggests removing land North of Milverton from the Green Belt to support Coventry's need. Yet WDC in consultation with Coventry City Council has already identitfied land of lower Green Belt value on the edge of Coventry. Precedence for releasing land from the Green Belt requires the value of potential sites to be taken into account with land of lower value being first. This plan ignores that precedent.

In addition to this an important planning consideration is to build new housing "close to areas of employment." Building houses for Coventry based workers in Leamington is not sustainabale, it is simply too far away and will increase commuting and congestion on already congested roads.

If the land North of Milverton is taken out of the Green Belt, the valuable "green lung" between Leamingon and Kenilworth will be reduced to less than 1.5 miles. The land North of Milverton is a rural amenity used by countless residents of the town for jogging, walking, cycling and birdwatching. It is also used by local schools. As it is so close to the centre of Leamington it can be accessed on foot without the need to get into a car to go for a walk.

If the land on the approach road to Leamington is developed the picturesque northern gateway to the historic Regency town of Royal Leamington Spa will be destroyed.

The proposed park and ride scheme North of Milverton is unsustainable because there will be no dedicated buses, so users will have to time visits to coincide with the bus timetable.

Much of the traffic using the A452 crosses to the south of Leamington where the major employers are situated.

The site is too far from Kenilworth and would be better focussed on the A46 roundabout where Kenilworth could also benefit but also potentially Warwick, Warwick University and Coventry if it were properly thought through and developed into a truly useful hub.

The Plan is unsound because the development proposal 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 makes a strong contribution to health and wellbeing, being available for sport 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 damages the environment.

This scheme is part of the 6,000 houses needed to meet Coventry City Council's housing needs. Surely it does not make sense to identify an area which is nearly 10 miles from Coventry when there are other sites which are much closer to Coventry and more suitable for this city's requirements? Otherwise, you are encouraging more people to commute between Leamington and Coventry;
* The proposed location is on Green Belt land immediately adjacent to the main road that links Leamington to Kenilworth and the busy A46 by-pass. Why build on land that provides a natural barrier between Leamington and Kenilworth when alternatives are available that would not do this?
* The land in question is currently used for productive farming. Why lose a productive farming area when there is less productive land available closer to Coventry?
* For many decades, residents in North-West Leamington have been able to walk to the bottom of Guy's Cliffe Avenue and out on to the fields where they can turn left to Old Milverton or right to Northumberland Road. These public footpaths are not ones that are used occasionally by weekend ramblers. They are used daily by dog walkers, runners, ordinary walkers and others. Why choose a location which has busy footpaths when there are alternative locations which have no public footpaths or footpaths which are only used occasionally?
* There will need to be access to this plot of land. It is difficult to see how there is enough space to create an entrance on to Northumberland Road which is already congested. The Kenilworth Road is the main road between Leamington and Kenilworth and it is illogical to create a new entrance on such a busy main road. Therefore, access would need to be via Old Milverton Lane. Whilst the roundabout on the Kenilworth Road could probably handle the additional traffic, many people who want to travel in the direction of Warwick will be tempted to turn left through Old Milverton. The only exit point is at the junction of Old Milverton Road and Rugby Road. That is already a busy junction. Realistically, how could it cope with all the additional traffic?
* The proposed park and ride scheme makes little sense. It is too close to Leamington and, assuming it is needed in the first place, it should be located closer to Kenilworth and the busy A46. However, why is it needed in this location in the first place? There is plenty of parking in Leamington itself. In addition, potential users will have no dedicated buses which means they will have to time their visits with whatever the bus timetable is;
* A new railway station at Old Milverton is included within this proposal. Has anyone actually visited the area in question? There is a very deep cutting in Old Milverton which surely means that the construction of such a railway station is simply not feasible?

Great Britain is a country which already needs to import a large amount of food to provide for the population and the destruction of ANY productive agricultural land at this time seems to be totally irresponsible. This is especially so, since I believe that areas of brownfield land within and close to Coventry have not been sufficiently considered with regard to housing the population of the city.
I am very unclear as to the desire of Coventry City dwellers wishing to live in an area remote from the city. A move to Leamington will involve additional commuting time and distance on roads which are already subject to traffic congestion at peak times.
Any housing plan involving the construction of dwellings to the north of Milverton will, almost certainly, encourage further developments which could, ultimately, result in the absorbing of Leek Wooton and Hill Wooton into the Leamington boundary.
The proposal for a 'Park & Ride' area to be sited to the north of Leamington is not sensible for the reasons stated in the 'changes' section below.
I live in a property which occupies a site at the lowest point of Windermere Drive. I have a personal concern that, should the proposed developments be permitted, there is a real risk of flooding around my home. At times of heavy rainfall, the roadway of Windermere Drive almost becomes a stream of water from the Borrowdale Road end and in front of my property. Even at times of moderate rainfall, a large pool of water collects in Widermere Drive, to the rear of No.1 Mosspaul Close. My concern is that, if the development goes ahead, it will remove the important 'soak away' element of the land involved and lead to a much heavier flow of water to the low point of Windermere Drive, resulting in a flood risk.

The development plans for houses on green belt land do not meet the exceptional circumstances test required by the National Planning Framework. The fundamental character and amenity of the three historic towns, Leamington Spa, Warwick and Kenilworth is to be destroyed because of a need to meet an unproven overspill need from Coventry.
There are many brown and green field sites in and around Coventry that would be better suited to meeting Coventry's housing needs without releasing local green belt and adding to traffic congestion. Such development would improve the prospects for Coventry's retail businesses, improve the current poor housing stock in Coventry and reduce the need for commuting on the already congested local road network.
The proposal to develop a park and ride facility North of Milverton seems perverse. Such schemes have a poor record nationally and usually only get used if parking in the Town/City served is either limited or highly priced. The alternative sites under consideration include much needed farmland, sloping ground and areas that play an important part in the flood management of the River Avon. The lack of a dedicated bus service will be a further limitation on the success of the P&R scheme.

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 WDC.
The proposed development is to support Coventry City Council's housing need. There are sustainable sites closer to Coventry that should be use in preference to the land north of Milverton to reduce unnecessary commuting, inevitable congestion and further road construction.
In practise it is likely that people who want to live and work in Coventry will not want to buy houses in Leamington and therefore this proposal will not support Coventry's housing need.
Precedence for releasing land from the Green Belt requires the value of potential sites 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. 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 1.5 miles.
The picturesque northern gateway to the historic regency town of Leamington Spa will be destroyed.
Highly productive farming land will be lost, together with long-established wildlife habitat.
Leamington and other local residents will be deprived of an area which is highly valued and sustainable for walking, running, bird-watching and also used by local schools for educational walks.
The proposed park and ride scheme is unsustainable because:
* There will be no dedicated buses
* The site is too close to Leamington to encourage people to use it
* There is already plenty of parking in Leamington for shoppers and therefore they are unlikely to use it. As a past resident of Oxford, this is the only scheme I am aware of that works, because there is very limited parking in Oxford and what parking exists is very expensive. In addition, dedicated buses run every few minutes.
* There are already a lot of car parks in this area of the green belt with impervious surfaces, which reduce the ability to absorb rainfall and therefore contribute to flooding.
A railway station is unviable because the railway line is a deep cutting in Old Milverton making construction impractical

I believe that the proposed modifications are unsound because it is unjustified, ineffective and is not consistent with national policy.

The exceptional circumstances required by the national planning policy framework to remove the land North of Milverton from the greenbelt have not been demonstrated by Warwick District Council.

The proposed development is to support Coventry City Council's housing needs. There are sustainable sites closer to Coventry that should be used in preference to the land North of Milverton to reduce un-necessary commuting, congestion, and further road construction.

In practice it is unlikely that people who want to live and work in Coventry will want to buy houses on the land North of Milverton and therefore this development proposal will not support Coventry's housing need.

Precedence for releasing land from the green belt required the "value" of potential sites to the green belt to be taken into account and those with the least value to be removed 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 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 1.5 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 wildlife 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 secondary schools for educational walks.

The proposed park and ride scheme is unsustainable because:
- there will be no dedicated buses, so users will have to coincide visits 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 major employers.
- Shoppers are unlikely to use the park and ride where 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 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 on Old Milverton making construction impractical.

The Council needs to recognise that their are NO actual Exceptional Circumstances to develop the Green Belt to the North of Leamington and that as a consequence the proposal to develop in Old Milverton should be thrown out. Recognition that the greenbelt is there to prevent urban sprawl is vital to preserve the limited green space between Leamington and Kenilworth, otherwise there is a real risk that Leamington and Warwick will merge with the West Midlands conurbation. Green belt should not re allocated for any reason, that is what it is there for after all.

Also in the Prime Minister speech on xxx in March 2015 he stated & I quote "The line remains scored in the sand - that land is precious. I am a country man. I love our countryside.

"For years Labour's failed regional strategies cast a shadow over our fields and forests threatening to carve them up and cover them in ugliness.

We've taken a totally different approach and protecting the Green Belt is paramount....

Put simply: the Green Belt is protected with us. And it is not just green belt that concerns people but green fields."

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

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 and sustainable for multiple activities, including being used by local schools for educational purposes.

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 is a vital area of 'real' countryside with a public footpath well used by members of the public for many healthy pursuits such as jogging and dog walking. Established wildlife habitats are being increasingly encroached upon and must be protected for future generations. There is already traffic congestion to Kenilworth in the rush hour. Frequent temporary traffic lights make the journey impossible. Increased traffic in the North Leam area is insupportable. Park and ride schemes do not work, they are a blot on the landscape and it is unclear who exactly would use it as there is plenty of parking in Leamington and there is no dedicated bus provision anyway. People might just as well get the bus at the outset. This development will not appeal to people who work in Coventry; they want to live in Coventry! There are alternative sites closer to Coventry.

Allocation of Land North of Milverton for Development

The main aim seems to be to meet Coventry's housing needs.
Coventry CC and Warwick DC have identified sites with lower Green Belt value which are nearer to Coventry. These should be used first.

The proposal would increase commuting if indeed Coventry people chose to live that far from Coventry. More roads would be required to handle this commute.
The suggestion of a railway station does seem to be an easy bit of planning 'if viable'. I think the railway is single track and runs in a fairly deep cutting which might make the development of a station very expensive.

Most of Leamington's employment lies to the south of the town, so if Leamington people lived in the proposed area they would probably have to commute across Leamington. The A452 can be widened along some of its length but will eventually come to the bottleneck in Leamington. This is already overloaded at commuter times.
The Park and Ride scheme is unlikely to work as I believe it has failed in most places, other than Oxford. Shoppers have good parking facilities in Leamington.
Housing development for Leamington would be better placed to the south of Leamington to reduce commuting and congestion

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

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 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 inland north of Milverton and therefore this development proposal will not support Coventry's housing need.
Precedents for releasing land from the Green Bellt 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.
The 'green lung' between Leamington and Kenilworth will be reduced to less than one and a half 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 wildlife 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 will be better if the site was focussed on the A46 roundabout with the A452 which could form part of the Thickthorn development and provide for Leamington, Warwick, Kenilworth, Warwick Uni and potentially Coventry
Much of the traffic using the A452 crosses to the South of Leamington where there are 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 area's 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

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 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 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 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 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 and sustainable for multiple activities, including being used by local schools for educational purposes.

Please see attached letter of objection

Please see attached letter of objection

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.

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.

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

Development in the green belt to the north of Leamington does not comply with the National Planning Policy Framework, is not sustainable, is not close to employment opportunities, and is, therefore, inappropriate. The notion of spreading development across the District is ill conceived since development should be sustainable and close to employment. Warwick District Council has consistently failed to demonstrate the Exceptional Circumstances required by the National Planning Policy Framework to allow substantial development in the Green Belt to the north of Leamington.
In the most recent draft of the Local Plan it is proposed to build 250 houses and park-and-ride scheme on the Green Belt in Old Milverton. In addition land for a further 1100 houses, employment opportunities and a railway station is to be removed from the Green Belt and safeguarded for use in the future. Warwick District Council has stated that it wants to remove this land from the Green Belt to support Coventry City Council's housing need; although it also states that the safeguarded land could be used in the future to support Leamington's housing need. If this land is to be used to support Leamington's housing need, as has been previously demonstrated there are no exceptional circumstances to remove it from the green belt. There are other more appropriate and sustainable sites outside the green belt. Similarly, exceptional circumstances do not exist to remove this land from the green belt to support Coventry's housing need. There are lower value green belt sites closer to Coventry which on the basis of planning precedent should be used in preference to the land in Old Milverton. The idea that Warwick District Council should promote commuting from Old Milverton to Coventry is ill conceived and bad planning. In practice people who want to live and work in Leamington will not buy houses in Old Milverton.
In general park and ride schemes don't work unless there is insufficient parking available in the town. There is plenty of parking available in Leamington. The scheme is predicated on a significant rise in parking charges to try and change behavior. The proposed park and ride scheme on the land north of Milverton is too close to Leamington town centre to reduce traffic flows on the A452 and too close to Leamington to make it attractive to users.
The idea that a railways station could be built in Old Milverton is impractical. The railway is in a deep cutting