Mod 16 - para 2.81

This plan is unsound, and inconsistent with the very nature of Green Belt land. I believe it lacks the exceptional circumstances required to be demonstrated by WDC, to justify it, whilst simultaneously being outweighed by it's negative impact on the environment, agriculture and natural wildlife habitat.
The area north of Milverton is widely used by local residents of all ages, for exercise, relaxation and educational expeditions, and would be of great loss to the community.

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 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 National Planning Policy Framework requires there to be exceptional circumstances to remove the land North of Milverton from the Green belt, I do not believe that these have been demonstrated by Warwick District Council.
The proposed development is to support Coventry City Council's housing need. If it is true that the value of potential sites to the Green Belt is taken into account before releasing it from the Green Belt, with land with the least value being removed first, then I believe that Coventry has sites more suited for development than the land North of Milverton.
The land North of Milverton is prime farming land - which should be used to support the needs of not just Leamington and the surrounding areas but the country, Once built on this land will never be returned to it's current use. Where will we grow crops and raise stock if we leave the EU - this is valuable agricultural land which should remain as such.

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 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 National Planning Policy Framework demands that exceptional circumstances must be demonstrated in order for land to be removed from the Green Belt. What are the exceptional circumstances for the removal of the land North of Milverton? None have been demonstrated.
It is also necessary that sites of lower Green Belt value be removed from the green belt first. This land is prime Green Belt: productive high value farm land, and highly important areas of wildlife habitat. WDC is unlawfully exceeding its authority by fulfilling another area's housing needs instead of representing the interests of those who live in the area.

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.

We are extremely concerned at the proposals and disagree wholeheartedly with your findings for The EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES required by the National Planning Policy Framework to remove the land North of Milverton from the Green Belt. Having looked into this matter in detail, we have concluded that these "exceptional circumstances" have not been demonstrated by Warwick District Council simply because they do NOT exist.

Firstly, we understand that you have said that the proposed development is to support Coventry City Council's ("CCC") housing need. We do not agree that CCC's housing needs should be satisfied using land as far away from Coventry as Leamington Spa. Leamington Spa is NOT a suburb of Coventry and should not become one. It is a fact that 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 in Coventry will buy houses on land north of Milverton and therefore we fail to see how this development proposal will support Coventry's housing need.

Secondly, the release of 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 than the land north of Milverton but this has been overlooked.

Even if development at Milverton were acceptable as a sustainable location for development, there are other sites with a lower Green Belt value that should be used in preference to the land north of Milverton.

Finally, the beautiful "green lung" between Leamington and Kenilworth will be reduced to less than 1 mile and the picturesque northern gateway to the historic regency town of Royal Leamington Spa will be destroyed forever. By doing so, planners would be allowing Coventry to become a sprawling mass invading the Warwickshire countryside.

Furthermore, highly productive farming land will be lost together with long established wild life habitat.

If this land north of Milverton is released from the Green Belt, the residents of several 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 Public Footpaths across this Green Belt land are used all day, every day and provide a valuable, tranquil area in which to exercise, relax and observe a rich and varied collection of wild animals and birdlife.

Additionally, in our view, the proposed park-and-ride scheme is unsustainable because:
1. The proposed 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 and Warwick University.
2. Much of the traffic using the A452 crosses to the south of Leamington where there are the major employers
3. Shoppers are unlikely to use the park and ride when there is plenty of parking in Leamington

A railway station is not viable because the railway line is in a deep cutting in Old Milverton making construction impractical.

The "Exceptional Circumstances" needed to remove this land from the green belt do not exist. 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.

It does not appear that exceptional circumstances have been demonstrated.

Land with lower green belt value has been identified, therefore this should be removed from the green belt first.

It seems illogical to use land not in/near Coventry to satisfy a housing need in Coventry. It will only increase the already strained infrastructure connecting Leamington and Coventry.

This plan is madness. Coventry is miles away. Coventry has fields around it, brown as well as green, that can be used to support Coventry City Council's housing need.
The plan is ill conceived, irresponsible and bad planning.
In practice people who want to live and work in Coventry will not buy houses in Old Milverton. Please don't destroy more countryside which is rapidly becoming a luxury and not a necessity. For future generations, please.

I consider that Modification 16 is unsound because:
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

RE: Land North of Milverton
I do not believe there are exceptional circumstances as required by the National Planning Framework. There are other green fields sites available as previously allocated in previous plans. The extra houses are a result of the demand from Coventry, there is land available closer to Coventry that has lower green belt value. Even if it exceptional circumstances were met all other non green belt land by definition should have been developed first, this is not the case, any build on green belt should be the last development. Removing this land from the green belt would result in Old Milverton village no longer being a village.

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 PolicyFramework 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 forever.

The area is highly valued and used for multiple activities, including use by local schools for educational purposes.

Exceptional circumstances to remove land North of Milverton have not been demonstrated by WDC.
How do you guarantee only local people can purchase houses on this site? London workers are moving here.....
How can Coventry retain its 'integrity' as a city by housing its workers and residents elsewhere.
This plan will lead to a historic and recreational area and village being a thoroughfare and engulfed by high density housing unsuitable for the local housing need which is affordable homes for local people.

This area does not require new homes to be built. Areas to the south of Leamington with access to train line and motorway are more appropriate.
The roads around the site struggle to take traffic at certain times of day, this would become gridlocked with more commuters.

WDC have not demonstrated that EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES prevail. This proposed development is ONLY to support Coventry City Councils housing needs and not for the well being of Leamingtonians. There are parcels of less pristine, less environmentally valuable land nearer Coventry, which will have less impact on those living around them, and would better support Coventry City Council. At present the traffic on Kenilworth Road is horrendous, total congestion - a nightmare for home owners trying to safely enter the traffic flow. There are NO speed cameras, NO traffic calming measures. At night the road is used as a race track. The existing pavement along Kenilworth Road is only 1.5 feet wide in places, difficult even now for pedestrians/cyclists to safely pass. The beauty of the Village of Old Milverton will be forever lost.
How will children from this proposed development safely be able to walk to North Leamington School?.
The beautiful views and incredible wildlife enjoyed by so many will be forever lost.

I consider that Modification 16 is unsound for the following reasons:
1. The EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUASTANCE 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.
2. Development is to support Coventry City Council's housing need. There are sites closer to Coventry more suitable considering infrastructure and damage/reclassification of Green Belt
3. The location of the proposed site is unlikely to attract people who want to live and work in Coventry. This will effectively result in housing not supporting Coventry's housing need.
4. There are more suitable green belt sites on the edge of Coventry considering 'value' of potential sites as assessed and determined by WDC in cooperation with Coventry City Council.
5. The Green Belt in question would effectively be reduced to less than 1 1/2 miles between Leamington and Kenilworth
6. The beautiful village of Old Milverton would now be integrated into Leamington Spa should the Green Belt be removed
7. From my experience the land is successfully farmed and this would be lost
8. From experience there is an abundance of wildlife in this area of Green Belt which would be lost
9. I personally, as do many other people in the area, regularly use this area of Green Belt for walking with my family and recreational purposes and as such consider it a valuable asset to the local community which is at risk of being lost.
10. The proposed park and ride scheme is unsustainable because:
a. There will be no dedicated buses so it would have to work with the bus timetable
b. The site is too close to Leamington Spa to provide the congestion relief a park-and-ride is supposed to achieve. Located a park-and-ride within a high congestion area makes no sense at all and suggests a badly thought out strategy
c. The more suitable infrastructure and major employers are located to the south of Leamington
d. I have lived and worked in Oxford and there the park-and-ride scheme is successful because there is no alternative but to use it due to parking and vehicle restrictions within the city. This is not planned for Leamington so the logic behind the scheme would appear to be lacking
e. The very action of destroying valuable green belt to provide car parking is illogical. Isn't one of the very reasons behind a park-and-ride scheme to protect the natural amenities, i.e. Green Belt, supporting local communities?

A railway station is not viable as the existing line is in a deep cutting in Old Milverton.

The plan does not demonstrate "exceptional circumstances" to justify the building on green belt land. The plan simply uses land which landowners are willing to sell.

I am not aware the local authority has demonstrated the exceptional circumstances required in order to remove the land north of Milverton from the Green Belt.
The local authority appears to disregarded the valuing of potential sites to be released from Green Belt. Warwick District Council have identified land closer to Coventry City Council that has been assessed as having a lower green belt value.
The potential to enter into the Green Belt to the north of Milverton for housing would be detrimental to the northern gateway into Leamington Spa and permenantly damage the productive farm land, and the long established wildlife that goes hand in hand with farm land.
This green belt area is used extensively by walkers, runners, cyclists and families which will be lost, becoming part of a sprawling housing estate.
The area designated for housing in this plan cannot be realistically considered as compensation for Coventry's shortfall, as if indeed the occupants did commute to Coventry this would add further pressures on to the already at capacity toad network.
Also adding further houses to this area would dramatically impact on the vehicle traffic to local amenities, etc, and the impact on the town centre, as these residents would need to travel south to the town centre and beyond to the out of town shopping area and general location of the grocery stores. The existing roads cannot cope with this at the moment, and the increase without any potential for additional infrastructure would overload the existing roads.
Should the Local Plan be accepted in its current form, and the with the apparent lack of adhering to planning policy in assessing the value of Green Belt land there is no hope for the remainder of the Green Belt being protected and maintained to the benefit of all Leamington Spa residents.

I believe that the greenbelt around North Milverton should not be removed. Not only is this a conservation area, it is an area that is used by hundreds of local residents on a weekly basis for running, walking, cycling and other outdoor activities. The Government actively encourages people to be more active and do more exercise and they are now trying to take away an area that is available to do this for many local residents and their families, free of charge. The Greenbelt classification system was instigated for a reason - to protect our countryside.

I am commentting on these two areas of the local plan -
* H27 Hampton Magna - South of Arras Boulevard
* H51 Hampton Magna - South of Lloyd Close

I am concerned that little effort has been put into assessing the infrastructure requirements for the proposed developments, including:
* Road access and traffic problems
* Electricity supply
* Sewerage systems, including drainage
* Water supply
* Doctors surgery
All of which have had problems recently.

WDC are addressing traffic congestion at the Stanks roundabout on the A46, but this does nothing to address the bottlenecks on all of the access routes into Hampton Magna, which will be impacted by the extra traffic from the proposed developments in the village:
- via Hampton on the Hill
- the single track railway bridge at Warwick Parkway railway station
- the narrow contry lanes leading to Ugly Bridge over the canal
The latter also being impacted by the proposed development adjacent in "H28 - Hatton Park - North of Birmingham Road", as that will add to the demand on facilities in Hampton Magna.
Similarly, the continued development of Chase Meadow also adds to the traffic through Hampton on the Birmingham Road.

Access to both of the two sites go through existing estates, which were not designed for the extra traffic, and which already dangerously congested at peek times.

There is a proposal to increase the size of the school, but this lacks any plan for the extra traffic, which is already causing dangerous conditions around the limited access and limited parking available today.

A lack of an infrastructure plans means that the local plan can not be sustainable.

The land South of Lloyd Close (Site H51) this was previously ruled out in the 2014 as "Not suitable due to major impact on residential amenity". But in the 2016 report, this is now assessed as suitable based purely on a shortfall of housing elsewhere - and then adding Site H27 on top of this, still with no plan for any infrastructure to support either of these. AND then increasing the planned housing density on both sites.

The last minute increase in housing density has been explained to us as being due to Coventry not being able to fulfill their requirements, and yet Hampton Magna would not seem to be an obvious choice for this, as its connectivity to Coventry is limited to road access, and there is no direct rail or bus services to Coventry. Where as other proposed development sites closer to Coventry have been withdrawn from the plan. The proximity to Warwick Parkway railway station is more likely to be used by commuters to Birmingham and London, and do little to fulfill the local needs for housing.

The greenbelt around North Milverton is very important to the communities of the local towns. This is a conservation area which deserves to be protected as does the protection of the purpose of the Greenbelt. This area is used heavily by local communities some of which travel to this area to enjoy the greenbelt, by walking, running, cycling and exploring nature which includes visits by local schools. This is accessible by all as there is no cost to enjoy this area. This are allows for exercise which is vitally important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

To introduce housing to this area North of Milverton cannot be supported by the existing infrastructure and amenities. The exceptional circumstances required to remove land from being designated as being Green Belt have not be demonstrated and the process clearly not followed.
The housing numbers estimated to be provided in this location cannot be realistically be offered as supplementing the shortfall of Coventry's housing, bearing in mind there are other areas, of less value, that are located closer to the Coventry, which would have less impact on traffic, etc. The housing would be detrimental to the northern gateway in to Leamington.

This proposed plan to support Coventry Council's housing need is unsound as the location does little for those who want to live and work in Coventry. House Prices are typically higher in Leamington and the local area than in Coventry, transport costs will be higher for those people, congestion will increase further and the environment will be negatively affected. Other development sites closer to Coventry provide a better fit which supports the precedence for releasing lower value to the greenbelt sites first. There are several alternative lower value to the greenbelt sites closer to Coventry.

This modification is unsound because this is highly valued green belt land and you have not demonstrated the exceptional circumstances required to build on it.

The importance of the Green Belt has been emphasised by the current government: "the green belt is a legitimate constraint. It is an important part of the country's infrastructure and the Government attach the highest importance to its protection," Brandon Lewis, Hansard 15.3.16, Vol 607.

This area of land is important to our local infrastructure because:
- It is productive agricultural land, which is providing many ecological benefits. Replacing it with roads, driveways and houses is environmentally unsound, not least in relation to flood defences for the wider area.
- It provides much-loved and enjoyed recreational land for walkers, runners, cyclists, families, promoting physical health and wellbeing.
- The local road infrastructure required to accommodate these new homes would overload the narrow country lanes in the surrounding area, or require road development on a scale which would significantly alter the historic northern gateway to the town of Leamington.
- 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.

I would also like to reiterate the following objection made by Old Milverton parish council:
- The proposed development is to support Coventry City Council's housing need. There area 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.

The modification to allocate land north of Milverton for development is unsound because this is highly valued green belt land and you have not demonstrated the exceptional circumstances required to develop it.

The importance of the Green Belt has been emphasised by the current government: "the green belt is a legitimate constraint. It is an important part of the country's infrastructure and the Government attach the highest importance to its protection," Brandon Lewis, Hansard 15.3.16, Vol 607.

This area of land is important to our local infrastructure because:
- It is productive agricultural land, which is providing many ecological benefits. Replacing it with roads, driveways and houses is environmentally unsound, not least in relation to flood defences for the wider area.
- It provides much-loved and enjoyed recreational land for walkers, runners, cyclists, families, promoting physical health and wellbeing.
- The local road infrastructure required to accommodate these new homes would overload the narrow country lanes in the surrounding area, or require road development on a scale which would significantly alter the historic northern gateway to the town of Leamington.
- 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.

I would also like to reiterate the following objection made by Old Milverton parish 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.

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. 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.
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;
* 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.