MM54

I object to the development of Park and Ride at Old Milverton and Blackdown on the following basis
1/ Greenbelt - No extraordinary circumstances exist to warrant the use of this greenbelt land. Ample parking exists in the city.
2/ Policing - The location will be extremely difficult to police in and out of daylight hours and is likely to become a hotspot for crime.
3/ Need - sufficient need for a park and ride scheme has not been demonstrated
4/ Alternative transport - If the council wish to discourage the use of motor vehicle access to the town then a better alternative would be to encourage the access to the town by bicycle. This would be a much better use of funding and would find universal support from the community.
Leamington linked with Kenilworth and Warwick by dedicated cycle lanes or paths would be greatly appreciated. The impact on vehicle numbers into the town would be greater.

People like to be in control to come and go as they please which is why people will ignore the Park and Ride facilities. I personally have never chosen to use a Park and Ride at any location. For every parking space in the Town centre there will be a motor vehicle and any Park and Ride will have no impact on the number of cars in the town. Making the town more accessible to bicycles will enable the people to have the same control to come and go as they please.

The park & ride was supposed to cater for major development on green belt around Old Milverton.
It is not now needed and appears to have been included in error. WDC Officers agreed to remove it from Areas of Search at public examination.
This scheme, with no dedicated vehicles, is a car park a mile away and is most unlikely to be used by casual visitors. Why is WDC building a multi-storey car park if it wants to deter visitors?
If it was a success, major road modifications would be required on A452 which is frequently congested now!

Why is WDC obsessed by building on our Greenbelt. A park and ride facility is neither viable or desirable in North Leamington. Who is going to use this facility? The housing development, where a very limited amount of people may have found it useful is no longer in the plan and therefore surely the research gathered previously is now out of date. There is adequate parking in Leamington Spa & numerous spaces which remain vacant on a daily basis. If this is for shoppers, they don't come out in rush hour - if the plan is to reduce traffic. The traffic is bad because of school traffic and work. People travelling from Warwick and Leamington areas will not risk being late for work or school - travelling times will increase for them if they use this service. Park & ride works in Coventry because the traffic system and lack of parking. It works in Stratford because of the tourism & races. Warwick is our tourist town and the main attraction is the beautiful castle (we have more than enough parking for that). Who is this going to benefit? Warwickshire is a beautiful county. Please don't spoil it and waste money on a service which won't be used.

The proposed park and ride (P&R) facility near Old Milverton is counter to preservation of Green Belt, which the Planning Inspector made clear should not be over-ruled and was the justification for removing housing development in the area from the Local Plan.

Replacement of housing with a P&R scheme is counter to this decision.

There is no demand or requirement for P&R to the north of Leamington - sufficient parking in town exists or can be provided.

Area near Blackdown under review, too near
Leamington to be a viable Park and Ride - just
drive the last mile or two into Leamington.

A452 one of the most congested and
dangerous roads into Leamington Spa (volume and
speed of traffic). Park and Ride in the
Blackdown area a magnet
for more traffic/congestion.

The footpath on the A452 in the Blackdown -
section dangerous and unsuitable - the lorries create
a drag effect on pedestrians. Placing a Park and Ride
in the Blackdown area most likely will create
more pedestrian traffic on the footpath.

Having been at the meeting with the Inspector in October about encroachment into the Milverton Green Belt I heard the WDC member say when asked that there were no plans for a park and ride in the North Leamington and Milverton Green Belt.
It appears that the plans for MM54 have been put into the District Plan by mistake and should be removed.
If I am incorrect in this assumption I am concerned that this is a "back door" attempt by the developers to get a foothold in Milverton and, in due course, to apply for a change of use.

I oppose the District Council's proposed modification (MM54) to include a search area for a North Leamington/Milverton Park & Ride scheme in the Green Belt bteween the Blackdown roundabout and Northumberland Road for the following reasons :
1. I was present in the Town Hall in October 2016 for the two full days of the Milverton examination. In answer to a question on Park & Ride schemes the representative of the WDC clearly stated that any Park & Ride scheme in Milverton would not be part of the new local plan.
In particular the land designated as H44 for housing was subsequently removed from the local plan and it defies logic for this same area now to be considered in the search area for Park & Ride.
2. Any Park & Ride scheme in Milverton would be of little practical use to commuters or to shoppers. Leamington is not Stratford, Oxford or Bath where Park & Rides are based on the absence of convenient parking in their respective cities/towns.
Leamington already has adequate parking.

I object to the park and ride at Old Milverton or Blackdown.
This is a virtual" park and ride, there will be no dedicated buses or bus lanes. -the A452 is not scheduled to be made into a dual carriageway .
The scheme depends on WDC reducing parking and increasing charges , BUT WDC are spending £6 million on a new car park which will increase parking .
Reducing parking in Leamington and increasing its cost, is likely to drive shoppers away at a time when many retailers are under financial pressure. Presently there is sufficient parking in Leamington.

The Old Milverton site has been included in error because at the public examination session on 13th October 2016 it was understood that Warwick District Council Officers agreed to remove it from the areas of search for a park and ride facility.
The Planning Inspector's required modifications to the Draft Local Plan instructs Warwick District Council to revert to the areas of search for a park and ride scheme included in a previous version of the Local plan, known as the 'Submitted Plan', which did not include this site in Old Milverton.

A park and ride anywhere in North Leamington simply does not make any sense and will not benefit anyone.

1. The proposal seeks to build on green belt land near Old Milverton without just cause.

2. Proposal will hurt the local economy

* Warwick District Council acknowledges that to make Park and Ride work it will have to reduce available parking and increase car parking charges in Leamington BUT it is spending £6 million on a new multi storey car park which will increase available parking.

* Park and Ride will drive shoppers away and will hurt Leamington town centre.

* There is sufficient car parking available in Leamington, no one wants or will use Park and Ride.


3. It's not a proper Park and Ride scheme and the sums don't add up

* It will be a "virtual" service. No dedicated buses. A car park, where passengers leave their cars and catch existing bus services.

* It will increase commuting time and costs not reduce them

3. The roads can't cope with Park and Ride

* The Park and Ride operators (Stage Coach) say that dedicated bus lanes on the A452 would be necessary

1. It's confused thinking which will hurt the local economy

* Warwick District Council acknowledges that to make Park and Ride work it will have to reduce available parking and increase car parking charges in Leamington BUT it is spending £6 million on a new multi storey car park which will increase available parking.

* Park and Ride will drive shoppers away and will hurt Leamington town centre.

* There is sufficient car parking available in Leamington, no one wants or will use Park and Ride.



2. It's not a proper Park and Ride scheme and the sums don't add up

* It will be a "virtual" service. No dedicated buses. A car park, where passengers leave their cars and catch existing bus services.

* It will increase commuting time and costs not reduce them

* Less parking in Leamington Town centre will significantly reduce car parking revenues to both Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council.

* Commuters will probably park in the roads adjacent to Northumberland Road and Cloister Crofts



3. The roads can't cope with Park and Ride

* The Park and Ride operators (Stage Coach) say that dedicated bus lanes on the A452 are necessary.

* There is no money available to make the A452 into a dual carriage way and the proposal has been withdrawn from the Local Plan.



4. It's unlikely to happen and in the wrong place

* The scheme is very unlikely to proceed and the areas of search just blight the neighbouring properties

* If Park and Ride should ever prove necessary or viable a site north of Chesford Bridge should be used to reduce traffic congestion on the A452

I objected to the previous proposed park-and-ride scheme and can see no reason to change my stance as nothing has been done with this revision to address the concerns and issues previously raised
I beleive it is undesirable, unsustainable and has no valid buisness case because:
* There will be no dedicated buses, so users will have to time visits to coincide with the bus timetable assuming that the service is delivered to this timing which is unlikely a peak times due to congestion
* The location is plain wrong and will simply add congestion to a road that is aready a bottle neck at peak times and move parking approx 1m from the town centre - what does that acheive but deter visitors. 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 the needs of 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. This road is already a bottle neck at peak times for increasing periods of time and there is no provision in the plan to make this a dual carriage way and/or for a dedicated bus lane
* Shoppers are unlikely to use the park and ride when there is plenty of parking in Leamington all year round. Indeed since the introduction of on street parking what used to be fully used parking now lies empty for the majority of the day and it would seem that the town centre has declined in this period. Does the on street parking and enforcement actually cover its costs let alone generate an income?
* This is contrary to the councils other policy to replace the existing multi-storey car park and increase capacity

This revised plan appears to be completely lacking in an overall infrastructure review to explain how the area will remain mobile when all these proposed home have been developed - already getting anywhere at peak times take an inordinate amount of time and simply dapping developments around without considering the infrastructure requirements is irresponsible and reckless.
Leamington is separated from Warwick by a river (prone to flooding) and a railway line with only a single crossing over the river and is separated from the south of the town by no only the river and the railway line but also a canal with only 3 crossing points.
The recent changes to Princess Drive and Europa Way are a missed opportunity to start to address the blockages that Leamington suffers from but has nothing but tinker with things. Surely it would have been sensible to start to dual the roads.
There is also a need for a relief road to the East of Leamington to provide a means of linking Whitnash and Cubbington and an alternative route

I am objecting to the proposal for a park & Ride scheme, as I understood it to have been removed from the local plan at the meeting, and it remains on the plan in error.

The reasons for the park & Ride being removed include its unsuitable location in proximity to town / residential areas, and the fact that it relies solely on an existing bus service. The local road networks are reaching capacity at peak times currently, this park & ride will compound this problem. It will not be used; it is inappropriate.

I believe the proposal for Park and Ride at this location seems ill-considered.

There are multiple bus services covering the area, and links to Coventry by rail are equally efficient and regular. I believe Stagecoach have emphasised what an important bus route the A452 is at present with a variety of buses using the route every few minutes and the X18 is a fast bus that goes straight to Coventry via the A46. Clearly it is not in anyone's interest to encourage car use, but this facility might just discourage use of the train (time between Leaminton and Coventry stations is only 10 minutes) or indeed using the frequent buses between Coventry and Leamington for the whole journey.

Stagecoach in their submission state, "The attractiveness of the facility in achieving mode shift into Leamington, and just as important, towards the University of Coventry and potentially Coventry, Whitley, Stoneleigh and Westwood, depends on buses benefiting from comprehensive priority measures both north and south of the facility."

It would appear there is insufficient evidence that the County Council are intending to provide the required comprehensive priority measures both north and south of the Park and Ride facility which Stagecoach clearly believes is necessary to achieve the modal shift.

Most Park and Ride facilities require efforts to cut back on car parking provision in the town centre in order to encourage use of the Park and Ride facilities. Leamington Spa already has ample on-street and off-street car parking provision. If the County Council are at the moment trying to increase the on-street car provision in the centre of town by removing "No Waiting at any Time" parking and proposing to replace it with "Limited Waiting 2 hours no return 4 hours 8am to 8pm Except Permit holders". The latest example of this is in Chapel Street just south of the river.

Also, if the District Council intend to replace the existing Covent Garden Car Park with a new and larger 650 car park and there are no plans to close any of the District Council car parks in Leamington then it further begs the question why such a facility is available.

I believe there is no evidence of any planning to reduce the income from car parking in Leamington by either the County Council or the District Council.

The District Council have produced no documents on the likely cost of building the Northern Park and Ride, The District Council has not shown whether either Council will be subsiding this facility or if either Council expects to earn additional income from the facility. It does not appear from Stagecoach's submission that Stagecoach would intend to run the facility.

BID Leamington has for some time been campaigning for more car parking in Leamington Town Centre, it has also had concerns about overly fierce enforcement of on-street car parking in the town centre by the County Council. BID Leamington say they have not been asked for their views on Park and Ride.

I would further add that such a development is the thin end of a wedge, and appears little more than a ruse to develop green belt land, with one recent development having been successfully challenged by Old Milverton and Blackdown, this appears a sleight of hand to try to make in roads into converting the land into hard standing as a pre-cursor for further development. Traffic and parking in the centre of Leamington Spa is part of the economic life blood of the town. Any attempts to dissuade motorists from doing so would further impact on the offer in the town centre from retailers and restaurants and bars. It is already evident that the recent economic downturn has had an impact and any further rationalisation of traffic would be hugely detrimental.

It is my sincere hope common sense prevails and we preserve the integrity of Leamington Spa as a thriving local town and not turn it into some pedestrianised ghost town that people avoid. It is the very fact that one can park conveniently in Leamington that draws people here, away from shopping locations such as Coventry. Commuters have plenty of public transport options available to them and there should be more done to encourage use of those options rather than carving up green belt land under the spurious guise of providing parking which is not required.

MM54 TR5
I presume N. Leamington has been included in error ref. Public Examination 13th October
Parking is already perfectly sufficient in Leamington, no one wants or will use Park and Drive. Have you conducted a survey? If not and "It ain't broke don't try and fix it"
Shops are already closing, do not make it worse by reducing parking and making it more expensive centrally

What a complete waste of time this ill conceived policy is.

The proposal of a park an ride scheme on the green belt which the inspectorate has already agreed should not be developed, does not make sense.

With more than adequate parking in Leamington I can not see why people would use the park and ride, wait for a bus, then queue in the same traffic, then have to walk to where they would want to go, it just wouldn't happen.

Bearing in mind the main bottleneck is the bridge at Chesford Bridge and both proposed sites are south of this I do not see how it would reduce any sort of congestion at all. This further demonstrates why this should not proceed.

I drive this route every morning on the school run and the traffic isn't that bad anyway, yes sometimes you have to wait five minutes but in the scheme of things that delay compared to other towns and cities is insignificant.

I attended the Public Examination session on 13 October dealing with the proposed allocation of land in Old Milverton for residential development and Park and Ride uses. My understanding from that session was that Warwick District Council Officers agreed to remove the Old Milverton site from the areas of search for a Park and Ride facility. Therefore, the Old Milverton site seems now to have been included in error, as it was not included in the Submitted Plan. Including the Old Milverton site in the areas of search just blights neighbouring properties.

Anyway, the proposal is confused. WDC acknowledges that to make park and ride work it will have to reduce the available parking in Leamington town centre and increase parking charges there, but it is spending £6 million on a new multi-story car park, which will increase the availability of parking. There is sufficient car parking available in the town, so no one will use park and ride. The proposed park and ride is not a proper park and ride scheme as there will be no dedicated buses, just a car park where passengers leave their cars and catch existing bus services. It will increase travel times and costs. Less parking in Leamington will reduce the Councils' parking revenues.

Further, Stage Coach (the Park and Ride operators) say that dedicated bus lanes on the A452 are necessary, but there are no funds to make the A452 a dual carriage way and that proposal has been withdrawn from the local plan.

Objection to proposed Park and Ride sites:
#1, 2, and 3 are specific to the area North of Sandy Lane, Blackdown; (as a longstanding resident adjacent to this area I have a personal interest, but also an intimate knowledge of it).
#4 and 5 are general objections to Park and Ride in the areas now proposed.

1. Topology.
The area under consideration is on a relatively steep hillside.
* Retrieving their car parked up the hill would be strenuous or impossible for the elderly and the infirm.
* The steeper parts of the slope are liable to become unusable in the winter: - Sandy Lane itself (which is not salted or sanded) becomes dangerous when there is a hard frost.

2. Traffic Management
There is substantial traffic both into and out of Leamington during most of the day. Cars parked on the subject site would have to cross oncoming traffic either on the way in or on their way out of it. This would be highly dangerous and would have to be prevented.
There are numerous possible solutions (including roundabouts, traffic lights, or a one-way system). They are all expensive (initial cost, ongoing maintenance, or in extra miles travelled).

3. Rainwater Management
The site under consideration is currently farmed and rain seeps into the ground; even so, there is visible run-off at the bottom of the field when the rain is heavy. With a significant area covered with a hard surface, there would be substantial and immediate run-off towards the river Avon. It would have to be discharged under the A452; and it would add to any down-stream flooding.

4. Absence of Need
The Strategic Transport Assessment Phase 3 (May 2013) identified the potential for Park and Ride in the South of Warwick and Leamington. There is no indication that such a facility is required to the North of Leamington.

5. Driverless Cars
* Ford, Audi, Volvo and GM are amongst the traditional carmakers keen to show they are at the forefront of developing driverless car technology. Other big players investing in this technology include Google, Apple, Tesla and Uber.
* The 2016 Queen's Speech included steps to ensure that the UK will be at the forefront of driverless car technology.
* Thatcham, the motor insurers' automotive research centre, expects driverless cars to be introduced in stages. Phase 4 will allow cars to "drive themselves, not only on motorways, but from your house to the office or shops, [or] to see friends". This stage is expected to be reached in 2025. (From 'The Telegraph' website)
Development has gone on for years, but it is now coming to the fore and driverless cars must be regarded as likely. When fully developed, they will solve parking problems in general; it will resolve such parking problems as may exist in Leamington, and at no cost to the Council. A new Park and Ride facility is liable to become redundant in a few years.

See attached

I object because I believe it is very wrong to destroy the
pleasant Green Belt around Old Milverton and North Leamington if there is no over-riding reason for doing so. (I understand the Inspector shares this view). And there is no over-riding need for a Park and Ride Scheme for North Leamington.

1. it is confused thinking that will hurt the local economy. it will drive shoppers away from leamington . there is no need for it with ample parking available. no one will use park and ride
2. the roads cannot cope with more buses
3. it will blight local properties and increase density of traffic on A452 and the smaller access roads to any park and ride

Old Milverton has been included in error:

At the Public Examination session on 13 October 2016 WDC Officers agreed to remove the site from areas of search for a Park and Ride facility.

The Planning Inspector's required modifications to the Draft Local Plan instructs Warwick District Council to revert to the areas of search for a Park and Ride scheme included in a previous version of the Local Plan, known as the "Submitted Plan", which did not include this site in Old Milverton.

Also pertinent is that a park and ride anywhere in North Leamington simply does not make any sense and will not benefit anyone, except perhaps for the presence of such a development to be used in future as specious grounds to justify development in the Green Belt land in this area - a proposal which has already been made several times, and on each occasion, including that in the most recent judgement by the Planning Inspector, found to be unsound.

Furthermore, Warwick District Council has already acknowledged that to make Park and Ride work it will have to reduce available parking and increase car parking charges in Leamington BUT it is spending £6 million on a new multi storey car park which will increase available parking. In addition, I sincerely believe Park and Ride will drive shoppers away from Leamington's shopping and business centre and will hurt the established Leamington town centre. There is sufficient car parking available in Leamington, and in my opinion - supported by many local people I have spoken to - no one wants or will use Park and Ride in this area.

Other weaknesses in the proposal are:
It will be a "virtual" service. No dedicated buses are planned to serve the Park and (cannot) Ride. It will basically be a car park, where passengers leave their cars and then have to walk to the busy A452, having on at least one of their bus journeys to / from the town, to cross the busy, A452 on which high traffic volumes travel at 40 mph. It will increase commuting time and costs not reduce them. If there is less parking in Leamington Town centre, it will significantly reduce car parking revenues to both Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council. Commuters will also continue to park in the residential roads adjacent to Northumberland Road and Cloister Crofts, creating congestion and hazards for pedestrians in the North of the town, and surrounding area.

The proposed operators of the Park and Ride (Stage Coach) say that dedicated bus lanes on the A452 are necessary. There is no money available to make the A452 into a dual carriage way and the proposal has been withdrawn from the Local Plan.

Finally, the concept of the placing of the Park and Ride in either of these locations is fundamentally flawed. Should it ever prove necessary or viable to consider such a development, a site north of Chesford Bridge should be used to reduce traffic congestion on the A452 and to provide easy access from the A46.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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. Just looking at a google map of Coventry, I
estimated that probably up to 1/5th of Coventry is still undeveloped.
Surely Coventry City Council should be looking to 'infill' these areas
(which are surely of little environmental and no agricultural value)
instead of offloading its housing problems onto other local areas?
4. The "green lung" between Leamington and Kenilworth will be reduced
to less than 1 1/2 miles.
5. The picturesque northern gateway to the historic regency town of Royal
Leamington Spa will be destroyed.
6. Highly productive farming land will be lost together with long
established wild life habitat. Having known the farmer for several years
and working in the industry I definitely know this to be true. The world
has an impending food crisis. The worlds population is set to nearly double
from 6 to 11 billion by 2050. We cannot feed the current world population
now and we are not 'self sufficient' in food production in this
country. We can ill afford to turn farmland over to housing
7. 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 walked through
the proposed development area on the afternoon of the 2nd April. During our
10min walk through the area we counted 28 people using the footpath! There
must be hundreds, if not thousands of local residents who enjoy this
beautiful area of greenbelt regularly who would think the same.
8. Surely the 3000? New homes that are being built on the southern edge of
Leamington will satisfy the local housing market for the foreseeable
future. They are much closer to the towns major employers as well, keeping
traffic movements to a minimum.
9. 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.
10. 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. In my opinion this would be a waste of
time. The buses between Leamington and Kenilworth are usually 75% filled
anyway. This plan would not IMO reduce the number of people coming from
Kenilworth/Coventry by car. A much better solution would be to increase the
number of buses running between these 3 places allowing residents a better
option than driving to Leamington.
* 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. I doubt these people would be using
Public transport since most of them work for a large, local car
manufacturer and have been given company cars!
* Shoppers are unlikely to use the park and ride when there is plenty of
parking in Leamington. I have never had a problem parking in Leamington on
the numerous occasions I came to the town when I lived in Princethorpe,
even after the council decided to restrict street parking in the area to
the north of the town centre to residents only. If there really is
perceived to be a problem with parking, then maybe these restriction should
be lifted?
* 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

11. A railway station is unviable because the railway line is in a deep
cutting in Old Milverton making construction impractical



The document is unsound because it is not:
i. Positively prepared
ii. Justified
iii. Effective
iv. Consistent with national policy


* At the Public Examination session on 13 October 2016 dealing with the proposed allocation of this land for residential and Park and Ride uses, we understood that Warwick District Council Officers agreed to remove it from the areas of search for a Park and Ride facility. If you were at the Public Examination and also understood this to be the case please say so in your response.



* The Planning Inspector's required modifications to the Draft Local Plan instructs Warwick District Council to revert to the areas of search for a Park and Ride scheme included in a previous version of the Local Plan, known as the "Submitted Plan", which did not include this site in Old Milverton.



A park and ride anywhere in North Leamington simply does not make any sense and will not benefit anyone, except perhaps future development:







1. It's confused thinking which will hurt the local economy

* Warwick District Council acknowledges that to make Park and Ride work it will have to reduce available parking and increase car parking charges in Leamington BUT it is spending £6 million on a new multi storey car park which will increase available parking.

* Park and Ride will drive shoppers away and will hurt Leamington town centre.

* There is sufficient car parking available in Leamington, no one wants or will use Park and Ride.



2. It's not a proper Park and Ride scheme and the sums don't add up

* It will be a "virtual" service. No dedicated buses. A car park, where passengers leave their cars and catch existing bus services.

* It will increase commuting time and costs not reduce them

* Less parking in Leamington Town centre will significantly reduce car parking revenues to both Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council.

* Commuters will probably park in the roads adjacent to Northumberland Road and Cloister Crofts



3. The roads can't cope with Park and Ride

* The Park and Ride operators (Stage Coach) say that dedicated bus lanes on the A452 are necessary.

* There is no money available to make the A452 into a dual carriage way and the proposal has been withdrawn from the Local Plan.



4. It's unlikely to happen and in the wrong place

* The scheme is very unlikely to proceed and the areas of search just blight the neighbouring properties

* If Park and Ride should ever prove necessary or viable a site north of Chesford Bridge should be used to reduce traffic congestion on the A452

SUMMARY

1. The development of 1350 houses is completely unnecessary. We already
have 300? houses being built on the southern edge of the town which will be
much closer to the major employers.
2. Coventry Council should be sorting their own housing needs. Using land
within the city to prevent having to use Greenbelt. Keeping people who live
and work in Coventry, IN Coventry to reduce congestion on the road network.
3. It will ruin the local environment and agricultural land on the edge of
town
4. A Park and Ride is unnecessary, will be under utilised and will again
ruin the local environment.

I believe that the proposed park and ride site in Old Milverton has been included in error because:
* At the Public Examination session on 13 October 2016 dealing with the proposed allocation of this land for residential and Park and Ride uses, we understood that Warwick District Council Officers agreed to remove it from the areas of search for a Park and Ride facility.

* The Planning Inspector's required modifications to the Draft Local Plan instructs Warwick District Council to revert to the areas of search for a Park and Ride scheme included in a previous version of the Local Plan, known as the "Submitted Plan", which did not include this site in Old Milverton.

A park and ride anywhere in North Leamington simply does not make any sense, there is no need for it and it will not benefit anyone, except perhaps future developers:


1. It's confused thinking which will hurt the local economy

* Warwick District Council acknowledges that to make Park and Ride work it will have to reduce available parking and increase car parking charges in Leamington BUT it is spending £6 million on a new multi storey car park which will increase available parking.

* There is sufficient car parking available in Leamington, no one wants or will use Park and Ride.

2. It's not a proper Park and Ride scheme and the sums don't add up

* It will be a "virtual" service. No dedicated buses. A car park, where passengers leave their cars and catch existing bus services, which are very expensive.

* It will increase commuting time and costs not reduce them

* Less people parking in Leamington Town centre will significantly reduce car parking revenues to both Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council.

3. The roads can't cope with Park and Ride

* The Park and Ride operators (Stage Coach) say that dedicated bus lanes on the A452 are necessary.

* There is no money available to make the A452 into a dual carriage way and the proposal has been withdrawn from the Local Plan.

4. It's unlikely to happen and in the wrong place

* The scheme is very unlikely to proceed and the areas of search just blight the neighbouring properties and cause unnecessary worry to local people who are concerned about losing precious greenbelt land

* If Park and Ride should ever prove necessary or viable a site north of Chesford Bridge should be used to reduce traffic congestion on the A452 closer to the A46.

It will cause unnecessary additional pollution in the local area.

This plan will increase commuting time, increase cost, yet more congestion, empty Diesel buses all day long, zero requirement

Private Citizen
Local Plan Main Modifications 2017
MM54-TR5
North Leamington Park and Ride scheme - area between Northumberland Avenue, Leamington Spa, and Warwickshire Nuffield Hospital; (Berricote Lane/Road - Thickthorn side of A46.)

I have lived in Sandy Lane Blackdown since early 1995. When practicable, which is usual, I travel by public transport - bus or train. My observations about MM54-TR5 are:
* Most traffic on the A452 to Leamington Spa is from the Kenilworth direction and A46 and is from 0730h-0930h. Most of this traffic is by car with a single occupant. Traffic in the reverse direction is from 1600-1830h. Both indicate that traffic is to and from places of work
* Students travelling by bus (U1, X17 and 11) to University of Warwick do so in the morning from about 0800h, Return University source traffic is from 1600h - about 1900h
o I conclude that morning traffic on the A452 is by people coming by car to Leamington for work in Leamington or surrounding areas, with congestion confined to periods of 2 hour each in the morning and in the afternoon/evening. Car traffic is mostly single occupancy.
o Workplace locations are unlikely to be convenient to P&R bus stops; hence those travelling to work by P&R would have an additional journey to the workplace, journeys which are unlikely to be served by public or other practicable transport. Thus current car traffic would not use P&R, rather it would continue in just the same way as is current.
o Those travelling to Leamington to shop by car, mostly likely not to be in the busy traffic time, would be unwilling to carry their shopping, to a P&R bus stop especially as the bus pass time threshold suggests use by the elderly and less strong.
o For cars, with more than one occupant, visiting Leamington to go to work or to shop, the total cost of P&R fares would exceed car parking charges in Leamington - where there are abundant payment car parks, payment road side parking, and non-payment roadside parking. Thus shopping journeys would continue as they do now.

* Proposal for a Park and Ride Scheme
o On the basis of the above, P&R would be a) of little value to resolve traffic congestion and b) certainly not be cost effective either to passengers or to the bus companies.
o Unlike Coventry and Oxford which, from my observations, have a broader time spread of traffic use, Leamington traffic is mostly for work (2 busy times per day) and not for tourists or shoppers - many of whom are bus-pass elderly people with a 0900h bus pass threshold limit.
o Furthermore, my observations on traffic are that there is no justification of any sort for a dedicated bus lane; Coventry has a P&R scheme at the Memorial Park. X17 only buses,
from Coventry-Leamington and reverse direction, stop there. This is not a dedicated bus service. For the many years I have travelled by X17 Leamington to Coventry, at various times of the day, there has never been an apparent need for a dedicated bus lane. The proposal for a dedicated bus lane along the A452 is, in my opinion, without merit or logic.
o Furthermore a dedicated bus lane along the A452 would require extensive widening of the A452, at great cost and great disturbance with detriment to and with consequential blighting, to adjacent properties.
* My conclusion is: The proposal for a P&R scheme has no justification on the grounds of alleviating travel congestion, reducing environmental pollution or cost benefits.

* Siting of P&R scheme
o The area, designated MM44 was originally identified for residential development (i.e. H44). Hence the latest proposal is for a new 3rd 'search area' for P&R. At a Public Examination 13 October, I understood WDC to withdraw a P&R scheme for H44. No evidence or costings or need has been published to justify this new plan.
o Road safety: The A452 from the Thickthorn island (A46 roundabout) is dangerous. Sandy Lane was closed, about 20 years ago, to traffic from A452 because of fatal accidents at the Blackdown-Stoneleigh junction. Even now there are at least 2 serious accidents per year - I live close enough to hear the noise from the collisions - at this junction.
o The MM54-TR5 proposal for the south side of the A452, will do nothing to remedy this road safety issue and will also prove to be dangerous, with morning traffic having to cross to the site.
o Therefore, irrespective of any supposed value -cost benefit; amelioration of traffic congestion, and environmental, for a P&R scheme in North Leamington, very extensive works would be needed to render the scheme safe; and at a huge cost, the source of funds for which do not appear to have been identified.
* My conclusion about a P&R scheme for North Leamington are:
o There is no justification that such a scheme would give the benefits of reducing traffic congestion from the A46 to and into Leamington Spa, would provide ameliorate road congestion at the 2 busy times of day, nor would they alleviate the dangerous nature of the A452 and Stoneleigh Roads and their junctions. Incidentally, the proposed scheme would not reduce environmental pollution - buses run on diesel fuel, now recognised as serious sources of noxious gases including Carbon monoxide and NOX.
* I also add, that the other 2 search sites - Blackdown and Bericote - suffer the same disadvantages - lack of evidence of cost benefit, dangerous situations requiring extensive, expensive, very considerable measures to ensure safety and huge blighting of property.

Dr Andrew Entwistle MBE
Sandiacre, Sandy Lane, Blackdown, Leamington Spa, CV32 6QS

The proposed sites for park and ride at Milverton / Blackdown island is a poor use of precious green belt land.

Also both sites are too close to the town centre to have a meaningful impact on many of the traffic choke points (trafiic would still have to pass through these to reach the park and rides)

Dear Sir

I oppose construction of the Park&Ride Scheme as detailed in MM-54. There are 2 areas of search in Blackdown, north and east of the A452. Possible sites now include a third one, west of the A452 in Old Milverton. This area identified as the H44 Development Area proposal in the Green Belt which was instructed to be removed from the 2016 Amended Local Plan by HM Government Inspector. All three fall short of the advantages of such a provision north of Chesford Bridge at Thickthorns.

WDC had clearly discussed plans for this P&R with Developers and Stagecoach prior to the Public Examination; but when the issue was challenged by a WD County Councillor at the public meeting, WDC agreed to remove it from the Local Plan.

It follows that this P&R was not subject to adequate public discussion at the Examination or subsequently, and was wrongly included in the 2017 Local Plan main modifications. This clearly demonstrates that insufficient thought, enquiry and no public consultation has been allocated to a Park&Ride provision in this general location.

The acknowledged increase in traffic volume, noise and environmental pollution derives largely from rush hour traffic, generated by people who work locally and already benefit from existing parking provision; added to which the large numbers of parents, teachers and children travelling to and from schools simply have no use of a P&R.

The P&R scheme is crudely estimated at £3million. This cannot be justified, with the primary beneficiary seemingly the Bus Company actively pressing for this provision at public expense, at a time of fiscal austerity. A P&R is neither viable nor desirable in this location.

There is increasing currency in the local community belief that the P&R scheme is a cynical attempt to re-designate Green Belt area H44 to a Brownfield Site for development to subvert and overturn HM Inspector's decision to preserve this attractive northern approach to Royal Leamington Spa and invade established and cherished Green Belt.

The New Local Plan does not make sense as its confused thinking on behalf of the council. To make the park & ride scheme work it will have to reduce parking in Leamington (and increase the costs) but is spending £6m on a new local car park which will increase parking in Leamington. The park and ride scheme in this format would hurt the local economy. Its not a "proper full" park and ride scheme either, no dedicated buses. A car park where passengers leave their cars and catch existing buses. Commuting times (& costs) will go up, not down. Less parking in Leamington will reduce revenue streams to both WDC & WCC. Would be commuters will merely drive into Leamington and park in all the adjacent roads. It does not make sense financially or practically either. The most obvious issue is that the roads simply can't cope with a park and ride scheme, I understand that the local park and ride operators (Stage Coach) say that dedicated bus lanes are required on the A452 . There is no money available to make the A452 into a dual carriage way and the proposal has been with drawn from the local plan. The current plan for the park and ride has it in the wrong location. If a park and ride should be required in the future a better location a viable site north of the Chesford Bridge would be better to reduce the congestion on the A452.