Issue and Options 2023

The current policy of requiring developers to provide 40% of houses that are considered to be affordable has failed to address the need for affordable housing and has contributed to the current housing crisis. Developers are too easily able to avoid this requirement. The way to address the need for affordable housing is for local authorities and housing associations to work together to provide affordable homes.

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(i) Encourage right-sizing, encourage the redevelopment and upgrading of older housing units to meet modern requirements for heat, light, power and accessibility. (ii) Improve infrastructure and facility provision around existing smaller housing stock-units to meet the 20 minute neighbourhood criteria.

No

Accommodating shortfalls provides an avenue for avoiding the recycling of industrial and brownfield sites within the greater West Midlands conurbation and encourages the extension of urban sprawl into precisely the area designed to (i) contain it and (ii) encourage sustainable and responsible land use.

Government Policy states that it is not necessary to review and release Green Belt land at all. It is a vital resource which is currently undervalued in the SWLP. Releasing land from Green Belt in South Warwickshire to meet housing shortfalls elsewhere creates a false supply as well as irreversible harm to the Green Belt which would set a precedent for continued erosion whenever the need arises. Housing shortfalls should first be directed within the boundaries of the areas within which they are expected to service employment and economy. If further housing needs are required, they should sensitively contribute to local economic growth. In reference to Green Belt and rural areas they should be required to maintain a rural link to encourage rejuvenation of local character and contribute to the future stewardship of those areas or protect their heritage. Expansion of the conurbation would have significant detrimental impacts on the character, environment, biodiversity and national contribution to food production of these areas.

In its list of types of open space, section W4 does not mention public rights of way through the countryside. These are a valued feature of the Green Belt land north of Leamington Spa. In surveys residents say that the open Green Belt location is the thing they value most about living in the area, with benefits for both physical and mental health. It is easily accessible on foot from North Leamington so many people can access the public rights of way across the fields. Use of these footpaths increased markedly during lockdown and has continued since. During lockdown walkers raised over £2,500 for a charity chosen by the farmer to acknowledge the work done in maintaining the access to the countryside. The high quality agricultural land is now farmed by a single modern, established farming business. The combination of this working farm, with its wide range of crops and modern farming equipment working the fields, together with the Victorian farming village at Old Milverton is a significant recreational and educational asset for the population at large. Strategic Objective 5 seeks to “protect what already exists” however each one of the five spatial growth options would remove this highly valued local resource forever.

Be proactive and ensure that everyone has access to super fast broadband as it facilitates home working which in turn can reduce carbon emissions from commuting.

It is difficult to see how the concept of 20 minute neighbourhoods would work in any proposed new development on the edge of the existing major settlements where these areas themselves do not meet the criteria. Such developments would have to be of sufficient size to include the provision of retail, health, education and employment facilities as well as housing to accord with this concept.

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Yes

Yes

If an area is high quality agricultural land, its continuance as such should be prioritised over development. Government policy is clear that food production and farming contributes to sustainable development. In terms of agricultural land quality, areas B12 and B13 (Leamington North East and North West) comprise Grade 2 and Grade 3a agricultural land (except for a minor strip of Grade 3B). The land making up these sites is, therefore, considered to be a scarce resource with a degree of quality. The government seeks to protect against the loss of this land from development. The NPPF is clear that ‘Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, local planning authorities should seek to use areas of poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality’. With the need to improve national food security the plan should include a policy that keeps land grades 1, 2 and 3a under cultivation and not used for other purposes. There is an opportunity to maximise and regenerate the contribution of Green Belt designated land in this instance. It would work well in conjunction with emerging land stewardship schemes, wildbelt designations and the promotion of biodiversity net gain.

Yes

Safeguarding of sites would work well in partnership with the SLA approach, wildbelt and other issues above, especially if applied to existing areas within the Green Belt; an area whose contribution to geo/biodiversity is often overlooked as unimportant in the face of development requirements. The opportunities for secondary and tertiary contribution to biodiversity and the impact on human health, wellbeing and agri-environmental productivity could be tremendous.