Issue and Options 2023

Q-E7.1: Please select the option which is most appropriate for South Warwickshire Option E7.1a: Include a policy directing employment to the Core Opportunity Area. This policy would look to direct employment growth to the Core Opportunity Area with areas outside of this, providing opportunities for more local investment. Option E7.1b: Do not include a policy directing employment to the Core Opportunity Area. This could mean that South Warwickshire fails to capitalise on employment opportunities or that newinvestment is focused outside of the Core Opportunity Area and fails to capitalise on the connectivity that the core opportunity area brings. Terra believe that the Councils should be focusing on directing employment to the Core Opportunity Areas. These areas clearly have a strong potential for providing and supporting additional employment growth and should be further explored within the Local Plan. Terra particularly agree that the Gaydon Area / M40 Junction 12 should be explored for additional growth. Land east of Junction 12, M40, as identified at Figure 1, is available to provide a mixed use New Settlement, if the Council seek to pursue this option.

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As part of the Housing Market Area (HMA) for Birmingham and Black Country, Terra believe that is wholly appropriate for South Warwickshire to contributed to the identified shortfall. Birmingham alone has a reported shortfall of c. 78,000 dwellings alone. The Country is currently in a housing crisis, and substantial unmet need coming out of large cities such as Birmingham should be met in neighbouring authorities where possible. Terra believe that the shortfall could be met in a combination of ways. This could be accommodated in new settlements as well as areas on the urban edge, to provide existing and future residents with a range of choice. Any housing numbers set within the Local Plan should also be set as a minimum figure to ensure flexibility and this will also allow the Plan to react to future demand.

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Q-T1: Please select all options which are appropriate for South Warwickshire Option T1a: Include no policy on the principles of the 20-minute neighbourhood for new development. Option T1b: Include reference to the principles of a 20-minute neighbourhood or other similar design approach (e.g. Building for a Healthy Life) within a broader overarching policy. Option T1c: Include a bespoke policy requiring the principles of 20-minute neighbourhoods to be included within development proposals. Terra believe that Option T1b would be most appropriate for the Local Plan, particularly if the Councils opt to introduce new settlements through the Plan. Terra agree with the principle of exploring the ‘20-minute neighbourhood’, particularly in light of the Councils’ climate emergencies. This will be most appropriate when applied to new settlements as they provide the opportunity to capitalise on the existing surrounds as well as incorporate new principles such as the 20 minute neighbourhood. Whereas, for existing settlements, it may provide more difficult to “retro-fit” the 20-minute neighbourhood principles.

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Q-B5: Please select the option which is most appropriate for South Warwickshire Option B5c: None of these The requirement for sites to provide a 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) will come into force in November 2023, as dictated by the Environment Act. Terra consider that there is no justification for an Environmental Net Gain Policy going above and beyond this. The delivery of a biodiversity net gain needs to be considered on a site-by-site basis, as the ability to deliver a net gain of greater than 10% will be dependent on the baseline habitat conditions. The Environment Act will ensure that every new site achieves a 10% minimum BNG, so there is no need to pursue any higher requirement than this.

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Yes, Terra generally agree that the Vision and Strategic Objections are appropriate. However, Terra would ask the Councils to consider the below points: • Developing opportunities for jobs The COVID pandemic highlighted that there is a need for economic diversification within the area, particularly for Stratford-on-Avon. Terra agree that developing opportunities for jobs should be a priority, and that the South Warwickshire area has access to a range of transport corridors which can support this diversification. However, Terra consider that the Councils will need to ensure that economic development is carefully balanced with a delivery of residential development. The M40 corridor, and land to the east of Junction 12 in particular, offer a good opportunity to capitalise on the existing travel corridors and employment developments. Within the Core Strategy, Stratford-on-Avon allocated a New Settlement at Gaydon/Lighthorne Heath along with an expansion for the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) campus. The allocation sought to provide 100ha of land for the expansion of JLR as well as 4.5 ha for the expansion of Aston Martin Lagonda (AML), securing a large amount of employment land along with 3,000 homes to facilitate the new settlement. This capitalises on the existing employment opportunities at JLR and highlighted the importance of this industry in the authority. From the Coventry & Warwickshire Housing & Economic Development Needs Assessment (HEDNA), it is clear that the highest need for General Industrial space is within Stratford-on-Avon. The HEDNA makes recommendations for meeting the Strategic B8 need within Chapter 11, which should be based on the following key locational considerations: • Road accessibility • Power supply • Proximity to Rail Terminals • Labour availability • Neighbouring activities Land east of Junction 12, M40 is well located to the motorway at Junction 12 of the M40. This Junction currently serves traffic to and from the JLR campus and is well place to continue to serve additional growth within the area. Additionally, it is in close proximity to readily available labour from the proposed new settlement at Gaydon/Lighthorne as well as the existing surrounding settlements (Lighthorne, Lighthorne Heath, Gaydon, and Bishop’s Itchington) and proximity to larger settlements, such as Birmingham. Land east of Junction 12, M40 would be suitable for providing a mixed use new settlement with a employment and residential provisions as well as other supporting infrastructure which capitalises on previous growth strategies secured in the Core Strategy at Gaydon/Lighthorne. This aligns closely with the Councils’ aspirations for employment focused growth. The HEDNA envisages that there will be a greater potential role for South Warwickshire in delivering strategic B8 growth that has been seen historically1. This means that the Council will need to think carefully as to where new employment growth will be located to ensure it is delivered in the most sustainable way. • Delivering homes that meet the needs of all our communities Terra support the Councils’ aspirations to support housing growth through the SWLP and ensuring that residential development provides a diverse mix of homes. The November 2022 Coventry & Warwickshire Housing & Economic Development Needs Assessment (HEDNA) highlighted that the population of Stratford-on-Avon has grown by 9.6% since the 2011 census data was collected, which is the third highest rate behind Rugby (10.1%) and Coventry (19.7%), therefore there is a clear requirement for additional housing within the authority. As both Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick are constrained by Green Belt, it is sensible to address housing need through a Joint Plan particularly as the authorities are closely linked.

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The delivery of supporting infrastructure is fundamental to the delivery of any site, whether strategic or nonstrategic. However, the Part 1 Plan seeks to focus more so on the strategic growth elements. Therefore Option 12b would be more appropriate. However, Terra believe that both options should be amalgamated in some form to ensure that infrastructure delivery is suitably accounted for. The Councils run the risk of neglecting smaller settlements which are in need of infrastructure improvements if they focus purely on the strategic options. Further, leaving infrastructure provisions to a Part 2 Plan could cause significant delays if the Part 2 Plan is delayed or, indeed, the strategy changes and this is not continued with. This could therefore worsen any existing or future problems if there are delays. Therefore, Terra believe that it would be more appropriate to identify the infrastructure requirements through the Part 1 Plan, with any additional detail being introduced through the Part 2 Plan. Q-I3: Terra agree that a single Levy should be applied to the entire South Warwickshire Authority as this will enable to Councils to deliver their joint strategy in an effective way. The charge should additionally be zoned to enable it to react to varying markets and viability conditions. Q-I5: Please add any comments you wish to make about infrastructure, viability and deliverability As detailed above, Land to the East of Junction 12, M40 as identified at Figure 1 is available and suitable for development. If the Council do wish to allocate sites for new settlements, a strategy which was adopted previously by Stratford-on-Avon, the Councils should be clear on the expectations of supporting infrastructure (including education, health, transport, Green Infrastructure) and affordable housing provision. This will feed into viability assessments for the delivery of the New Settlements, so these provisions need to be identified as early as possible.

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