Revised Development Strategy

I just want to register my disapproval to all of the important measures put down in the latest draft local plan. It is an absolute DISGRACE, for instance, that you are considering building all the houses South of Warwick. Why on earth did you not put housing where the new Morrisons is? Apart from which, it is absolute drivel, as the Warwick Society have proved, for you to say there is a need for all this development. I want to see Warwick, Kenilworth and Leamington thrive as someone who depends on footfall, but I certainly do not want my business to prosper at the expense of the complete destruction of the whole nature of these wonderful towns. You should be ashamed that you have not more integrity to build on what is good, and not try to introduce wholesale unnecessary change.

Similarly with these points raised by Sue Butcher...
* Do you realise that they plan to put traffic lights on Castle Hill roundabout, Myton Road roundabout and the foot of Smith Street?
* Do you realise they plan to create a no right turn from Smith Street into St Nicholas Church Street?
There is absolutely no need for these measures whatsoever.

What you should be looking at is the whole question of parking, and treating it as a means of getting people into our towns to shop, instead of treating it as a cash cow. When retail is totally run into the ground in all our towns and High Streets it will be short-sighted Councils like yours that will be to blame, and you should be ashamed of your lack of a decent strategy.

The point is WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN? The Warwick Society and the Chamber of Commerce have both spoken out as representing large considered bodies of opinion and you appear to totally disregard them. Your consultation will no doubt be shown as the usual travesty. Listen before it is too late.

This is to let you know of my serious concerns regarding the new draft local plan for Warwick and its surroundings. I understood that the need for less traffic through Warwick Centre had been taken on board by local government - hence the recent work to slow down traffic through High Street/Jury Street with traffic calming measures and the removal of pedestrian crossings. However the huge number of houses being suggested in the draft plan would most certainly result in even more traffic polluting the centre of Warwick. And why build so many houses on what is at the moment Agricultural land? Surely there are brownfield sites which at the moment are lying unused. The area of the old Ford factory beyond Morrisons would be an obvious place to build houses. It is already immediately adjacent to an area of housing and would impinge far less on services. Do we really need 12,000 houses? Affordable homes we probaby do need, but not on this scale. Are the proposed new builds all aimed at the lower end of the market? Probably not. Looking at the local estate agents there is indeed no shortage of houses in the mid- to upper-price range, so why build more? Why pay consultants to establish that the local need will be for less than 6,000 new homes if their findings are to be totally ignored? As for the ridiculous re-routing of traffic in the Smith Street area and yet more sets of traffic lights, I see this as just an unneccessary nonsense.

Warwick is a lovely town, self contained, pretty country town. We have a lively shopping centre full of independent shops and small number of chains such as Marks & Spencer and Boots. We need to encourage tourists to keep the centre lively, not put them off by making it even harder to get here. By building all these houses the unique atmosphere the town offers is bound to be compromised. Please think again.

I just want to register my disapproval to all of the important measures put down in the latest draft local plan. It is an absolute DISGRACE, for instance, that you are considering building all the houses South of Warwick. Why on earth did you not put housing where the new Morrisons is? Apart from which, it is absolute drivel, as the Warwick Society have proved, for you to say there is a need for all this development. I want to see Warwick, Kenilworth and Leamington thrive as someone who depends on footfall, but I certainly do not want my business to prosper at the expense of the complete destruction of the whole nature of these wonderful towns. You should be ashamed that you have not more integrity to build on what is good, and not try to introduce wholesale unnecessary change.

Similarly with these points raised by Sue Butcher...
* Do you realise that they plan to put traffic lights on Castle Hill roundabout, Myton Road roundabout and the foot of Smith Street?
* Do you realise they plan to create a no right turn from Smith Street into St Nicholas Church Street?
There is absolutely no need for these measures whatsoever.

What you should be looking at is the whole question of parking, and treating it as a means of getting people into our towns to shop, instead of treating it as a cash cow. When retail is totally run into the ground in all our towns and High Streets it will be short-sighted Councils like yours that will be to blame, and you should be ashamed of your lack of a decent strategy.

The point is WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN? The Warwick Society and the Chamber of Commerce have both spoken out as representing large considered bodies of opinion and you appear to totally disregard them. Your consultation will no doubt be shown as the usual travesty. Listen before it is too late.

I just want to register my disapproval to all of the important measures put down in the latest draft local plan. It is an absolute DISGRACE, for instance, that you are considering building all the houses South of Warwick. Why on earth did you not put housing where the new Morrisons is? Apart from which, it is absolute drivel, as the Warwick Society have proved, for you to say there is a need for all this development. I want to see Warwick, Kenilworth and Leamington thrive as someone who depends on footfall, but I certainly do not want my business to prosper at the expense of the complete destruction of the whole nature of these wonderful towns. You should be ashamed that you have not more integrity to build on what is good, and not try to introduce wholesale unnecessary change.

Similarly with these points raised by Sue Butcher...
* Do you realise that they plan to put traffic lights on Castle Hill roundabout, Myton Road roundabout and the foot of Smith Street?
* Do you realise they plan to create a no right turn from Smith Street into St Nicholas Church Street?
There is absolutely no need for these measures whatsoever.

What you should be looking at is the whole question of parking, and treating it as a means of getting people into our towns to shop, instead of treating it as a cash cow. When retail is totally run into the ground in all our towns and High Streets it will be short-sighted Councils like yours that will be to blame, and you should be ashamed of your lack of a decent strategy.

The point is WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN? The Warwick Society and the Chamber of Commerce have both spoken out as representing large considered bodies of opinion and you appear to totally disregard them. Your consultation will no doubt be shown as the usual travesty. Listen before it is too late.

This is to let you know of my serious concerns regarding the new draft local plan for Warwick and its surroundings. I understood that the need for less traffic through Warwick Centre had been taken on board by local government - hence the recent work to slow down traffic through High Street/Jury Street with traffic calming measures and the removal of pedestrian crossings. However the huge number of houses being suggested in the draft plan would most certainly result in even more traffic polluting the centre of Warwick. And why build so many houses on what is at the moment Agricultural land? Surely there are brownfield sites which at the moment are lying unused. The area of the old Ford factory beyond Morrisons would be an obvious place to build houses. It is already immediately adjacent to an area of housing and would impinge far less on services. Do we really need 12,000 houses? Affordable homes we probaby do need, but not on this scale. Are the proposed new builds all aimed at the lower end of the market? Probably not. Looking at the local estate agents there is indeed no shortage of houses in the mid- to upper-price range, so why build more? Why pay consultants to establish that the local need will be for less than 6,000 new homes if their findings are to be totally ignored? As for the ridiculous re-routing of traffic in the Smith Street area and yet more sets of traffic lights, I see this as just an unneccessary nonsense.

Warwick is a lovely town, self contained, pretty country town. We have a lively shopping centre full of independent shops and small number of chains such as Marks & Spencer and Boots. We need to encourage tourists to keep the centre lively, not put them off by making it even harder to get here. By building all these houses the unique atmosphere the town offers is bound to be compromised. Please think again.