Publication Draft

The Council is satisfied that there are no strategic matters between Solihull and Warwick District that have been identified within either the Solihull Local Plan or the Warwick District Publication Draft. Accordingly, Solihull MBC believes that Warwick District Council has met the Duty to Cooperate as far as Solihull is concerned.

The evidence in the Coventry and Warwickshire SHMA suggests that Warwick District has close links with the Coventry housing market area, but that there are modest migration flows only from Birmingham and Solihull. The housing target in the Publication Draft is within 100 dwellings of the appropriate level of provision identified in the Coventry and Warwickshire SHMA.

Warwick District has not had a direct approach seeking to accommodate housing shortfall from the Birmingham housing market area, but Policy DS20 and the Duty to Cooperate and Strategic Planning section explain how this would be handled in the event of an approach, including the commitment to review the Warwick District Local Plan if such needs could not be adequately addressed. This should enable any issues relating to the migration flows between Solihull and Warwick District to be addressed.

The District has participated in a strategic employment land review, through the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, a review of major employment sites and in the City Deal for Coventry and Warwickshire that has led to the identification of the former Honiley Airfield as an important investment site. The NPPF requires planning to proactively drive and support economic development and to do everything it can to support sustainable economic growth, but attaches great importance to green belts in retaining openness and preventing urban sprawl. The approach of the plan to the former Honiley Airfield reflects these important principles and the duty to co-operate.