Battlefield

The draft development strategy, which we reported last week, includes land south of both towns being earmarked for sites for 4,500 new homes - a sizeable portion of the 11,853 new homes required for Warwick district by 2029.

In an impassioned speech at a Warwick District Council meeting on Tuesday, Cllr Linda Bromley said: “Can we spread housing more equitably across the district and not nearly 50 per cent on Warwick coalescing with our other towns into one giant suburban sprawl? Can the infrastructure really be provided?

“This new plan could be more catastrophic than the great fire which devastated much of Warwick’s ancient heritage. Warwick will never again be the town we cherish and the reason we live here.”

A recorded vote was taken at the meeting for district councillors to show their support or objection to the plan being put out to public consultation next week.

Of the 39 councillors present, 34 voted in favour of the draft going out to consultation in its current form but Cllr Bromley (Con, Warwick South), Bob Dhillon (Con, Warwick West), Judith Falp (Ind, Whitnash) Elizabeth Higgins (Con, Warwick West) and Anne Mellor (Con, Warwick South) were all opposed.

Having to leave the meeting before the vote was cast, Cllr Tony Heath (Ind, Whitnash) had also raised concerns that green belt sites including Old Milverton and Blackdown - which have now been excluded from the plan - were not part of the consultation.

Those opposed raised concerns about a disproportionate number of houses being allocated to the south of Warwick and Leamington, insufficient road infrastructure to cope with increased traffic, air pollution caused by this traffic and the effect both of these issues would have on Warwick’s town centre.

Referring to the lack of suitable sites due to the amount of green belt land in Warwick district, Cllr Alan Boad (Lib Dem, Leamington Crown) urged councillors to ‘get real’ about the draft plan and warned that if a clear strategy is not in place it could open the door for developers to build with less constraint.

He said: “There is a housing need in this area and it is our duty as councillors to be able to cover it in the next 15 years.

“If we don’t have a plan that is sustainable, defendable and accepted then we really are in a mess.”