Burton Green Neighbourhood Development Plan

A draft version of the Burton Green Neighbourhood Development Plan has been published for public consultation.

The document can be viewed on the Parish Council website, here:
http://www.burtongreenparishcouncil.org/uploads/1/0/0/6/100693498/bg_ndp_presubmission_draft__version_1_november_2019.pdf

Complete details for submitting comments about the plan can be viewed on the Parish Council website, here:
http://www.burtongreenparishcouncil.org/ndp-regulation-14.html

Burton Green Neighbourhood Plan

A draft version of the Burton Green Neighbourhood Plan can be seen here:
http://www.burtongreenparishcouncil.org/uploads/1/0/0/6/100693498/np_draft_5.2.1.pdf

Please note that the iconic image of Burton Green on the cover of the Neighbourhood Plan (see above) shows a field adjacent to Westwood Heath Road, that is about to be covered by a housing estate!

A Community Meeting will be held on Sunday 24th March in the Village Hall, 10.00am to 1.00pm with coffee and refreshments included.

We hope you are able to take part in this event because we need to know what’s good about what has been done on the Neighbourhood Plan so far and what could be better. We have to be able to demonstrate that our Plan has been developed in response to the input of Burton Green residents so your views really do matter.

Please come along to the Village Hall on the 24th March and make a difference.

Coventry Population Growth - Fueled by Immigration

The Birmingham Mail recently reported some newly released figures from the Office for National Statistics showing causes of population growth in English cities (including Birmingham and Coventry).

Apparently, 58 per cent of population growth in Birmingham between 2007 and 2016 was fuelled by immigration.

In the same ten year period, Coventry had an extra 52,782 people, and a staggering 98 per cent of that figure appears to have come from immigration.

Local Authority Population change 2007-16, % due to immigration 

The original article is here:
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/revealed-how-immigration-fueled-jaw-13350435

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A political dimension to the recent controversy concerning building on the green belt also became apparent in this report from the Coventry Telegraph.

Full report here:
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/tories-challenge-city-councils-green-7416776

Protest Over False Premises in WDC Local Plan

There is a report in the Kenilworth Weekly News detailing false premises in the WDC local plan, and describing a protest planned for 16th July at Finham.

"A ‘human chain’ will be formed with Burton Green residents and many others in protest over new housing from Warwick District’s Local Plan next weekend. If adopted, the plan will see 1,800 homes built at King’s Hill, 425 at Westwood Heath, and 90 in Burton Green itself. Also, 240 houses will be built west of Cromwell Lane as part of Coventry’s Local Plan as well... 

In protest, residents and campaigners will be forming a ‘human chain’ in Green Lane next to Finham Primary School on Sunday July 16 at 1pm. Anyone against the plans is invited to join in...."

Read the full report, detailing objections to the plan, here:
http://www.kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk/news/human-chain-protest-coming-near-burton-green-over-false-local-plan-1-8043125


Event Details

• At 12.50  pm we will be starting our line at the Finham Primary school gate and then spreading down Green Lane until we reach KINGS HILL LANE. N.B we must remain on the path at all times both for safety and to keep our protest within the law.
• Anyone travelling by cars please make sure that you park in a side street or on the side of the road OPPOSITE to where we will be standing for safety reasons.
• Please do NOT park on the forecourt in front of the shops as we need that area to assemble at the end.
• Find the next space and join the line.
• Those residents that have the large orange SAVE THE GREENBELT banners please bring them to make more impact in photographs.
• We have some of the yellow posters NO BUILDING ON KINGS HILL which we will hand out to different people along the route.
• When we complete the line between the school and Kings Hill Lane we would ask people to start the line from the Primary School towards Finham Park School.  If everyone in Finham turns out to support us we should be able to fill the whole of Green Lane.
• We have invited Jim Cunningham and the Coventry Councillors to join us.
• A tractor will be driving along Green Lane during our HOUR of Protest so give a cheer as it passes and remind any media there NO BUILDING ON KINGS HILL.
• We will be joined by other residents from across the city who are also campaigning against the building on Greenbelt land. 
• At 1.45 please make your way to the forecourt of the shops in Green Lane where the protest will end with short speeches from

o   Jim Cunningham
o   Gary Crookes
o   Paul Davies

The poster for the event can be found here:
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!topic/burton-green/2hHydgYGK-4



July 11th - World Population Day

July 11th (today) is World Population Day. Governments around the world are being urged to consider the problems caused by unrestrained population growth and to take action.

Though the answer to population growth has nothing to do with building more houses.

See, for example:
https://www.ecowatch.com/world-population-day-2456706732.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-40526618/world-population-day-in-numbers

Possible Building on Westwood Heath (Procedural Clarification)

This clarification, of some issues concerning the planning consultation process, has been obtained, from Warwick District Council, by Councillor David Skinner (Westwood):

"When a new planning application is received, neighbour notification letters are sent to immediately adjacent properties (and / or in this case properties on the opposite side of the road) and site notices posted in public places, such as along the road, advising people that the application has been received and providing the contact details and e-mail address of the case officer assigned to the application. Until an application is received and a file generated to hold comments and objections, it is not necessary for people to contact the council, as there would be no clear way of logging their concerns against the correct application. As soon as an application is received, people can submit their comments directly to the case officer. 

People who don’t immediately abut the site should keep a close eye out for planning site notices on the public highway. Local parish councils and Warwick DC ward members (Abbey Ward) will be also advised when an application is received.

Until we have the inspector’s formal report into the Warwick District Local Plan, the site remains in green belt and as such any application that is received would be considered to be contrary to green belt policy and is likely to be refused. As we don’t yet have a clear date for receipt of the report, any application that was submitted now would be considered in this light."

Westwood Heath Road Housing Proposals

A presentation has been held at the Village Hall detailing the first phase of proposed new housing developments along Westwood Heath Road. The information from that presentation can be viewed in full at the developer's website here:
www.westwoodheathroad.co.uk.

Once a formal application has been made to Warwick District Council, then the public will have the opportunity to comment on these proposals directly to Warwick District Council.

This map (from the link above) shows the present design proposal:

A summary of all of the other planning proposals affecting the area is here: https://burtongreen.blogspot.co.uk/p/burton-green-planning.html

Coventry Local Plan Consultation

This concerns the proposed housing development within the Coventry City boundary at the Northern end of Cromwell Lane. There will be a drop in session held at the Xcel Leisure Centre Youth Room, Mitchell Avenue (off Charter Avenue), on Friday 24 March, 4pm – 7.30pm.

Warwick District Local Plan - Proposed Building at Westwood Heath

WDC has provided the following information on how representations concerning how the proposed local plan modifications have been dealt with.

The Council has not made any individual responses to the representations received during the modifications, but did pass them all to the Inspector who is considering the soundness of the plan and its modifications. Representations concerning Westwood Heath are available to view here.

The questions and concerns people raised will in turn have helped him draw up a list of detailed questions that will be addressed during the forthcoming local plan examination in public, which is due to start during the last week in September and which runs until December.

A number of statements have now been produced by all parties interested in participating in the examination hearings. The statements are available to view on this page.  Please scroll down to Written Statements – Resumed Hearings. A number of written statements concerning the Westwood Heath site can be seen here. The former page also contains details of the hearing dates and times and the inspector’s matters and issues paper, containing the questions he has about various topics.

There is an evidence base available to view for both the submitted plan and the modifications. The main evidence base page is here and the  Local Plan examination evidence base page is here, which also contains the documents and evidence prepared for the proposed modifications.

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For example, this particular PDF document (which is listed among the written statements) includes numerous annotated photos of Westwood Heath Road and proposed developments:
http://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/3717/matter_7c_written_statement_-_h42_westwood_heath_-_turley_for_im_properties_-_part_5_of_5.pdf

This map, included in that document, shows proposals for the area immediately behind Cromwell Lane (the old sports field)...

Related Housing Articles

Warwick DC Local Plan - Westwood Heath (Feb 2016):
http://burtongreen.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/new-proposal-for-435-600-homes-at.html

Coventry Local Plan - Cromwell Lane (Jan 2016):
http://burtongreen.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/coventry-local-plan.html
and
http://burtongreen.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/proposed-new-housing-estate-off.html

Solihull Local Plan - Balsall Common(Aug 2016):
http://burtongreen.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/solihull-local-plan.html

New Proposal for 435-600 Homes at Westwood Heath

Update (26th February):
This report (covering all sites around Kenilworth) in the Kenilworth Weekly News:
http://www.kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk/news/local-news/what-the-local-plan-means-for-kenilworth-1-7232556

Update (25th February): At the meeting of Warwick District Council on the 24 February 2016 the Council approved the proposed modifications to the Local Plan (as detailed below). It was agreed to undertake consultation on the modifications. Any concerns relating to the unsoundness and legal compliance of the proposed modifications, or seeking revisions should be made in writing through the formal consultation process, which is scheduled to start at 4.00pm on Friday 11 March 2016 until 4.45pm on Friday 22 April 2016.  Irrespective of any previous E-mails they may have sent, residents may want to participate in the public consultation, to ensure the Inspector is made aware of their concerns. Details of the consultation process and how to comment will be publicised and made available on the Council’s website, in due course, here:
http://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/planning

The Coventry Telegraph (18th February) carried a report of new housing proposed, within Burton Green, on the land on the South side of Westwood Heath Road (around Lodge Farm):
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/revealed-5000-homes-planned-green-10905505

The Warwick District Council website gives the details of the proposed modifications to the Local Plan, here:
http://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/info/20410/new_local_plan

Warwick District Council will consider the proposed modifications at a Full Council meeting on 24th February. If approved, consultation on the proposed modifications will commence during the week beginning 11th March, for a period of six weeks.

The details which affect Burton Green are outlined below.

The modifications include the provision of 425-600 homes at Westwood Heath, in the area shown hatched in yellow on the map below (H42). The area hatched in grey (S1) is earmarked for additional development in the longer term.

You can click on the map to enlarge it. You may need to click more than once to view the map at its original size:

The document gives these details for site H42 (the yellow area):

" New sites on the edge of Coventry. These sites allow the expansion of the City's Urban area in sustainable locations.  They help to meet housing needs of the City. They also offer opportunities for infrastructure improvements.

36 ha. 50% developable area at 35dph (dwellings per hectare). Total capacity approx. 600 dwellings. Capacity capped at 425 due to constraints imposed by strategic transport network.

Open Space (including allotments, playing fields, play facilities); Health Centre; Local centre and community facilities will be quantified in the context of the development of this allocation and the wider area over the long term; cycleways; bus facilities. 

Retail facilities: a convenience store of no more than 500 square metres gross floorspace. 

Site capacity is limited by the highways network in the area. WCC Strategic Transport study suggests no more than 425 dwellings can be delivered here without the need for a major highway scheme. Adjacent area therefore safeguarded for use beyond the current plan.

Even so, the site will require transport improvements including to the Stoneleigh junction on the A46.   

Current indications outline potential that secondary school places are available in the Coventry catchment area. There will be a requirement for primary school places that may provide the opportunity to rationalise existing small schools in the locality (further investigations will be required to establish the exact strategy). 

Health infrastructure requirements will be assessed as part of ongoing discussions with the Warwickshire and Coventry / Rugby CCGs."

Nowhere (as far as I can see) is the H42 site referred to as being part of the Parish of Burton Green, although it does, at present, lie within Burton Green. The H42 site is referred to as being an extension of the Urban area of Coventry. It is effectively an expansion of the Coventry City boundary. At some future constituency boundary review, it will inevitably be claimed that it 'makes sense' for the people living in this new part of Westwood to become part of Coventry.

The role of Burton Green as a designated 'growth village' within the WDC Local Plan centres wholly on the Burrow Hill Nursery site (site H24). The additional 435 homes at Westwood are, presumably, not considered to be part of Burton Green.


Cromwell Lane Development (Coventry Local Plan)

New building off Cromwell Lane, within the Coventry boundary, which is part of the Coventry Local Plan, is a separate development and is detailed here:
http://burtongreen.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/coventry-local-plan.html


Burrow Hill Nursery Development (WDC Local Plan)

The proposed development of 90 homes at the Burrow Hill Nursery site in Burton Green, designated WDC site H24,  is essentially unchanged. The amendment documents include these comments:

"3.74ha. Some constraints (landscape), but infrastructure requirements reduced — village hall proposed elsewhere. 67% developable area at 35dph. School place planning catered for within the wider Kenilworth solution (Southcrest Farm)."

Southcrest Farm is in Glasshouse Lane, Kenilworth, and is a proposed site for a secondary school, 6th form centre, and possible primary school.