Ref: 3.0035

41A Smith Street Warwick CV34 4JA Telephone: 01926 494597 [email protected] www.cprewarwickshire.org.uk

Standing up for the Countryside

February 2018

NUNEATON & LOCAL PLAN EXAMINATION

MATTER 6 – HOUSING SITES (BEDWORTH)

Issue 3C – HSG6 School Lane, Bedworth () and EMP6

The land between School Lane and the M6 is open countryside of surprisingly good quality. The M6 intrudes through noise rather than visually. This makes the location highly unsuitable for new housing as the dwellings would need to be heavily insulated, some even ventilated, because of the noise levels and gardens could not be enjoyed.

The land performs an important Green Belt role in separating the City of from Bedworth. Along with the land east of the A444 and either side of the B4113 link from the Foleshill Road to M6 Junction 3, it fulfils the role of separation and preventing towns merging which is a key purpose of designating land as Green Belt. If one or both of HSG6 and EMP2 are removed from the Green Belt, the separation will be lost. At present urban development is only fully continuous along the Foleshill Road (the old main road from Coventry to Nuneaton, now B4113) and on both sides of the railway. Developing the locations HSG6 and EMP2 would treble the width of continuous urban development joining the two urban areas.

Exceptional circumstances to alter the Green Belt boundary here do not exist. On the contrary the land fulfils Green Belt functions very fully now.

There is no need for the housing proposed on HSG6 because the OAN for Nuneaton & Bedworth as identified specifically does not require any removal of land from the Green Belt. =See statement on MATTER 3 Issues 1 and 3 and housing supply details in NBBC/20.

These reasons also apply to the small Employment site EMP6.