Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council Core Strategy Issues & Options June 2009 Issues & Options Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 4 What is a Core Strategy 4 Context for the Core Strategy 4 Focus of this Consultation 5 2. SPATIAL PORTRAIT 6 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough 6 Localities 7 Abbey and Wem Brook 8 Arbury and Stockingford 9 Bedworth North and West 10 Bede and Poplar 11 Camp Hill and Galley Common 12 Weddington and St Nicolas 13 Whitestone and Bulkington 14 3. KEY ISSUES FACING THE 15 BOROUGH Housing 15 Economy 16 Education 17 Town and District Centres 17 Natural and Built Environment 18 Leisure and Recreation 20 Transport 20 Social 21 4. FUTURE GROWTH 23 5. SPATIAL VISION 25 6. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 26 7. SPATIAL OPTIONS 29 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council Issues & Options Contents Sequential Approach 30 North/ South Corridor 32 Focus Growth in Nuneaton 34 North of Nuneaton 34 East of Nuneaton 36 West of Nuneaton 38 Focus Growth in Bedworth 40 Small Urban Extensions 42 Land South of M6 Motorway 44 Land North of M6 Motorway 46 Land North and South of M6 48 Motorway 8. THE NEXT STEPS 51 9. SUBMITTING YOUR 52 COMMENTS TO US APPENDICES 10. EVIDENCE BASE 53 11. GLOSSARY 54 Issues & Options Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council 4 Introduction 1 1.1 This document offers you a unique opportunity to have a say in how Nuneaton and Bedworth should change over the next 17 years. The Council has started work on a Core Strategy which will be used to plan and manage growth and development in the Borough during the period up to 2026. We want you to have a say in what that document should contain. What is a Core Strategy 1.2 The Core Strategy is the key document within the Council’s Local Development Framework. It will replace the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Local Plan, adopted in 2006, in guiding where development should take place in the Borough. The Core Strategy will however differ from the Local Plan because it will adopt a ‘spatial’ approach which means it will also take account of wider social, economic and environmental factors and therefore consider, alongside housing and employment, matters such as health, education and leisure provision. The document will consider how all the elements will work together to create cohesive and sustainable communities with local identity and distinctiveness. The Core Strategy will set out a spatial vision and strategic objectives for the area, a spatial strategy, core policies and a monitoring and implementation framework. It will outline what the Borough will look like in 2026, explain how this will be achieved and identify who is going to do what to deliver it. It will therefore be one of the key delivery mechanisms for the Borough’s Sustainable Community Plan, alongside the Warwickshire Local Area Agreement. Context for the Core Strategy 1.3 The Core Strategy is not produced in a vacuum. The following 4 sub-headings outline some of the factors that influence what will go into the Strategy. The National and Regional Context 1.4 Local planning policy is produced within a framework set at the national and regional level. At the national level Government produces Planning Policy Guidance (PPGs) and Planning Policy Statements (PPSs) which we have to take into account. Details of this guidance can be found at www.communities.gov.uk. At a regional level the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) provides a policy framework for the whole of the West Midlands. Included in this framework is the amount of growth that should occur within Nuneaton and Bedworth. Further details on this are outlined in section 4. The RSS was adopted in 2004 but is currently being reviewed to cover the period up to 2026. Phase 2 of the revision has reached the Preferred Option stage and is currently subject to an Examination in Public. Further details can be found at www.wmra.gov.uk. When finalised, our Core Strategy will have to be in general conformity with the RSS. Other regional strategies of relevance include the Regional Housing Strategy and Regional Economic Strategy. Sub Regional Strategy 1.5 Nuneaton and Bedworth falls within the sub-region of Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire. In 2006 a vision and strategy for the sub-region was established and this was reaffirmed in 2007. The Strategy directs development along a north-south corridor running from Nuneaton in the north, through Bedworth, Coventry, Kenilworth, Leamington to Warwick in the south. The Strategy has been taken forward in the Preferred Option of the RSS. 5 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council Issues & Options 1 Introduction Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement 1.6 At the local level the Core Strategy will need to be aligned with the local priorities set out in the Borough’s Sustainable Community Strategy, known as the Nuneaton and Bedworth Sustainable Community Plan (SCP). The Core Strategy will need to contain policies that help deliver the aims of the Plan. To help facilitate this the Core Strategy will also have to be aware of the land use related implications of the plans and strategies of partners in the Local Strategic Partnership. The Core Strategy will also have a role in supporting the delivery of the Warwickshire Local Area Agreement (LAA) and the priorities and targets contained within it. The SCP is available to download at www.nuneatonandbedworth.gov.uk and the LAA is available at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/laa. Evidence 1.7 The Core Strategy will have a major economic, environmental and social impact on the future of Nuneaton and Bedworth and so must be based on a robust and credible evidence base. The evidence will take two main forms; research and facts which back up what is contained in the strategy and evidence from local communities and others with an interest in the future of the Borough. Appendix A (Evidence Base) lists the research which has been collected so far and this consultation document is an example of how the views of those with an interest in the Borough are being canvassed. Focus of this Consultation 1.8 The process of putting a Core Strategy together goes through a number of stages. We are currently at the Issues and Options stage. As such this document seeks your views on the issues that have been identified and the possible options to address them. The remainder of the document is divided into the following sections; A spatial portrait of the Borough which describes what the Borough is like now and what are the key social, economic and environmental characteristics of different parts of the Borough. The key issues facing the Borough based on the evidence we have gathered so far. The future planned growth of the Borough, as set out in the RSS. A draft vision for the Borough which summarises what we want Nuneaton and Bedworth to be like in 2026. Objectives to deliver that vision and address the issues. A range of realistic spatial options capable of delivering the vision and objectives. What happens next and how to get involved. 1.9 For each section we want to know what you think. Do you agree or disagree? Is there anything we have missed? Issues & Options Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council 6 Spatial Portrait 2 2.1 This section of the document provides a spatial portrait of Nuneaton and Bedworth, outlining some of the current key economic, social and environmental characteristics of the Borough as well as looking in more detail at the 7 localities which it is divided into. Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough 2.2 Most famous for being the birthplace of the author George Eliot, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough is one of five Boroughs within Warwickshire. It is the smallest in area, but has the second largest population resulting in a high population density of 15.3 persons per hectare (the average for Warwickshire is 2.6 persons per hectare). Largely urban in nature the Borough has three main settlements; Nuneaton, Bedworth and Bulkington which are separated by areas of countryside that are designated Green Belt. 2.3 Located in the centre of the country, the Borough benefits from good communication links by rail and road to surrounding areas. Despite this the Borough struggles to attract inward investment because of its image as an old mining/ industrial area. With a background in coal mining, other extractive industries and heavy engineering the Borough still has a high proportion of employees working in manufacturing compared to the UK average. This along with other economic, social and environmental factors mean that Nuneaton and Bedworth lags behind the rest of Warwickshire in key indicators that make for a high quality of life. This has resulted in a significant gap separating Nuneaton and Bedworth from the rest of the County. 2.4 To help address some of the problems facing Nuneaton and Bedworth Advantage West Midlands has designated a large proportion of the Borough a Regeneration Zone (known as the Coventry and Nuneaton Regeneration Zone). Projects falling within it include Pride in Camp Hill, Eliot Park Innovation Centre and the Hub at Bayton Road. Alongside this, regeneration within the town centres has included the new Ropewalk shopping centre in Nuneaton, opened in 2005 and the new Aldi store on the former Kwik Save site in Bedworth, which was completed in 2007. In the last 5 years notable housing development has occurred at Walsingham Drive and Plough Hill Road in Nuneaton and at the Heath and Blackhorse Road in Bedworth. Housing completions more recently have however declined. 7 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council Issues & Options 2 Spatial Portrait Localities Weddington & St.