209 homes plan near Leamington will now go ahead

The original plans for the 209 homes off St Fremund Way - south of Sydenham and east of Whitnash - were refused by Warwick District Council last year because it was feared that it would be a “recipe for gridlock”.

But developers AC Lloyd appealed against the decision and the case was taken on by the Government’s planning inspectorates. They overturned the council’s decision this week and granted planning permission for the homes, saying the major changes had been made to the original plans to overcome the traffic concerns.

As well as 209 homes, the plans include a public open space, allotments, garages and parking facilities.

The news comes as Warwick District Council published its blueprint for the locations of more than 6,000 homes - much of them to the south of Leamington and Warwick.

And this was noted by the planning inspectorate in the report. It stated that although the site is part of a designated Area of Restraint in the Warwick District Local Plan 1996-2011 (adopted 2007), the proposal is a sustainable one and that the council does not have a five year supply of deliverable housing sites as required.

Also, since the Warwick District Local Plan, the new Local Plan has identified the area as a prime spot for new homes.

It also said that ‘considerable improvements’ have been made to access points, and that a new tree-lined avenue ‘significantly improved’ the layout.