Special events this week focus on Rugby's next big housing boom

A total of 5,000 extra homes has been on the cards for South-West Rugby for years, with the overwhelming majority being on the green fields between Cawston, Bilton and Dunchurch and wrapping round our beloved – and ancient – Cawston Wood.

The crucial link road that would open up the space is yet to get planning permission from Rugby Borough Council but three meetings take place this week – one in Cawston, two in Dunchurch and none in Bilton – about how the area develops once that significant matter is resolved.

The meetings are on this Thursday, July 6; Friday, July 7 and Saturday, July 8, just after the private schools in the area – Rugby School, Bilton Grange, Crescent and Princethorpe – have broken up for the summer.

The consultation only runs until Thursday, August 3, inevitably raising questions about why such an important process is being run at a time of year when people are highly likely to be busy – or many miles away.

The Local Plan that confirmed South-West Rugby was next on the housing hit-list was approved in 2019 and while part of the homes allocation is already well under way off Ashlawn Road and warehouses are taking shape near Thurlaston, the majority of the homes and supporting facilities seemed to be floundering until Homes England popped up to splash public cash to make things happen.

It is behind the link road plan and also owns some of the land, though much of it is still owned by private developers who will cash in after the new main road opens.

It’s Homes England that is behind this week’s events, labelled as a ‘Community Design Event’.

The sessions run from 10am-3pm on Thursday at Cawston Community Hall; 2pm-6pm at Dunchurch Village Hall on Friday – and 10am-3pm at Dunchurch WI Hall on Saturday, with the chance to drop in at any stage.

The Thursday and Friday are the busier days with a variety of workshops, including one for young people on both days – presumably those who are at the aforementioned private schools because state school pupils should be in class – and an exhibition on all three dates.

The leaflet it has sent out describes it as ‘an opportunity to help create a vision that delivers high quality housing, schools, healthcare facilities, community uses, employment opportunities and key highway infrastructure’.

It also says it will underpin applications for a new road and upgrades to Cawston Lane – the link road is already in the borough council planning system ref R22/0928 – and an outline application for the land it controls.

Since the fierce protests against the Local Plan in 2016-17, other issues such as covid have taken precedence and awareness of the looming change has faded.

And while there will be a healthy cynicism about how much anything said by residents will affect the process, these events are an opportunity to rediscover just what is at stake, provided you’re not on holiday.

Though if you are, details are available on the Homestead View website.