Plans for 900 homes could be the start of the garden suburbs

No actual application has yet been made but Northamptonshire-based developers Barwood Strategic Land have earmarked 141 acres between the Banbury Road and Europa Way, just south of Warwick Technology Park.

The ‘suburb’ - which would include a new primary school and a park and ride facility - would be centred on farm cottages known as the Asps.

The site goes down as far as the Grey’s Mallory roundabout and at one part borders Nursery Wood which would screen the new homes from Warwick Castle.

Some 40 per cent of the 900 properties would be affordable and almost another 40 per cent of the land would remain open space.

Jamie Gibbins, managing director at Barwood, said the proposals were fully in keeping with the district council’s ‘garden suburb’ vision and in line with its direction of future growth to the south of Warwick.

Mr Gibbins added: “The Asps presents a real opportunity to meet some of the urgent housing need in Warwick district, offering a range of homes for local people trying to buy their own home.

“We are also proposing a range of community facilities, including a primary school, and want to hear from local people what other community facilities they would like to see.”

But David Williams, spokesman for the Save Warwick group - which is already fighting plans for 250 homes further down the Banbury Road on a former strawberry field - said the idea of so many new homes on the Asps farmland only increased fury about the hugely controversial and still not finalised Local Plan for up to 12,300 homes in the next 15 years.

Mr Williams said: “For us the Barwood proposal is just one more attempt by developers to smother the countryside south of Warwick with housing. The developers want to profit from setting their estates in a beautiful historic landscape, which, ironically they would ruin for everyone.”

People can see Barwood’s plans for themselves next Tuesday and Wednesday.

They will be on show in St Nicholas Church, St Nicholas Church Street, Warwick, between 1.30pm and 5.30pm on the Tuesday and then at Warwick Gates Community Church, Cressida Close, Heathcote, between 2pm and 8pm on Wednesday (Nov 27).