Plans to build homes on our green fields near Leamington and Warwick may be revised

Warwick District Council leader Cllr Andrew Mobbs.

Cllr Mobbs, who took over from Cllr Mike Doody last  November, has taken on board the groundswell of antagonism to 12,300 homes being built in the district up to 2030.

There are even rumours the latest forecasts for growth could be even higher.

Local MP Chris White has already held meetings in Westminster about the  distribution of any new housing - particularly because so much of it is on green field sites in Warwick.

The latest briefing comes after Cllr Mobbs (Con, Parkhill, Kenilworth) asked  officers to investigate the development opportunities offered by redundant or brownfield sites on the edges of the Grand Union Canal and in Leamington’s Old Town.

Cllr Mobbs said: “I can’t talk about the briefing because it was what it says -  confidential. But I can say that I asked our officers to look at the possibility of canalside  developments in Warwick and Leamington and to  consider more regeneration of  Leamington’s Old Town.

“There are alternative ways of accommodating housing growth that might involve fewer green field sites.

“At this stage I can’t tell you whether there is any specific sites or changes to numbers of houses in this confidential paper. But I would like to remind Courier readers that the Local Plan cannot go forward without the full support of the district council. As leader I am listening to what people are saying. And since I became leader, I have been working even more closely with our officers to find a way forward.”

At a district council  meeting on Wednesday,  David Williams of the Save Warwick campaign group handed in a petition on  behalf of MP Chris White, as well as another on behalf of his own group, both of which are  protesting against the scale of the Local Plan.

Mr Williams said: “We  appreciate the work the new leader of the council is doing and we urge Cllr Mobbs to continue with the dialogue. This plan will determine the future shape of our district and will be a legacy that his council will leave for many generations and by which it will be judged. There is potential for the council and the community to work together to achieve the consensus that we all ask.”