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Warwick District
Planning Summary:
Warwick District Local Plan
The Warwick Local Plan was adopted in September 2017 and represents the overarching local policy document for the District.
The plan seeks to provide for a minimum of 16,776 new homes and a minimum of 66Ha of new employment land. The majority of growth proposed is focussed on the main urban areas of Warwick, Leamington, Kenilworth and Whitnash, the southern fringe of Coventry around the airport and University of Warwick campus.
South Warwickshire Local Plan
Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick District Councils are working together to produce a new South Warwickshire Local Plan to cover their combined geographic area.The Plan is expected to replace the strategic policies of the existing Stratford-on-Avon Core Strategy and Warwick Local Plan which are soon due for review. The South Warwickshire Local Plan will set out a long-term spatial strategy for housing, jobs, infrastructure and climate change for both Districts.
Profile Summary
Warwick District lies between the city of Coventry and rural parts of Solihull to the north, Stratford-on Avon District to the south and Rugby Borough to the east. It enjoys good links by rail to Birmingham and London and these connections will be further enhanced by the new High Speed 2 rail link that is currently under construction.
The District has a diverse population, with a high proportion of non-white British residents (15% of the total population) compared to other districts in the County. Compared to other parts of Warwickshire, a higher proportion of the district’s population is of working age. Relative to the West Midlands as a whole, the district has a strong local economy, with a skilled population and higher than average levels of productivity and earnings.
The M40 cuts across the south of the District and provides good road connections to London and the south-east as well as to the West Midlands conurbation. There are regionally significant road networks linking to the A45 and A46 corridors within and adjacent to the district. These transport links mean that although located within the West Midlands, the district shares some characteristics with the south east.
Warwick District has a growing, ageing, ethnically diverse and highly skilled population. 90% of the 137,700 residents (2011 Census) live in the main urban areas of Kenilworth, Warwick, Whitnash and Royal Leamington Spa with the remaining 10% living in a number of relatively small villages. Based on the level of housing provision in this Plan, the population of Warwick District could potentially grow 26% between 2011 and 2029.
The vast majority of the district’s rural area lies within the West Midlands Green Belt, with only the area to the south of Warwick, Whitnash and Royal Leamington Spa lying outside it.
The three main town centres of Royal Leamington Spa, Kenilworth and Warwick provide a focus for retail, leisure and employment. The changing needs of business means that some of the district’s traditional industrial areas require regeneration, with many of these areas located alongside the Grand Union Canal in Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa. The district’s 40km of canal offer particular opportunities for recreation, regeneration and environmental improvement.
The District is well provided for in terms of greenspaces and has a rich historic built heritage .There are 14 Areas of historic or environmental importance in the district and in turn these include seven Sites of Special Scientific Interest, 72 Local Wildlife Sites , 1488 Listed Buildings , 39 Scheduled Monuments, 31 Conservation Areas and 12 Registered Parks and Gardens.
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