Planning permission granted for 550 new houses in Kenilworth

By James Smith

21st Oct 2021 | Local News

Up to 550 new houses will be built on the east side of Kenilworth after Warwick District Council approved a major planning application.

The application, which was split into two parts, also includes plans for a new primary school, community centre and employment land.

WDC's planning committee has given full permission for 98 houses to be built and outline permission for a further 442, the school and the other new buildings.

The new houses will be built in the area between A46, Leamington Road and Glasshouse Lane, behind existing housing on Thickthorn Close and Kenilworth Rugby Club.

Speaking at the planning meeting Cllr James Kennedy raised concerns about the building standards the planned houses are to be built to.

"My question here is how will the sustainability assessment be assessed," he said. "Will there be specific targets that need to be met, and how will this match with councillors' ambitions to have zero carbon housing?

"What this seems to be at the moment is a very weak condition that someone can produce a report that we can tick it off and go ahead and build houses which still will need major refurbishment in a very few years because they are not up to zero carbon standards."

Concerns were also raised by Cllr Colin Quinney that whilst the overall application met the required number of affordable houses, they were not distributed evenly across the two sections of the plans.

He said: "It seems to me that this is a crucial point that we should question or challenge.

"I know it is profitable for developers to start off with more marketable than affordable houses and I can see good commercial reasons to do so.

"But I am worried that this is just opening the floodgates to not meet the development brief and I think we should be firm on this."

Councillors included a proviso that the application only be accepted if planning officers engaged further with the applicant on the issue.

Previous concerns had been raised about a proposed roundabout opposite Heyville Croft. However new plans will see a junction with the new housing estate spine road having priority.