Kenilworth's election hopefuls were on the same page when it came to protecting the green belt around the town, at this week's hustings.

Speaking at Tuesday's (June 18) debate, the four candidates present all spoke about the need to find sustainable means of development, when asked whether more homes should be built in the green belt.

Answering the question first, Conservative candidate Sir Jeremy Wright said the land serves a purpose beyond promoting biodiversity.

"If you go out to Crackley Gap it won't take you long to work out that the distance between Coventry and Kenilworth is not all that great," the former attorney general said. 

"And if you don't respect those green belt imperatives, not to allow urban settlements to merge, then we will quickly find Kenilworth will become a suburb of Coventry. 

"Now Coventry is a lovely place, but I would suspect we would prefer Kenilworth, remains Kenilworth."

Sir Jeremy also referenced his objections to the Honiley Solar Farm, saying solar panels should be built on the roofs of commercial buildings, in order to protect farmland and the country's food security.

Labour's Cat Price said more support needs to be given to the "hugely overstretched" planning officers, and said houses should only be built where there is appropriate infrastructure and services to accommodate new residents.

"One thing we have to remember is we are all dependent on the quality of our planning officers locally and what they are able to do for us to protect these areas," she told the audience at Kenilworth Methodist Church. 

"We need to support local authorities to stand up to developers who will always tell you that the only viable houses they can build are large, four-bedroom detached houses in the green belt, because nothing else is commercially viable. 

"We know that is not true, we know what our communities need. 

"We know we need smaller houses for young families, we need bungalows for people to downsize to as they get older."

Only four of the election candidates came to the hustings (image by James Smith)

Meanwhile Jenny Wilkinson also highlighted the need to support farmers and improve the country's food security by protecting the green belt.

The Liberal Democrat candidate said communities need to be involved in deciding where houses are built, and new homes needed to "be ambitious" in terms of sustainability.

"What we do need though, is more housing," Ms Wilkinson explained. 

"There is a desperate need for more housing in this country, in particular what we need to do is make sure we have the right type of housing. 

"We need more affordable housing and more social housing. 

"The Liberal Democrats are committed to the building of social housing as a key target."

Answering the same question, the Green's Alix Dearing said it feels like "developers and lobbyists are running the show" and the focus needs to be on building the right types of energy-efficient houses.

"The issue of the green belt has of course been a very thorny one, and we have seen HS2 going coach and horses through it all," the former Mayor of Kenilworth said. 

"As a district councillor and a town councillor, it seems to me we do need to support the planners absolutely. 

"It seems to be like a developers' charter at the moment, all sensible stuff that we want like infrastructure first [needs to happen]."

The three other Kenilworth parliamentary candidates - Jacqui Harris (Reform UK), Paul De'Ath (UKIP) and Nick Blunderbuss Green (Monster Raving Loony Party) - were invited but did not attend the debate.

Kenilworth Nub News will be providing more coverage of Tuesday's hustings. See the rest of our general election coverage here.