The councillor in charge of the future of the former Kenilworth School sites has hit back at the "completely false" accusations of corruption levelled at Warwick District Council (WDC) officers.

Cllr Jessica Melrose's words came at last week's cabinet meeting where next steps for the Leyes Lane site were discussed.

A planning application for 224 homes on the plot has been submitted - but not yet approved - as Homes England considers buying the land from WDC.

But with the proposed development attracting a huge amount of public interest, the cabinet member for housing hit back at some of the comments made by members of the public.

"There has been some sympathy around this with people saying 'we don't want any more homes here', especially with the number of developments which have been around Kenilworth," Cllr Melrose said. 

"The concerns of the impact of construction are valid. 

"But the claims that officers are acting corruptly are completely false. 

"Raising concerns is fine, questioning our decisions is fine, but accusing officers of wrongdoing or acting corruptly needs to be called out. 

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"The reality is if we don't deliver homes on that site they are going to need to be built somewhere else in the district."

Energy standards

At the same cabinet meeting members discussed the next steps for the land which has sat empty for over two years, with Cllr Melrose urging members to move forward with the sale.

She said the current plan is the "fastest" to deliver the homes.

Any sale of the land will come with strict conditions on the standard and number of homes eventually built there, as well as a desire for half the properties to be designated affordable.

WDC's cabinet has pushed for the highest energy efficiency possible for the homes, with up to 10 per cent hoped to be 'Passivhaus Plus' - a net-zero building standard.

The plans have drawn concerns from other councillors including Cllr Alan Boad who asked "who is going to build them".

Cllr Paul Wightman added: "Our group are very pleased there is going to be a 'lessons learned' on this site. 

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"We shouldn't be where we are with it, it is a very difficult site, errors have been made, we need to look into it. 

"Our group is concerned this is going to have a massive impact across the district and where we have ended up.

"I think we are concerned there has been this ideological search for Passivhaus on this site. 

"While we support the push for environmental improvements, we need to be consistent across the district in terms of the standards we are seeking with our new houses. 

"Given the position we are in, we are not a gambler chasing our losses on how we extricate ourselves from this site."

In response, cabinet member for decarbonisation, Cllr Lowell Williams, said the plans were feasible. "The recommendation which has come forward is based on deliverability," he explained. 

"So the idea that what we are doing here is chasing something which makes it more difficult to deliver is not true. 

"In terms of financial pressure, the core financial pressures on this scheme do not relate to the Passivhaus."

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The land at Leyes Lane is allocated for housing in the 2017 local plan and there is a need to build the homes by 2031 due to previous government funding approved for Kenilworth School's move to Glasshouse Lane.

Councillors Richard Hales and Richard Dickson were also thanked for their help in setting up two public meetings last month to help update locals on the future of the land.

Cabinet voted to move forward with the plans for Leyes Lane. More work is needed to finalise next steps for the Rouncil Lane land.

Before any homes are built at Leyes Lane, a 'reserved matters' application will also need to be approved, dealing with the specifics of any designs.