Here are the biggest local planning stories from the past week.

B&M

Contractors are now on site as work on Kenilworth's B&M store gets underway.

Kenilworth Nub News revealed earlier this month that an application to open a new store on Station Road had been submitted to Warwick District Council.

The discount retailer is working to repurpose the shut Wilko store, just months after the latter closed for good.

Read more here

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HS2 Viaduct

Planners have signed off on the designs for a 50-metre viaduct which will carry the HS2 line over Finham Brook on the edge of Kenilworth.

Plans for a 35 metre embankment around the viaduct have also been approved, as has a two metre high noise barrier and "acoustic parapet".

The development is all part of ongoing works around Dalehouse Lane - which is set to shut again next month.

Read the full story here.

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Homes Unhappiness

Consultants working on the new South Warwickshire Local Plan are being asked to go back to the drawing board amid "considerable unhappiness" over expected housing numbers. 

That was the contention of Cllrr Chris King, Warwick District Council's portfolio holder for place, who oversees the authority's work on planning policy and delivery, as he updated fellow district councillors on progress last week. 

The plan will set out proposed locations for new housing, workplaces and infrastructure across the districts of Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon in the years ahead.

There are several phases to go through and there have been delays, and this latest issue could cause more with both districts being earmarked for more housing that originally anticipated in previous calculations. 

Read more here.

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