Councillors will next week decide on the next steps on the masterplan for a major new housing development near Kenilworth.

Warwick District Council's (WDC) cabinet is set to feed back on a public consultation into the planning document for the land at Kings Hill.

The six-week consultation was held earlier this year, asking for public feedback on the masterplan which will ultimately govern how nearly 4,000 houses are built on the land at Stoneleigh.

The council says the document is needed to make sure any development is not "fragmented".

"The lack of a comprehensive masterplan and design code for the whole allocation means that developers could build out their parcels in isolation without a clear understanding of how the site will integrate with other parcels," a council report said.

"This could lead to fragmented developments.

"The delivery of the SPD will help avoid and mitigate risks associated with parcels being progressed in a piecemeal way."

The huge new development would cover 269 hectares off Kings Hill Lane (image via WDC)

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Project to date

The huge new development, which would effectively fill much of the land between Coventry and the village, has been in the pipeline since it was included in the 2017 local plan.

Lioncourt Strategic Land was granted planning permission for 2,500 houses and 4000 square metres of 'mixed use floorspace' on the land.

The promoter is working on behalf of the three landowners in the area.

It is now trying to sell the land to a developer to actually build the homes which have been approved.

The huge new development would cover 269 hectares and include a secondary school, new primary schools, a local centre and health facilities.

The rest of the land at Kings Hill has already been promoted for development as part of the developing South Warwickshire Local Plan.

Public feedback

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Some 237 responses were received to the consultation, with a wide variety of concerns raised.

Many residents opposed the idea of development altogether, while others questioned the impact on local services and roads.

The council said much of the feedback was not relevant to the masterplan document.

"The majority of responses were submitted by local residents, raising concerns relating to the principle of development, including the lack of need based on out-of-date housing evidence and green belt loss (albeit the site is no longer contained within the green belt following the site's allocation in the adopted Warwick District Local Plan)," the council wrote.

"Concerns were also raised in relation to traffic/highway capacity and safety issues (particularly in terms of impacts to Green Lane and querying the requirement for a bus gate), as well as impacts to ecology, flood risk, sewage capacity and potential overlooking impacts to Finham Primary School.

"Concerns were also raised regarding the potential lack of deliverability of vital infrastructure and the proposed phasing of the development.

"However, it is worth clarifying that the majority of the concerns raised relate to the principle of development on the Kings Hill allocation, which is already established through the adopted local plan process and following the approval of planning applications related to the site.

"The scope of consultation is not about whether the land should be allocated for development; the scope is how the allocation should be delivered and what key principles need to be adhered to in order to deliver a sustainable and well-designed scheme with necessary supporting infrastructure."

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Public feedback has led to some tweaks to the masterplan though.

The boundary has been amended to remove parcels of land not earmarked for development.

A phasing option for bus routes has also been included, as has the landscaping plan.

The council's report revealed the planning document cost £150,000 and was paid for by a Homes England grant.

WDC's cabinet will decide how to progress with the document on Thursday 11 June.

Click here to see the report in full.

(Header image by David Stowell via geograph.org.uk)