Possible gypsy and traveller settlement near Kenilworth could be included in new local plan
A gypsy and traveller site could be included in the new South Warwickshire Local Plan near Kenilworth.
Three possible locations were put forward in the call for sites published this January, including one on Crackley lane.
The site is currently an empty field next to 'The Pools' cottages between Kenilworth and Westwood Heath.
The two other locations suggested to Warwick District Council were in Tanworth-in-Arden and the second in Luddington.
WDC and Stratford-upon-Avon District Council published a list of some 555 possible sites for development in January.
The list included 13 potential areas of housing development in Kenilworth.
The two councils are currently assessing the suitability of each of the sites.
And alongside a number of other surveys, the two councils are currently investigating the need for gypsy and traveller provision in the area.
An update presented at a joint cabinet meeting earlier in the month said a report "to determine the need for gypsy and traveller and travelling showpeople accommodation across the South Warwickshire area up to 2050" was currently being commissioned.
Later this year the councils will launch a second consultation into what issues the public want to be addressed in the new local plan.
But speaking at the joint council meeting earlier this month Cllr John Cooke stressed the fact that no decisions had been made yet.
"There is a lot of interest in some of the sites and indeed even closer to home somebody rang me and said 'do you realise you are putting some houses on the Green Belt next to my house' and I said 'we're not, this is just early stages. None of these sites have been looked at'," he said.
Adding: "There is a long long way to go, and I think the timings are very very critical as we go forward. I think that there is going to be some rocky events on the way.
"My predecessor doing the local plan for Warwick district told me that as he got close to the thing it became a nightmare so I am just hoping that that isn't the case and that all is harmony."
The SWLP is not expected to be finalised until 2025 and will need to be approved by the Secretary of State before it is adopted.
Warwickshire County Council currently runs four gypsy and traveller sites in the county.
Two are in North Warwickshire, one in Rugby and the fourth at Pathlow in Stratford-upon-Avon.
(Image by Ian S via geograph.org.uk)
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