Residents have been "hoodwinked and outmanoeuvred" by the next phase of a major housing estate in Kenilworth, which has now been given the green light.

That is according to a local resident who spoke out at last week's planning committee meeting against the detailed plans for 144 more houses on the land at Thickthorn.

Councillors also raised a number of issues regarding the impact on local roads of the next stage of the Kenilworth Gate estate, with one describing the scheme as "suboptimal" - particularly regarding the impact of the new homes on Leamington Road, Glasshouse Lane and St John's roundabout.

Warwick District Council's planning committee had previously deferred its decision on the reserved matters application, asking for more information from the county council's highways department.

But with the outline application for the whole development - which was approved in 2021 - saying the spine road for the 550 homes does not need to be built until most of them are inhabited, councillors ultimately voted in favour of the application.

The proposed 144 extra homes would be built at the north end of the development (image via planning application)

'Important evening for Kenilworth'

Speaking against the application, local resident Clive Peacock urged councillors to throw out the scheme in order to avoid "utter chaos" on the local roads.

"This is an important evening for Kenilworth," he told the committee. 

"Hopefully some of what I am saying tonight is not totally redundant, having been here in May. 

"For many months in 2019 and 2020 many interested Kenilworth citizens attended community forum meetings to be briefed about land use east of Kenilworth, including spine road development, cycle paths, location of EV charging points and much more. 

"What we were not briefed about at those meetings is that developers have much more thinking time than do residents. 

"This we have learned the hard way. 

"We have been hoodwinked, outmanoeuvred, out-thought by developers across all new developments in Kenilworth."

Several issues around access to the site have been raised by councillors (image by James Smith)

Planners' recommendation

While a decision was last month deferred on the application, WDC planners have twice recommended the scheme go ahead.

Before the meeting, a council report said the previous concerns had all been addressed, and the developer had made some changes to the application.

And speaking at the meeting, planning officer Dan Charles said: "In terms of the spine road and its delivery, we are limited as to what we can do with that. 

"The likelihood is, the next phase will be worked up very soon, and we will likely be looking at receipt of an application in the coming weeks, which will obviously deliver that spine road. 

"While it may be included in the next phase, the trigger is still there for those 475 units."

A diagram showing where the spine road should eventually be built (image via planning application)

Meanwhile Charlotte Thomas spoke on behalf of Persimmon at the meeting and said there was no reason for the application to be refused.

"We want to remind members this reserved matters application relates to the delivery of 144 new homes, of varying sizes, including 43.75 per cent affordable dwellings of variable tenures including the government's first homes initiative," she said. 

"This first phase will also include the delivery of all public open space required for this phase and the wider site. 

"The homes on this site have been sustainability designed."

Serious concerns

But her positivity for the scheme was not shared by two Kenilworth councillors, both of whom sit on Kenilworth Town Council - the planning committee of which has twice objected to the latest Kenilworth Gate application.

"The problem is, whereas we may have agreed those conditions about the delivery of the spine road, it has been shown again and again in the land east of Kenilworth that the highways options, in particular the access for children of residents of these developments, to the new Kenilworth School, have proved to be totally inadequate," said Cllr James Kennedy. 

"We have some very very serious safety issues for children attending the school and we have been trying to address those ever since the new school opened. 

"My concern is, this new development will only compound those issues."

Meanwhile Cllr Richard Dickson added: "Members are being asked to take a lot on trust here that everything is going to be ok as far as the applicant has to say and what highways is saying, that the modelling says Birches Lane, Glasshouse Lane, the gyratory, will all be able to cope both with the construction traffic and the extra vehicles that will be on the road. 

"Yet the lived experience as a result of the school being built and the diversions caused by the closure of Dalehouse Lane as a result of HS2, more traffic is using that route and the A46, means there will be additional pressure on Birches Lane and the gyratory."

The application was approved with seven votes for and three against.