Support virtually non existent for huge new housing estate

RESIDENTS have reacted negatively to plans for a huge new housing development.

An estimated 250 people attended an exhibition at Rokeby School in Anderson Avenue on Tuesday to view the David Wilson Homes and Barratt Homes plans, which propose 1,000 homes and a primary school on land between Ashlawn Road and Norton Leys.

Publicity leaflets introduced the development as “a unique opportunity to create a new mixed use, sustainable neighbourhood of the highest design quality south of Rugby with good pedestrian and cycle connections to the town centre and surrounding countryside, and unprecedented integration of open space”.

The developers insist because Rugby Borough Council had failed to identify sites for five years’ worth of new homes as required by national policy, the new estate would help meet its housing requirements.

But The Observer spoke to residents at the exhibition, and was unable to find anyone who would speak in favour of the proposals.

Objections included concerns as to the effect on traffic, public services, green buffer zones, wildlife, farming land, flood plains and bridle paths, and doubt as to the need for a school when the former Rokeby junior school buildings exists on Hillside.

Bill Lewis, Long Furlong, told us: "You must get to a point where you reach saturation. You get to the point where you're beginning to affect the land, which is really bad for people in general.

"You can keep building on greenfields and in the beginning the effect is great on the rest of the area. But as you get close to saturation – and if they filled in this land with housing – then Rugby's going to be closer and closer to Dunchurch. How much longer will it be before it goes beyond that?

"The situation has arisen because the council decided many years ago to build 10,800 new houses from 2006 to 2026."

Robin Aird, chairman of Dunchurch Parish Council, said he was appalled.

"Dunchurch has been sold down the river. We're being totally inundated with more and more houses. We're already hugely congested and polluted in the centre of the village. This is just going to exacerbate the problem and something has to be done about it. It's going to be a nightmare, and it's all because Rugby Borough Council's core strategy has not been implemented correctly.

"All this land was supposed to be long term and third priority for release. "It's all happened because the mast site has not come on stream quickly enough, and the core strategy – the way it was written – it was doomed to fail because they wouldn't be able to build quickly enough up there, and Dunchurch is paying the price. This is all speculative, they're desperate to get this in before the mast site is up and running."

Roger Jones of Hillside added: "I have mixed views personally. I can't understand why Rugby needs another major housing development. "Rugby is expanding at an alarming rate without this so I don't understand why we need this extra development.

"And why are they proposing a new primary school when the old Rokeby School is sitting empty? It's not really joined-up thinking.

Cath Jones, also of Hillside, added: "I don't think the present road structure can support these estates being built all around Rugby. "Ashlawn Road is quite narrow. At the moment the road system is pressurised, particularly at rush hour. So what is going to happen when you get thousands more dwellings built?"

Margaret Miller, of Badby Leys, said: "There's no employment at this end of town. Everyone who lives there will have to travel by car, which is going to increase the traffic on Dunchurch Road in particular, which gets clogged up in the morning."

Heather Hemelryk of Orson Leys, added: "I think the traffic on our little roads will be quite ridiculous with another 1,000 houses. It isn't clear where the feeder roads for the development will be. It'll just be putting more traffic onto the three roads that come off Dunchurch Road. It'll be a nightmare.

"The roads aren't wide enough. It'll just be a rat-run from Dunchurch Road through to Ashlawn Road, cutting off going round by Sainsbury's. It seems a very silly thing to do."

Sue Leary, who lives on Goldsmiths Avenue, feared for the current rights of way. "Although it's down on the plans as still being there, is it going to be a right of way? At the moment it's a right of way across countryside, where people can walk their dogs. Is it going to be kept as a right of way where people can walk along a nice path rather than through a housing estate?"

Derek Bell, of Drayton Leys, said: "They haven't finished Cawston Grange yet how are they going to get rid of all the houses? They're going to bring the price of houses down in this town, I would have thought.

"The other thing is the school. There's a school here which is surplus to requirements (the former Rokeby School site). They're proposing to build another school on the development – that doesn't make much sense to me."

A sole voice of approval came in the form of a letter to The Observer from Tony Collins who has lived in the area for over 50 years.

He wrote: "We knew at some time in the future the open field behind us would be built upon. It would have been naive in the extreme to assume the estate would not at some point extend to the Ashlawn Road. If Rugby is to prosper it needs to expand and in times of increasing population, the youngsters have to have somewhere to live. Those opposed to the scheme should be in no doubt their opposition to this scheme does not speak for me. No matter how loud they shout, they do not speak for Hillside as a whole, merely a few who take a NIMBY attitude."

See page eight for his letter in full.

Buy photos» Heather Hemelryk, Sue Leary and Margaret Miller. 05.014.036.rug.jm6

Buy photos» Local residents Mervyn Mortimer from Hilary Road and Dennis Perry from Long Furlong look over plans for the proposed development. 05.014.036.rug.jm1

Buy photos» An estimated 250 residents came to Rokeby School to view the plans. 05.014.036.rug.jm2

Buy photos» Planning meeting. 05.014.036.rug.jm3

Buy photos» Bill Lewis, Long Furlong. 05.014.036.rug.jm4

Buy photos» Robin Aird. 05.014.036.rug.jm5

Buy photos» Cath and Roger Jones. 05.014.036.rug.jm7

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