sustainable site selection and transport
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BPPO Cllr Keith Kondakor response part B 29/08/2013 page 1 of 6
Sustainable site selection and transport. This is part B of my formal response to the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough plan
“preferred options” consultation.
Cllr Keith Kondakor
19 Gloucester Close, Nuneaton, CV11 6FU
29th
August 2013.
Introduction. This consultation response is made not withstanding my grave concerns about the soundness of the
process which produced the so-called “preferred options”. This part of my response is a possible
alternative site selection based on viability and sustainability.
Sadly this is not a consultation that looks at more sustainable alternatives. Here I show one possible
alternative to illustrate the type of development that should be undertaken.
I have also focused on the Nuneaton area of the Borough. It should be for the public in Bedworth,
Bulkington, Ash Green and Keresley, to shape the site allocations within their areas.
I have inserted maps inline and provided a full map as a separate document.
Location of jobs
The Borough plan is based on increasing employment within the borough. In reality much of the potential
increase in employment is outside the borough
The big excuse for pushing 3000 of the 5000 earmarked for countryside to the north of Nuneaton is the
expansion of MIRA from around 500 to 2,500 jobs. This has already been used to push for the approval
of 326 homes on the Weddington road as well as the large expansion of Barwell in nearby Hinckley &
Bosworth district.
It is very unlikely that the full 2,000 jobs will materialise and many of those that do will be the result of
midlands based firms relocating some activity onto the MIRA site. From the bus services to be provided
for the site it is clear that those jobs that are provided to local people will be from a wide catchment area.
A far bigger location for new employment activity will be the Friargate development near Coventry
Railway station. This is targeted to produce 13,500 jobs but the reality will be many of these will also be
relocated from other sites. There is also an outstanding call-in for the Coventry Gateway project. This is
even more hyped than the others but, if approved, would be another major employment site outside the
borough.
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/200079/regeneration/1824/friargate
The reality is that around half the working population leave the borough to find employment. House
building is more viable in areas with higher house prices and greater job densities. Increasing fuel prices
and above inflation public transport cost increases will lead to a net migration out of Nuneaton.
Within the Borough additional employment land is proposed to be allocated at Bermuda (ECO1 & 2).
This is on top of the existing 49 Hectares1 still available in the current development plan.
Within the Borough there is currently a total of 52.39ha of
1 NBBC AMR 2011-12
BPPO Cllr Keith Kondakor response part B 29/08/2013 page 2 of 6
employment land, of which 49.54ha is still available for development
From the 2012 annual monitoring report it is clear that we have plenty of unused employment land. Some
small sites may not be carried forward but the existing supply is extensive.
The small sites that may be lost to employment use, shown in table 4 of the PO document, will not all be
lost. It is also very likely that those lost to employment use will become windfall housing sites.
The allocation of 3 major new sites seems excessive given the massive competition from employment
sites outside the borough, excessive employment growth forecast and likely retention of some sites in
table 4.
Given that site ECO2 has great potential as a housing site it should be allocated to housing not
employment.
Location of additional Housing We need to look at a far more achievable housing target. From the demographics highlighted in part A of
my response I start from the basis of around 4,800 additional households between 2010-2028. Looking at
existing building rates of 280-300 homes per year points to just 5000-5400 homes additional homes over
the period.
The Borough plan “preferred options” (BPPO) points to a total net supply of site for 3,354 homes. It is
my view that we should look to allocate sites for around 2,100 homes above the current net supply. This
allows for a small amount of existing allocation not be developed while still housing the 4,800 new
households. Some additional elasticity is provided by changes in the amount of empty homes in the
Borough. We are already seeing the effect of council tax changes encouraging empty homes back into
use.
Land between Griff Brook and Gipsy Land
I do not wish to proscribe the site for new housing in Bedworth & Bulkington but would expect sites for
around 1/3rd
of the new housing (700 units) to be allocated in those areas. Of the remaining 1,400 the best
location for the majority would be land East of the New Bermuda station. This comprises land used for
BPPO Cllr Keith Kondakor response part B 29/08/2013 page 3 of 6
BPPO site ECO2 (H97 & H98 on my map) and housing land at Gipsy lane (SHS1 called H99 on my
map). This should be linked by a cycle path (green) and new road to the Bermuda Railway station. There
should be an extensive cycle network produced (solid green) to link in new station, housing and existing
cycle network (dashed green lines). It is vital to protect the green corridor (G9 in dark green) along the
Griff Brook & Griff Hollows.
There are 6 no.48 buses going each way per hour on Coventry Road and there is a planned 2 trains an
hour from the new Bermuda Station (T1).
Land East of Judkins
The area around the Coventry canal east of Judkins was earmarked for large amounts of employment use.
It remains a vast wasted asset. The site is relatively close to Nuneaton town centre but there are issues
with increasing traffic though the Midland Road Air Quality Monitoring Area. In the short term the area
(H96) that I would like to see as housing is being used in connection with restoring the Judkins landfill
site. It is likely that this site would not be available for around 4 years. In order to enable the development
of the site we need a significant reduction in traffic on Midland road. I would like to see the reopening of
Stockingford railway station, massive improvements in the bus service and an extensive network of cycle
routes (marked as light green lines) to connect Housing & Employment sites (H96 & ECO9) to the
railway station, town centre and Camp Hill developments. There are regular bus services passing on
Midland Road.
BPPO Cllr Keith Kondakor response part B 29/08/2013 page 4 of 6
Land opposite Horeston Grange shops
Horeston Grange shops provide local services to the St Nicolas Ward. The fields in the opposite side of
the Eastboro way would provide a suitable site for a doctors surgery, extra care and similar style housing
close to shops and good 7 day a week bus routes. We should also protect an area so that a local railway
station can be provided for Horeston Grange and employment areas to the south. We need to improve the
local cycle network with a dedicated cycle path along the Eastboro Way and West to the Town Centre.
From 2nd
September there will be 5 buses an hour (48 & 158) passing each way on north side of H95 and
2 number 55 buses going into Horeston Grange from Eastboro way.
Overall transport network Bus services
Nuneaton and Bedworth needs to be integrated into the Centro system so that we have regulated fares and
interconnecting services. The Stagecoach near-monopoly on bus services has lead to excessive fares and
poor levels of services. If nothing is done to regulate bus operators, growth will suffer.
BPPO Cllr Keith Kondakor response part B 29/08/2013 page 5 of 6
Only a few key bus routes in the Borough provide high frequencies and 7 day a week services.
Development of significant housing should only be permitted where a there is an Evening & Sunday Bus
service.
We need the “bus bridge” building into the bus station from Bond Gate. This was in
the plans for the “new” road system but dropped. This would take pressure off the
section of Newtown road from Bond Gate to the existing bus station entrance.
New railway Stations The new station at Bermuda could be a great success. The Borough plan must look at adding stations to
the Leicester to Birmingham line both to the East & West of Nuneaton. Sometime post 2018 it is
expected that new local stopping services will be added to the line to serve planned new stations in North
East Birmingham such as Fort Dunlop. We need stations at Stockingford and Horeston Grange to be
provided.
Cycling network I have indicated the general routes for an extended cycling network within the borough. We need a policy
that means all new roads must have a separate cycle lane unless the speed limit is a maximum of 20MPH.
The attached map show new cycle lanes as solid light green lines (existing routes are dashed). Key to the
network is to link into employment sites and railway stations.
For Nuneaton (Trent Valley) station we need a
new entrance on the Northeast side. I would
provide a cycling route north from the station on
Northeast side. It was also proposed in the 1990
to have a cycle route under the west coast
mainline using the river Anker tunnel. We
should look if that is feasible. We should also
look at a cycling route on the course of the
disused by-pass rail track bed.
BPPO Cllr Keith Kondakor response part B 29/08/2013 page 6 of 6
The A444 Bedworth Bypass is a very dangerous route to walk or cycle.
There has been a campaign to provide a footpath between the Bedworth
area and Bermuda industrial estates. We should look at making this a both
a cycling and walking route.
Road network A significant change/ increase to the Road network is not sustainable or
affordable. We need to take the pressure off the road network by
providing extensive cycle routes, cheaper bus fares, new railway stations
(at Bermuda, Stockingford & Horeston Grange) and sensible locations for
new housing and employment sites.
We need the existing road space to work better by synchronising traffic
lights in the town centres and have more intelligent control systems. The
current system is just stupid.
There are three projects that need investigating.
1) Bus bridge for Nuneaton Bus Station
2) A slip road from Newtown road in Bedworth to the North Bound
A444 Bedworth Bypass ( completing 3/4th
of the Diamond)
3) A link road between the Whitacre Road and Attleborough Fields industrial estates.
Conclusions
The site selection and transport ideas in this alternative to the Borough plan show that we can improve the
borough in a sustainable way. The Borough plan should focus development on sites that will be well served by
public transport. The cost and impact of providing new railway stations, cycle routes and only minor road
upgrades will be far less than the council “preferred option”.
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