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Inspector Jake Kibblewhite of Warwickshire Police has written to the Association to apologise for the fact that there was no police presence at our AGM for the first time in over 40 years, He has offered to attend our next meeting in person. (Source: Tom Ross) If you attended our recent AGM you will have heard dire warnings that Stratford District, and Tanworth in particular, may be about to be snowed under by applications to build new housing on the Green Belt. The government’s revised National Policy Planning Framework and some recent decisions in the High Court mean that only “preventing urban sprawl” between towns can be given as a legitimate reason to refuse planning applications – not between villages. The government has also moved the goal posts on how a Five Year Housing Supply is calculated – to the detriment of Stratford District. Summers Holdings Ltd have just submitted an application in principle for up to nine houses on land in Butts Lane. Others will surely follow. Please take a moment to read the details, and especially the argument set out in the Planning Statement prepared by Stansgate Planners, on the SDC E-planning website – reference 26/00918/PIP. More to follow. (Source: Tom Ross) Many thanks to the residents who managed to make it to our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 8 April. Our MP Manuela Perteghella and District Councillor Lynda Organ attended and answered questions from the 60 strong audience. Unfortunately, our County Councillor James Crocker had to attend another meeting in Henley. For the first time in forty years Warwickshire Police were unable to field anyone on the night. Given that “Neighbourhood Watch” is part of our name that is to be very much regretted. The challenges facing Tanworth over the Green Belt, a Conservation Area review, speeding in the village and along Broad Lane and a possible major development at Portway have never been greater. (Source: Tom Ross) The UK Government is in the process of re-organising local government in England. It is encouraging the creation of new single-tier authorities to cover large areas of the country and, in most cases, sweeping away the existing County and District Councils. The government hopes this will deliver efficiencies and cost savings. You may recall this was tried in the 1970’s and largely abandoned some years later. The powers of Parish Councils may also change to some degree. Both the existing Warwickshire County Council (with Rugby Borough Council) and Stratford District Council (with Warwick District Council) have produced proposals which could be said to augment their existing responsibilities. As a result, residents are being asked if they prefer one new unitary authority to cover all of present Warwickshire OR two unitary authorities the southern of which would combine Stratford and Warwick District Councils. More information about One Council can be found at: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/lgrproposal and about Two Councils at: https://shapingourcouncils.co.uk/our-submission-document Residents are asked to give their views by 26 March at: https://consult.communities.gov.uk/local-government-reorganisation/warwickshire (Source: Tom Ross) Stratford District Council has increased the charge for the collection of green waste to £50 from 1 April 2026. Details of how to purchase a 2026/7 sticker for your Green Bin can be found on the District Council website. (Source: Stratford District Council) Stratford District Council have confirmed that they are currently undertaking a review of the Tanworth Conservation Area. They have hired consultants Essex Place Services to undertake the work. Residents may have encountered one of their number around the village, It is not known yet why this work is being undertaken. (Source: Tom Ross) Representations were made recently to Tanworth Parish Council regarding the shocking state of parking in the village centre. Among the suggestions was a Residents Parking Scheme with visitor parking time restricted. Everyone is agreed that an already difficult situation is made worse when there are events in the School, the Church or the Village Hall. It is also accepted that parking is already under pressure because of the legitimate needs of the Bell and Tanworth Garage. The Bellfield has also suffered for many years and the situation has only been made worse by the loss of the area near the lockup garages. A small group of Parish Councillors, consisting of David Cowan, John Brougham and Tom Ross, met to discuss possible solutions. The outcome was that, given the many downsides of parking restrictions in any part of the village, not least the cost and the effect on the Conservation Area, the Parish Council agreed at its meeting on 16 October not to ask Warwickshire County Council to progress such a scheme. Councillors agreed that the only solution was to try to provide extra off street parking around the village. To this end the Council would approach Tanworth School to see if they could help more than they already do and to approach local landowners to see if any fields in the vicinity could be leased to provide more parking spaces on a regular basis. Further details are available in the minutes of the Parish Council. The Clerk can be contacted on 703200. (Source: Tom Ross) Representatives from Caddick Group and Erdgard Developments have made a presentation to Tanworth Parish Council in advance of an application to build a large industrial site on land to the south east of Junction 3 of the M42.  You may be aware that a proposal to build a larger development over thirty years ago called Portway Business Park was only defeated after a long and hard fought campaign by the residents of Tanworth, Earlswood and Portway. A formal application has not been made yet, but the developers have undertaken to keep the Parish Council informed. Contractors have begun felling all 400 trees on the Mile Walk/Drive to the Umberslade Children’s Farm and beyond. Robert Muntz has obtained a tree felling Licence to remove the poplars planted by his father in the 70’s. He says he has a health assessment that all the trees represent a danger to visitors. The Forestry Commission are a law unto themselves in the opinion of many and there are precious few ways of overturning this decision. The District Council, which is usually consulted in such applications, apparently saw no effect on the amenity of the area. (Source: Tom Ross) Stratford District Council is working jointly with Warwick District Council to prepare a new Local Plan for all of South Warwickshire to help meet housing requirements and employment opportunities up to 2050. The existing plan was adopted in 2015. The new plan will cost an estimated £2.2 million. It will not be immediately affected by the Government’s plans to introduce Unitary Authorities. A committee of both councils met last December and agreed to begin another public consultation. Comments needed to be made by Friday 7 March. You can find more details and make your views known on the proposals at: https://southwarwickshire.oc2.uk/document/148 It is a very long report but, among other things, it suggests 12 locations for possible major new settlements. Two have been identified that could affect us considerably – one east of Wood End and one south of Tanworth. They are both described as “less suitable” than Long Marston or Lighthorne Heath/Gaydon but they are still being put forward as worth consideration. In 2015 a Planning Inspector rejected the previous Local Plan because Stratford District tried to disperse housing across sites, some in Green Belt, rather than use Long Marston and Gaydon. However, the councils are in the process of undertaking a review of Green Belt which is never good news. If you wish to comment you need to Register and Log in. You can then go through the report responding to each proposal and each site one at a time. You do not need to read the whole report just the parts you think relevant to the future of Tanworth. (Source: Tom Ross) |
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