Kenilworth Neighbourhood Plan could be made public soon

The draft version of the Kenilworth Neighbourhood Plan was finalised last week, and now has to be formally approved or rejected by Kenilworth Town Council at its first meeting next year on Thursday January 12.

If approved, the plan will be made public and will go to a six-week formal consultation.

Once the consultation is finished, the plan will be edited further to create a final draft.

If it is approved by an independent inspector, the final plan will be put to the people of Kenilworth in a yes or no vote.

The plan will sit alongside Warwick district’s Local Plan if both are agreed, and aims to give the town council more control over the finer details of the potential changes coming to Kenilworth.

Cllr George Illingworth, who chairs the Neighbourhood Plan working party, said: “We’re trying to reflect as many views as we can in the plan.

“We hope it will start in January. We want to know if we’ve got this plan right, and if not, we want to know what’s wrong with it.

Referring to the planned development near Southcrest Farm as part of the Local Plan, Cllr Illingworth said: “We want to take some control over the development in the eastern part of Kenilworth.

“We’ve got to make sure that the town can cope.”

In a statement on the town council’s website, he added: “We need to ensure that not only do we have the necessary school places and medical facilities for the growing population, but that the transport links whether car, bicycle or public transport feed into the town, and that a sense of community is created.

“At the same time we must keep the green spaces and other features which make Kenilworth such a 
popular place.”

The town council had sought ideas from Kenilworth residents earlier this year on what should be included in the plan.

An informal survey suggested popular ideas might be to upgrade the leisure facilities at Castle Farm and Abbey Fields, increasing the number of small businesses and improving road junctions to ease traffic problems.