Threats -
Our countryside
faces many threats ... here are
a
few that we are trying to deal with ...
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Road
Building
- Warwickshire is a major cross-roads for the motorway network.
This brings employment, growth and wealth to the area......
BUT..... it also brings traffic of all kinds, demand
for feeder roads and pressure for land around the motorways
for employment uses and housing.
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House
Building - Another sign of prosperity is the demand for
land for house-building and the poor quality of design of that
housing. There are also changes in lifestyles which are leading
to people living in smaller units - therefore more housing units
are required. This all leads eventually to pressure on the countryside. |
| Policies
- There are many tiers of policies which guide local councils
in making planning decisions. These are at national, regional,
county and district council level in the rural counties. There
are also supplementary planning guidance at local level plus
conservation areas, areas of outstanding national beauty, national
parks, green belts and special landscape areas. The relationships
between these tiers of plans is well understood. The planning
green paper threatens to alter the structure and maybe throw
out the good with the bad. |
Farm
Diversification - The agricultural industry in England and
throughout the world is changing rapidly. Our demand for food
at low prices leads to imports from all over the world and pressure
on supermarkets to cut the prices which farmers are paid. Farmers
look at other productive uses of their land and wish to create
industrial estates, golf courses, craft centres, farm parks
and other imaginative schemes. These frequently have an impact
on the environment surrounding the farm which has to be balanced
with the needs of other users of the countryside. If farming
dies away then rural areas will change. The familiar patterns
of tended fields and woods will be replaced by neglected landscape
and people will no longer work in the country.
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Appeals
Procedures - There are routes by which
an aggrieved applicant can appeal against the refusal of an
application by the local council. There is no appeal route for
third parties such as CPRE. The only rout is to ask government
regional office to 'call in' consents which are clearly in breach
of policies.
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Extensions
- of homes, stables, farms, factories and domestic gardens.
When a home or workplace is built it is designed to fit the
site and live happily with its neighbours. There is constant
demand to extend these buildings in every direction - this upsets
the balance agreed when the building was new and leads to over-development,
friction with neighbours and deterioration in the quality of
the countryside. |
| Development
Control - The ability of councils to carry out development
control, appeals and enforcement is a matter for debate. It
is difficult for councils to provide resources in terms of trained
personnel and financial and legal support when there are so
many demands on limited resources. The availability of adequate
numbers of trained and experienced staff is questionable in
this Branch's area. |
Inadequate
public transport - The blight of roads and vehicles is gradually
spreading throughout the county. The constant passing of vehicles
spoils the quality of life, especially on narrow country lanes,
and the pollution of the environment and effect on wildlife
is a matter of great concern. There needs to be a reduction
in travelling by placing work, shops and other facilities nearer
to homes or by cutting private transport by making public transport
more attractive. This is possible - journeys from the Midlands
to London by train have increased in recent years to stretch
the capacity of the routes.
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Employment
Land - As population rises and productivity
increases the demand for employment land is inexorable. This
demand must be met as far as possible by re-use of brown-field
land. This can be expensive if the land has been contaminated
by old industries but these costs must be met.
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Mobile
Phone Masts - New technology and the wish of people to use
it for business and pleasure often leads to unexpected impacts.
Mobile phone masts have mushroomed and the demand continues
to grow. Policies require companies to share masts wherever
possible but this rarely seems to happen. |
Battle
Grounds
A
brief look at the threats described above shows that there
are many battles to be fought to protect the countryside.
Edges
of Towns - A watch must be kept on the encoachment of
towns into the countryside for housing, employment and other
purposes.
Villages
and Small Towns - Constant pressure to develop land within
and on the edges of villages may damage the character of the
very places that people find it so attractive to live in.
Green
Belts - These were established to ensure that major towns
and cities do not grow together and completely extinguish
the countryside. There is constant pressure in the Meriden
Gap which has not been strongly contested. There are also
smaller, but in the long term, significant, developments in
the rural areas of the green belt.
Areas
of Outstanding Natural Beauty - The Cotswold AONB encompasses
part of south Warwickshire and must be enforced to protect
what it is designed to do.
Special
Landscape Areas - Some local plans recognise these special
areas but sometimes the history of their establishment is
forgotten and little regard is paid to them
Conservation
Areas - many towns and villages have these areas. It is
important that they are protected sympathetically and reviewed
periodically.
Policy
Changes - We need to remain alert to ensure that when
policies are reviewed there is adequate time for consideration
and accessible procedures for putting forward comments, opinions
and arguments. |
