Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)

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I rise on behalf of the residents of Bulkington in my constituency in relation to the inclusion of two sites in their village, referenced HSG7 and HSG8, in the local plan prepared by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 6 June. The petition has been organised by Bulkington Residents Voice, a group hastily assembled to oppose the addition of those sites to the local plan, and it has been signed by 1,490 local residents, which is almost one in three of the local population.

The petition states that the two sites in Bulkington were added at a late stage in the preparation of the local plan, giving residents no time to prepare and submit objections; further, that Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council did not make any attempt to engage with or advise local residents of the addition of the sites; and, further, that the two sites would accommodate 691 houses, representing an increase of more than a quarter, and a further 2,500 residents. Both those increases are totally out of proportion with the current village setting and would lead to the loss of the village’s identity.

The petition further states that there are no proposals for the additional infrastructure that development on this scale would entail; further, that there are no proposed economic improvements by way of job creation or business investment; and, further, that the sites are greenfield and located in the green belt, which is an important barrier between Nuneaton and Bulkington and where there is a presumption against development. The petition accordingly asks this House to cause Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council to remove the two sites from the local plan.

The text of the petition is as follows:

[The petition of residents of Bulkington, Warwickshire,

Declares that the residents of Bulkington, Warwickshire, petition your honourable House that Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council prepared and made major policy changes to the proposed Borough Plan, without making any attempt to engage with, or advise local residents, or their representative organisation; furthermore, these changes committed inappropriate numbers of new houses to the village of Bulkington, yet this would not deliver any economic benefit to the village or more importantly to the wider Borough.

Therefore, the petitioners request that the House of Commons urges the Government to cause the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council to remove from the Publication Version of the Borough Plan (2017–2031) the proposed developments in the existing Green Belt around Bulkington.

And the petitioners remain, etc.]

[P002045]