New homes plan for town
TWO thousand fewer homes may have to be built in Nuneaton and Bedworth as part of a new Borough Plan.
The new draft version of the plan, which is a blueprint for all future housing, economic and leisure land across the two towns, says that housing numbers need to be cut.
New estimates in the Housing and Economic Needs Assessment (HEDNA) for Nuneaton and Bedworth suggest the number of new homes should be reduced from 703 to to 545 per year. This works out at just over 2,300 homes between 2025 and 2039.
It is a number that some may not think is low enough, given how many homes have already been allowed to be built by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough
Council under the current Borough Plan. But the Conservatives, who launched a review into the existing Borough Plan when they came into power, have said the new figures mean no more loss of precious green belt land.
“We believe the figure we are proposing for housing growth reduces the rush to new homes we have seen in recent years under the current Borough Plan, and is much more realistic to deliver the right number of homes in the right places with no further loss of precious green belt land,” said councillor Richard Smith, cabinet member for planning.
“On the other hand, it balances that pressure with the need for continued growth that we must see if we are to achieve the levelling up that our borough needs, and it supports our ambitious plans for regeneration in both Nuneaton and Bedworth town centres.
“I am satisfied that the evidence presented here will be crucial to ensure that we protect key sites in the borough but continue to bring forward appropriate opportunities for development that we need to ensure a vibrant and competitive local economy.
“Importantly, it also identifies that around 80 hectares of land are needed for economic development to supply the jobs our area needs.
“We are working hard to make Nuneaton and Bedworth a great place to live, work and visit, and the analysis contained here will form part of a robust Borough Plan to go to the government’s Planning Inspector next year.”