Dear Mr Seeley
As the deadline for
submissions from interested parties is this Friday 16th December
I am instructed by the Board of Mercia Business Village Management Company (
a development within Westwood Business Park) to write to register our
serious concerns relating to the onward development of the University.
The University as such
only has the support and admiration of the entire local populace. However
the access to and from the University has long ago reached a point of peak
hour saturation at either end of Gibbet Hill Road, and the continuation of
traffic pouring out onto an inadequate road is unsustainable before we face
grid lock.
Surveys recently
undertaken were not in term time and so create an unbalanced view. In
addition we only have to receive the unwanted implementation of road works
or installations of one sort or another, and traffic grinds to a halt.
The University will
continue to expand - that is certain. However, for the sake of the
University, residents of the area and Businesses, of which there are a
highly significant number on this most important Business Park, a clear and
workable traffic management plan needs to be developed
As I see it there are
really only two possibilities:
a)
Gibbet Hill becomes an access road to the University and a new
relief Road is constructed- this will require land acquisition and should
come off the A46 or
b)
Gibbet Hill has sufficient verges and adjacent land to install
3 or 4 lane access and large roundabouts are installed at either end of
Gibbet Hill and pedestrian flow goes over bridges.
It is clear to everyone
who uses this area that you cannot keep pouring traffic onto Gibbet Hill
Road no matter how much junction improvement takes place, and to avoid
grasping the nettle of this consideration would be detrimental to the future
of everyone involved including the University.
I am urging the Business
Park residents to lobby the highways and Coventry planners extensively over
this issue- this matter has gone on unchecked for far too long and in an
effort to support the valuable aims and objectives of Warwick University, I
am truly amazed that anyone can countenance any further development without
dealing with the baseline criteria. Any other planning application for large
scale development would result in very stringent requirements on developers
to improve roads and access, together with highways involvement forecasting
the needs as part of a structural plan. Why should Warwick University be any
different?
I would be grateful if you
could acknowledge receipt of this email and its contents and any
observations you may have on my comments.
With regards
Andrew Selby
On behalf of
Mercia Business Village
