Dear LAMAG Supporter

Here we are some 15 months since the application to build a Marina at Lowsonford was submitted to Warwick District Council, and we still can not confirm when the application will be heard.

This is the current status:

There are four applications that have been submitted, to build marinas in the general Solihull area. Two are with Solihull District Council, at Grove Farm, Jacobean Lane and at Stripes Hill. Both have been heard and planning has been refused. Both have gone to appeal and the inspector has confirmed refusal at Jacobean Lane due principally to the affect that the Marina would have on the openness of the Green Belt.

The two local to us are at Sands Farm, Hockley Heath (HH) and our own, and these have been submitted to Warwick District Council. The developer (Common to both applications, but with different land owners) has been granted almost unlimited time to make his case. Because HH was submitted in November 2009, it has tended to make the running, and there has been sustained and vigorous opposition from local residents, led by Tony Pledger, who have made a strong case for refusal. Clearly the refusal to grant and the Inspectors support for refusal in Solihull has considerably strengthened the case for refusal here and at HH, in fact the HH application was finally, to be presented to the WDC planning committee last month, but was pulled out at the last minute because of the inspectors decision at Jacobean Lane. The developer is now seeking to demonstrate an overwhelming need for marina berths in the area to support his application at HH, and thus overturn Green Belt policy. Our best guess at present is that the HH application will be heard in August.

It is our view, that the Lowsonford application will be heard after the decision on HH; that is probably September. We are in a much stronger position to gain refusal as we are not on the urban fringe, have no local facilities and have no public transport, as well as the common issues of green belt incursion, access etc. Although we can not be certain, it seems to us very unlikely that there will be a marina at Lowsonford, but we will continue to follow the situation closely.

We will update you with any significant developments as they occur

Your LAMAG Committee – July 12th 2011

Following a press release issued by LAMAG after the protest meeting in Lowsonford village hall, a full page article appeared on page 26 of the May 22^nd Birmingham Post.

The article contains many comments from Louise and Peter Deaner which are reproduced below with a LAMAG comment.

Louise Deaner was quoted as saying:

“The scheme would help secure the long term future of the Farming Estate”.

The family wish to “Create the tourist attraction on land bought more than 30 years ago at Poundley End Farm”

“Our vision is to create a marina basin where narrow boats can moor; it will be an environmentally sustainable haven. We have no desire to damage the environment we live in. My mother lives there and my sister lives just outside the village”

“There will be no engineering works and it will be non-residential”

“The Wharf would diversify our land from current farming activities and provide some much needed rural employment. There are no plans for the creation of other commercial enterprises within the proposed marina”.

In response to the article that the land on which the marina is to be built is owned by Zapline Trading, a Company registered in Panama, whose Directors are, Kathleen Deaner- President and Peter Deaner-Secretary, Peter Deaner was quoted as saying:

“Although the land is owned by a Panama Company, this is certainly not a large corporation backed project; it is very much a family run initiative”

“If we were a large corporation then we wouldn’t have to do this development to secure the future of the farm. It doesn’t bother us at all what people say”.

The LAMAG comments to these points are

1) The use of an argument that the marina is to diversify the farm and provide long term viability appears suspect, as the Deaner family have never been farmers and it is only recently that Poundley End has been called a farm.

2) It is laudable that the family has no desire to damage the environment, but this sits uneasily with the creation of a 100 boat marina with 33 car park spaces in the green belt accessed via Rookery Lane.

3) The use of the word Wharf seems to be a new term to create an image of peace and tranquillity.

4) It is pleasing to note that there are no plans for further development, but this is non binding and further applications can be made at any time.

5) The much needed local employment is for two full time people and a few part time summer staff

6) We have no comment to make on the PANAMA connection, and leave this for people to draw any conclusions they wish to.

7) We note that despite unprecedented local opposition, Peter Deaner isn’t bothered at what people say.

We remain convinced that this is an unwelcome development that we, in the village must unite to oppose. We look forward to your continued support

As you know we held a meeting on Tuesday 4th of May at the Lowsonford village hall. We were delighted to see some 80 residents attend.

The purpose of our meeting was to encourage residents who object to the proposed marina development to contact Warwick District Council in writing to, in their own words, explain why they oppose the marina. As LAMAG we will, through our own retained planning consultants, mount all the professional arguments, but it is critical that local residents write in to object. A large volume of individual letters carries a lot of weight with the planning committee.

We handed out at the meeting, our view of the key issues and how to register your own objection. These are listed below as an aide to preparing your objection letter. The information is only a guide. There are other issues that you will have thought of and it is best to write about the adverse impact of the marina as it affects you.

So, if you do not want a marina at Lowsonford, write your email/letter of objection NOW!

The deadline for receipt of these letters is currently 18^th May 2010.

Thank you for your continued support

PLANNING ISSUES

Green Belt

• Incorrect use of green belt
• Totally disproportionate to size of village

Farm Diversification

• Does not qualify for farm diversification

Demonstration of Need

• Application needs to prove demonstration of need

Access

• Single track road with no passing places
• Regular flooding on Rookery Lane and Henley/Preston Road
• Danger to children, walkers, cyclists and horse riders

Conservation Area/Listed Buildings

• Adjacent to conservation area
• Very close to listed buildings

Lack of Public Transport

• No bus service
• No train service
• Only access by private car

Non Compliance with Government Local Plan PPG2

• Turning circles ok
• Marinas not – only close to urban fringe

VILLAGE ISSUES

Light & Noise Pollution

• Night lighting – all night, 365 days a year
• Noise from occupants
• Serious threat of parties on boats

Increased Risk of Crime

• Greater risk of burglaries
• Greater risk of general crime

Lack of Amenities

• No shop – increased car movements for every day supplies

Canal Heavily Locked – Fragile & Congested

• Canal already very busy – could not cope with another 100 boats

HOW TO OBJECT TO THE MARINA

Planning Application No. W/10/0424

There are 3 ways of registering your objection to the Marina as follows:

1) Link your objection to the application on the Warwick DC web site:-

Go into www.warwick.gov.uk/WDC/Planning/

Click on Search for a planning application right side (Related Link)

Click on Search planning applications

Case Year Enter 2010

Case Number Enter 0424 and Search

Click on W/10/0424: Land off Rookery Lane etc

Click on Make a Comment at bottom of page

Register your objection

This links directly to the web site but tends to be a bit of a jumble of words.

2) Email your objection separately to:-

planning_west@warwickdc.gov.uk

Head your objection REF: APPLICATION W/10/0424

Using this method will ensure that the exact layout of your email will be registered in “View Documents” linked to the application.

3) Write your objection to:-

The Planning Department

Warwick District Council

Riverside House

Milverton Hill

Leamington Spa

CV32 5HZ

SUPPORT FOR LAMAG

If you wish to help LAMAG, any cheques would be very welcome

These should be made payable to LAMAG and given to:

Polly Jennens at Cornerways, Rookery Lane, Lowsonford, B95 5ER

The planning application for the Lowsonford Marina has, at long last, been received by Warwick District Council (WDC). The details of the application have been downloaded on the WDC web site www.warwickdc.gov.uk and can be viewed through the application number W/10/0424.

It is confirmed that the application is for a marina for 100 boats with 30 car parking spots, located in the applicant’s fields some 150 yards from the village hall, with access via Rookery Lane.

LAMAG (The Lowsonford Anti Marina Action Group) are holding a meeting to explain the key elements of the application and why we believe the application should be rejected. Attendance at the meeting will give villagers the key information for them to write their own letter to WDC.

The public meeting will be at:

7.00p.m on Tuesday 4^th May at Lowsonford Village Hall

All those who wish to oppose this unwelcome development

are invited to attend

The planning application for a marina in Lowsonford has finally been received by Warwick District Council. The application proposes:

• Marina basin
• Facilities building
• Offices
• New road entrance off Rookery Lane
• Access roadway
• Parking
• Landscaping

The planning application number is W/10/0424 and can be viewed on the council website at www.warwickdc.gov.uk under Planning.

As yet the supporting documentation for the application is not available and may take some time to appear on the website. Once it has we will call a public meeting where all the implications of such a development can be discussed in full.

In the open meeting held at Lowsonford village hall on Tuesday the 12^th of January, the Deaner family finally exposed their plans to build a Marina at Lowsonford. The key points of the proposal were.

1. The Marina would comprise berths for 100 canal boats, with offices, a facilities building and parking spaces for 31 cars.

2. The site would be approx. 200 yards from the canal bridge that is the main entry into the village from Shrewley.

3. The total site including the areas designated to receive the spoil from the Marina construction runs to 18 acres.

4. The vehicle access road to the Marina, would be via Rookery Lane, approx. ½ mile from the start point of the lane in Lowsonford.

5. Pedestrian access would again be via Rookery Lane, through a new access point approx. ¼ mile up the lane.

6. New passing places would apparently be created in the lane.

To understand the size of what is being proposed, and how it overwhelms the village of Lowsonford, we show below a scaled outline of the Marina referenced off the village with the conservation area clearly defined. The information that is being shown is drawn from earlier documents filed by the developers and the memory of plans put on display at the public meeting. This may have minor inaccuracies and could change.

As at the 21st of January, no planning application has been submitted. Once this goes in, those that wish to oppose the proposal should write in to Warwick District Council. Other pages of the LAMAG web site summarise the main points of opposition raised so far which may be helpful to you.

Last night, on the 12^th January 2010 at Lowsonford Village Hall, the Deaner family finally exposed their proposal for a new marina in the centre of Lowsonford. The village hall was full to bursting and this huge turnout without exception, constructively and on occasions passionately, demonstrated their opposition to this proposal of unwanted development.

We are also pleased to announce that over the course of the evening we have now picked up quite a number of additional LAMAG supporters.

The points that were made at the meeting were:

• The only benefit to the village would be an increase in pub trade and employment of casual labour at weekends to valet boats.
• The only people to benefit would be the developers (the Deaners), the architects and British Waterways.
• The character, appearance and lifestyle of Lowsonford would change dramatically for the worst with a marina of such a huge scale for the rural location. The proposed site will have a footprint close to 50% of the existing size of the village.
• There will be an impact on property prices in the area, so while residents see their equity reduced, the developers will benefit financially.
• A Marina will damage the environment and the tranquility of a small conservation village with the addition of what are in effect 100 floating caravans to the existing 75 dwellings.
• There is no proven need for marina berths in the area and there are significant congestion issues for our heavily locked canal.
• At a £1.2 million investment the project can only provide an adequate return if other activities are added , such as repairs and works of an engineering nature, supplies, chandlery, boat hire, dining facilities, residential occupancy, all being developed on the site.
• There are no guarantees that anyone can give to say that other activities will not be added at a subsequent date.
• It will cause major damage to, and increase the usage of Rookery Lane, the proposed access to this development. This is a narrow little used single track road with edges being either heavily wooded or hedged, prone to flooding and being impassable at some times each year. The nearest roads capable of taking normal traffic flows are over two miles away.
• It will cause major upheaval during construction with congestion by trucks and equipment throughout the whole village and all lanes leading to the village. This will continue with trucks regularly servicing the site with rubbish and effluent disposal and supply of diesel fuel.
• It will create a potential danger to residents, cyclists, walkers and horse riding, through the dramatic increase in the amount of traffic traveling through the village to access the site, with no alternative public transport.
• There will be the need to increase security and policing activity for the village in the light of the 100 floating caravan berths available.
• Due to health and safety requirements for such a significant deep water facility, there will be new levels of light pollution, akin to an airport runway.

We will let you know when and if a planning application is made but it appears that this is a commercial decision, to make profit from a business opportunity, with little regard to the appropriateness of what is being proposed and its impact on the lives of the residents of Lowsonford and its immediate environment.

What is being planned, if ever progressed will have a huge adverse impact on the lives, properties, and welfare of all of us, and must be opposed every step of the way.

As some of you may well be aware, the developers who have previously proposed a 106 berth marina in Lowsonford, posted a flyer 3 days before Christmas through the doors of some of the houses in Lowsonford.

The flyer is calling for a public meeting next Tuesday 5^th January at 7pm at Lowsonford Village Hall “where (the developers’) plans for the development of a canal boat wharf will be presented”.

Whilst it is not the role of LAMAG to actively promote this venue, quite a number of our supporters have not been notified, so we wanted to inform you of this meeting to ensure that everyone had an opportunity to attend to make their feelings known.

For those of you who have received a copy of the developers’ flyer, you may find that the website on the flyer www.lowsonfordwharf.co.uk does not appear to be available, so at the moment we’re not able to advise you on the exact nature of their proposal and any changes that may have been made.

We can assure you that the LAMAG committee will be fully represented at the meeting and will be raising vital questions against any proposed development that might detrimentally affect our lovely quiet rural village. However, your presence as an opposer of the scheme would be very sincerely appreciated.

Further communication will be issued by LAMAG after the meeting.

Since its formation your LAMAG committee has met seven times to review various issues relating to the potential application for planning permission of the marina at Lowsonford.

The Council has already ruled that any application must be accompanied by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This is a significant and costly piece of work and the Deaner family have, through their advisors, submitted a scoping document to the Council showing the criteria that they intend to include in the EIA. It is this document that has given us the outline of what is proposed, ahead of the application itself.

As yet, no application has been submitted and we do no know when this might occur. An article in the Stratford Herald included a comment from the development company that the timing would be November.

What we do know is that there are meetings and discussions going on between the Council and the applicant, so the issue is still very live.

We will update our information with specific news as we get it.