Over twenty councillors from across the borough debated at last nights full council meeting on the issue of the local plan. The plan which has now been adopted, has seen almost 200 amendments by the Planning Inspector. 

Some views in support of the plan from across the borough below;

Wolston and The Lawfords Cllr. Andrew Bearne began his speech by saying, "Tonight’s vote is one of those occasions when Members’ have to vote, not just as Ward Councillors’, as important as that role is, but as Borough Councillors making a decision in the wider and longer term interests of Rugby Borough."

Revel and Binley Woods Cllr. Heather Timms stressed, "This development of our Borough is going to come and in the places defined in the plan.  We can sit here and play politics and games or act like King Canute but that is not going to provide houses and jobs with the infrastructure.  All the brownfield in our town is gone, around the station and old factories all built on now.  In my own ward the Meggitt building is up on the old Rolls Royce.  It is the largest new manufacturing facility in the West Midlands for many a year and the site is expected to provide 9000 jobs, those people need somewhere to live."

Hillmortons borough Cllr. Ian Picker expressed more personally that being the only member of the Council under the age of 30, he was fully aware that members of his generation were finding it increasingly difficult to get on the housing ladder to access the opportunities that others have had. He said, "The safest hands for the future of Rugby Borough are ours - not whoever would step in if we do not have a plan in place."

Coton & Boughtons Cllr. Jill Simpson-Vince who seconded the plan, rounded off the nearly two hour long debate said, "The residents of Rugby expect us to have plans and order. That is what local government has to do. Without a local plan, you might need to explain to your constituents why a field, or rec, has just had a planning application submitted on it for housing." She continued to talk about the importance of having a plan rather than none at all by using Coton and Eden Park as examples, she said, "Councillor Lowe, Councillor Robbins and I represent a ward that perfectly demonstrates the difference – Coton Park was piecemeal development whereas Eden Park, or Rugby Gateway is master planned. before I was a councillor i was involved in developing a neighbourhood plan for Coton Park, the first in the Borough, our plan was all about infrastructure and not about houses. On Eden Park the questions now are when is the primary school land being handed over and when will it be built, on Coton Park it was 'why don’t we have a primary school' - we had to go and sort one out ourselves. We have worked hard to get land ring fenced for a secondary school on Coton Park East, which sits in Cllr. Hunts ward. All the councillors north of the railway line, so our own, Clifton and Newbold browns over, know the value of this ring fenced land to our residents and without the plan... All councillors in Rugby with secondary schools in their areas know they are at capacity. If Coton Park East doesn’t get it’s school, then somehow, expansion of other schools has to happen.  The south west plans include schools, please do not under estimate the power of angry parents with nowhere to send their children." 

Cllr Simspon-Vince then concluded the debate with this sentence, "Without a plan, the houses and employment land will still get built. With the plan, you get the roads and the schools and other infrastructure to support the housing and residents. With the plan, we have some control. Without the plan, we have no control. The choice is yours."

Paper copies of the adopted Local Plan, the Polices Map, the Adoption Statement and the Sustainability Appraisal Report will be available to view at the Town Hall reception and at libraries in the Borough during their normal opening hours.

Photo top left: Cllr. Andrew Bearne (Wolston & The Lawfords). Top right: Cllr. Heather Timms (Revel & Binley Woods) Bottom left: Cllr. Ian Picker (Hillmorton). Bottom right: Cllr. Jill Simspon Vince (Coton & Boughton).