Business leaders in the north of Warwickshire have cautiously welcomed a new plan for Nuneaton and Bedworth borough.
Kelly Ford, the head of planning policy and economic development at Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, presented the Borough Plan to the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber’s north Warwickshire branch.
The plan proposes to provide 75 hectares of employment land, 7,900 new homes, 43,750 square metres of non-food retail space, 4,050 square metres of food retail space and 30,000 square metres of new offices by 2028.
Like every authority across the country, the Borough Council must provide a development plan in order to meet the needs for future growth. Without it, the council has less control over where new developments could spring up.
The meeting with the Chamber is part of the consultation phase on the Borough Plan, which ends on August 30.
Paul Carvell, the chair of the Chamber’s north Warwickshire branch, said: “We were very grateful to Kelly Ford and the Borough Council for presenting the Borough Plan to us.
“Our branch committee is made up of a range of companies across the area and they all had their own thoughts and comments on it.
“But we all welcome the fact that we now have a plan and would encourage other businesses to log onto the council’s website and make their own comments.
“We need to have ambition for economic growth but also a plan that the council can show is deliverable. That is something we will be scrutinising further but, on the face of it, the plans for employment space and homes look positive.
“Of course, these plans have to be backed up with an overall economic and infrastructure strategy and the Borough Council will have to show more specific details on this as the plan evolves over the next 12 months.
“But the overriding message from the Chamber of Commerce is that we are pleased to see a plan developing and, while concerns must be addressed properly, we want it to be rubber-stamped as soon as possible so we can really get behind and sell the future of this area.”
