Villagers have secured an MP’s support in their 18-year-long battle against ‘nightmare’ traffic through Hampton-on-the-Hill.

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western says residents in the once peaceful village told him they have for years endured noisy, polluting queues of cars and lorries passing by their doorsteps.

Since 2004, the villagers have been calling on regional councils to install speed bumps in Hampton Road.

They have also demanded a haul route to prevent construction vehicles from using the road when travelling to housing developments in nearby Hampton Magna and Chase Meadow.

The works mean the vehicles regularly travel up and down the small road which has tight pinch points and chicanes – which only makes the traffic worse, residents say.

They claim the vibration from the traffic and heavy vehicles has caused structural damage to the street and its houses.

Some residents have even been forced to move homes.

Mr Western said: “Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council must act to alleviate the concerns of the residents who have waited far too long for traffic calming measures to be implemented.

“But a wider reconsideration is needed as figures show 4,000 more homes than the 16,700 legally required are set to be built in Warwick district.

“A recalculation of the housing and the cancellation of needless developments need would solve problems like this in many of Warwick and Leamington’s leafier, peripheral communities.

“A haul route must at the very least be included in a planning application for the imminent expansion of the developments.”

The haul route would lead off Hampton Road before it reaches the village – and be paid for by the developer, residents hope.

The route was previously included as part of the planning application for the Hampton Magna development before it was omitted during an appeal in 2019.

Village resident of 25 years and member of Hampton-On-The-Hill Residents’ Association, Peter Gogerly, told us: “Residents have consistently complained about speeding traffic which has become a nightmare for the village.

“Three separate surveys were carried out in 2015, 2018 and 2020 and all recorded over 40% of traffic exceeding the speed limit.

“Over the last two years heavy construction traffic has come through our village causing damage to the older buildings.

“Occupants have had to move out of one to B&B accommodation due to the unsafe condition of their home.

“The residents’ association wants to see a ‘Haul Route’ immediately built and funded by the two developers. It is not too late.

“And we also want effective traffic calming measures put in place to slow traffic – such as ‘speed humps’ used to good effect elsewhere in Warwick and Leamington.”

Residents have hit out at regional councils and developers for leaving them ‘stuck’ on an inaccessible Warwick housing estate.

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western met several of the families from The Priors development on Europa Way near the Shires retail park.

At the meeting, they shared their anger about the complete lack of safe pedestrian routes into Leamington and say they have even been forced to pay for taxis to take kids to nursery or go to the shops.

Mr Western says he has contacted the developer of the estate, Linden Homes, and has spoken with regional councils to express the demands of the group.

The Priors is part of a larger development called Myton Green and Linden Homes is one of several developers building at the site.

Mr Western has also questioned the builder of the neighbouring estate Redrow and Catesby Estates which is responsible for the infrastructure, including footpaths and cycleways, as well as any recreational areas.

Residents complain that it is impossible to leave the estate other than by car and there are also no bus routes.

As a result, they’re seeking immediate access to safe pedestrian routes into Leamington, permanent street lighting to be immediately installed and gravel to be laid on a muddy path that leads into town, as pictured – which they also want widened to accommodate pushchairs.

Mr Western has slammed Warwickshire County Council and the developers for seemingly passing the buck in responding to residents’ demands.

Residents say they would not have moved to the estate had they known it would be half built and plagued with inadequacies.

Mother of one Lily Hawtin – who has lived on the estate for 7 months – said: “It’s been awful. A neighbour of mine said she feels like we’re stuck in Alcatraz prison!

“I can’t get into Leamington without travelling down a dangerous, muddy path – which is without any lighting and is pitch black in the dark.

“The mud when the weather is bad makes it really unsafe and I’ve nearly slipped travelling on it.

“I don’t drive and often I’m forced to pay for an Uber to get my daughter to nursery in town – which is completely unaffordable.

“When we first moved in, we were assured that there was a safe pedestrian entry and exit to the estate.

“This was a lie.

“My neighbour currently cannot send her son to school due to the lack of pedestrian access.

“This is a disgrace that the lack of planning from the developer is affecting her son’s education.

“My daughter starts school in September, and I am under constant stress thinking I could be in the same situation.

“I have been made to feel completely alone in this.

“I have contacted the developer, Warwick District Council, Warwickshire County Council and I have received no help whatsoever – and, in some cases, I have been completely ignored.

“A safe route of entry and exit to the estate should have been the top priority.

“But for the developer, unfortunately, it’s building more houses.”

Mr Western said: “This just shows the complete disregard for the families that move into these poorly built and inaccessible housing estates.

“The infrastructure is just not in place to be convenient or even to be conducive for a good quality of life.

“As far as I’m concerned, the commitments Linden Homes and Redrow made to future residents to ensure they received planning approval have been broken – and families let down.

“And the council needs to act.

“All parties must work together to immediately put in place what the families are asking for – as it really is the bare minimum.

“I’d go as far as suggesting that young families who have had to pay for taxis to get to the shops or to school should be reimbursed by these highly profitable companies who have failed them.”

[END]

At the time when we faced such a crisis. A time when all depended on one another the most. It now seems abundantly clear the Prime Minister betrayed the trust of our nation.

We must wait a little longer to hear if he broke the law but it is now known that many in his company at the infamous Downing Street parties have started to be fined by the Metropolitan Police.

The Prime Minister could soon be found guilty of criminality. It looks as though he broke the laws he himself created.

And I’m afraid to say he’s a liar. He lies repeatedly and with impunity. He lies to all of us. He lied about lockdown parties to Parliament, to the press and to the public.

That is the most extraordinary truth about all this. Laws that you and I obeyed for the health and security of this country. But he didn’t.

As I’ve said the Prime Minister leads a government that is supposed to be law making not law breaking.

In the press we’ve heard Conservative ministers dismiss ‘Partygate’ as ‘fluff’ and ‘fundamentally trivial’ – or suggest that members of the public have ‘moved on.’

They haven’t.

Conservative ministers are lining up to try to defend the indefensible on live television – taking us for fools.

Remember, residents and some businesses in Warwick and Leamington were fined hundreds of pounds and, in certain cases, thousands. For them, a government that wrote the laws should face tougher sanctions than they did. And they are right.

It is an insult to everyone who followed the rules.

But there will be more fines to come. There must be.

It is so important to restore trust between the government, our institutions and the people.

I’d like to know if the people of Warwick and Leamington really have ‘moved on.’ Please email me telling me your thoughts (my email is below).

Turning to the cost-of-living crisis, last Friday the new higher energy price cap came into force.

It will result in a 54% average increase in energy bills for UK households (a £600 rise for most).

The rise was completely avoidable. The French government has forced nationally owned energy firms to sacrifice billions of pounds in profit to set a 4% cap on energy price rises and protect consumers.

Here, the Chancellor prioritised the profits of the firms that operate in our country, over its people. And most of these companies are foreign owned!

It is already tough for many people and I’m afraid the Chancellor’s failure to do more means people are going to seriously struggle.

You can see a list of a few helpful services by going to https://www.facebook.com/100058292851332/posts/402771731675919/?d=n

And as always, please email me on matt.western.mp@parliament.uk if you need help or support – or want your case being raised.

Please also make use of this independent and accurate benefits calculator to see what you’re entitled to: https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

An MP claims ‘Leamington has been paralysed’ due to roadworks and has taken residents’ concerns to parliament.

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western has bemoaned the disruption caused by Network Rail and Warwickshire County Council’s Princes Drive works.

An effective one-way system has been in place since January due to a lane closure and diversion on the road.

It has resulted in gridlocked traffic which, at times, stretches all the way up to the town centre and into neighbouring Warwick.

The restoration of the railway and accompanying roadworks are not set to be completed until the end of March.

And they will be followed by more disruptive repairs and diversions in the town.

Mr Western says he has received floods of emails about the ‘nightmare’ drivers and business are facing.

In a question to transport minister Trudy Harrison MP in the House of Commons, he said: “For over two months Warwick and Leamington has been literally gridlocked while the Conservative-led council and Network Rail have been painting a bridge.

“Drivers are fuming. Businesses have lost between 25 and 75% of their business.

“Ahead of the Commonwealth Games and additional works being done to our towns, would the minister agree to meet with me to ensure there is no repeat of this event?”

The minister said she would ‘look into’ the matter and write to Mr Western.

Mr Western then wrote on Facebook that more disruption lies ahead with additional works in Princes Drive up to Myton Road scheduled for April – to be followed by diversions due to construction on the Rugby Road railway bridge between April 14 and 19.

He continued: “Warwick and Leamington have been paralysed by congestion and suffocated by pollution.

“How can all these works have come at once and been so poorly timed?

“Why were works not completed during the pandemic and lockdowns when fewer motorists were on the roads?”

Mr Western says he has written to the county council and is awaiting a response.

A protest group calling itself ‘Toxic Leam’ previously called on Mr Western to press the county council into ending the diversion at weekends when construction work is paused.

In his post he urged council chiefs to respond to residents’ concerns and work for an immediate solution.

Regional authorities have been urged to prioritise building a new school in Leamington on the site earmarked for 150 ‘needless’ new homes.

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western and a campaign group of nearly 160 disgruntled parents have received the backing of an ex-council planner and architect, Ray Bullen.

They have called on Warwickshire County Council (WCC) and Warwick District Council (WDC) to immediately start building the new school on the more accessible, flat site next to Harbury Lane and the junction of Oakley Wood Road which is currently set aside for the new homes.

Mr Bullen’s analysis found that, at the current trajectory of applications granted and sites earmarked for development, almost 4,000 more homes than needed could be built in Warwick district by 2029.

Consequently, campaigners are calling on WDC to block AC Lloyd’s development of 150 extra homes on the site near the Oakley Grove estate, claiming the housing need has been met elsewhere.

They say this would allow WCC to use the more accessible, flat site by the main road to build the school – while it would also salvage the long-promised country park plan on the rest of the land.

Residents of the new estate were promised a nearby school they could send their kids to as a condition for the homes receiving planning permission from WDC.

But WCC recently announced the school will not be ready for pupils until 2024 – a year later than initially planned.

This is in part due to a disagreement with the landowner over the transfer of the more distant, sloping site AC Lloyd secured for the school.

WDC’s Local Plan for future housing and development outlines the need for 16,776 homes by 2029 to satisfy statutory requirements. But Mr Bullen, suggests 20,320 new dwellings will be delivered in the same time frame.

“I’ve been campaigning for the school to be built on an appropriate site while opposing the surplus homes since 2017,” Mr Bullen said.

“If the school was designed now on the flat site, it could be ready to take reception and Year 7 students by 2023, as promised to families on the estate.”

Mr Western said: “Once again, these are the wrong homes in the wrong places and, as Ray’s research shows, they just aren’t needed.

“The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) calculations for the district’s housing need are also likely to have been overstated, as the Office for Statistics Regulation found.

“We absolutely must have a temporary school to cater to both Year 7 students and reception starters if the school can’t be open by 2023.

“But a much-needed permanent school could be open in time if the council built it on the site earmarked for the homes.”

Campaigner and mother-of-two Jenny Bevan said: “It’s time the county council showed what ‘Child Friendly Warwickshire’ really means to children and families, by putting their needs above the profits of a developer.

“Through no fault of their own, families have been put in an impossible situation regarding their children’s education and it’s so important the councils make the right decision to build the school on the closer, flat land and finally put children first.”

She refers to the WCC initiative Child Friendly Warwickshire which includes the tagline: ‘What can you do today, to help their tomorrow?’

MP Matt Western has called on Warwickshire residents to join his summit on women’s safety and male violence.

The Warwick and Leamington MP will hold the virtual event on Tuesday, February 1, at 7.30pm.

Panellists include representatives from the Coventry Rape and Sexual Assault Centre (CRASAC) and Warwick-based domestic violence charity Safeline.

It will also feature ambassadors from higher education lobby the 1752 Group and the University of Warwick ‘It Happens Here’ student campaign, among others.

Mr Western says the event will focus on the data from his women and vulnerable people’s safety survey and the priorities that emerged from its 270 respondents.

As we reported, the survey showed nearly 70% of respondents hold keys in their hands to use in self-defence when walking home in the county, along with other concerning statistics.

He says he intends to push for an educational campaign in Warwickshire schools and for the county council to switch streetlights back on at night.

“In response to my survey, people shared personal accounts of harassment, abuse and sexual assault and spoke of the fear they experience when travelling alone in our county,” Mr Western said.

“It is clear people want change and demand immediate action to combat male violence across Warwick and Leamington and the wider region.

“An educational campaign in schools was voted by responders to my survey as the preferred method to make this happen.

“As I said previously, I hope to be guided by the experts but also by residents, the people who responded to my survey and anyone who has ideas for how I can help make a difference for women and vulnerable people in the county.”

If you want to contribute to or inform Mr Western’s campaign, please email matt.western.mp@parliament.uk.

You can sign up to the event on Mr Western’s website here: https://mattwestern.org/women-and-vulnerable-peoples-safety-summit/

View the Women and Vulnerable People’s Safety Summit event page on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/474448217738588/?active_tab=about

Is the party finally over?

Boris Johnson has been Prime Minister for some of the darkest years in our country’s history.

Many of his decisions are, at best, questionable. His Government’s record of cronyism is a matter of record. But it is the duplicity and the double standards that now anger the public.

And opinion polls now show the public wants him to resign.

Like so many in May 2020, my constituent Jill couldn’t visit her father during his final weeks because of a national lockdown at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

She saw her father – who served as a WWII naval commander – for the last time in March before he died alone in hospital months later in July.

Another, Claire, was unable to visit her father-in-law who passed away on May 20.

It was on that date that the Prime Minister is understood to have hosted a Bring Your Own Booze party in the Number 10 Downing Street garden – five days after being pictured at a busy wine and cheese event in the same place.

The invitations for the BYOB were sent to 100 people and encouraged everyone to ‘make the most of the lovely weather’ – something every single other Brit was unable to do.

Lockdown rules dictated that you should not leave your home or visit anyone else – and only be outside on your own, with one other person, or with those you lived with.

On May 20 nearly 1,200 people were fighting for their lives as Covid gripped ICUs up and down the country – and 328 people had died when the clock struck midnight. It is galling to think the party could have continued till after that moment.

At the end of that day, more than 35,000 people had already died in the UK over the course of the pandemic.

To Claire, Jill and thousands of others who could not be with their loved ones as they died, to the NHS workers who saved his life, to all those who followed the rules to save others, the behaviour of Boris Johnson and those around him is the ultimate insult.

This coming year working people in the UK are facing a serious cost of living crisis.

Council Tax is set to rise following the Government’s disastrous National Insurance increase. This will cost the average Briton hundreds of pounds extra, according to forecasts.

Housing costs are rising and – the biggest pressure of all – energy prices could increase by more than £600 with the imposition of a new price cap in April.

The outcome of recent governments’ failures: 4,000 households in Warwick and Leamington are now in fuel poverty (8.9%). Labour is calling for VAT to be cut to help households.

But all costs are rising. The cost of a weekly shop could increase by tens of pounds as inflation continues to rise. I fear it will reach 7%.

The government talks of a high wage economy, but wage rises are either lower or non-existent – most people are facing real-term loss of income. How on earth are families going to cope?

They won’t. YouGov polling shows 1 in 10 cannot afford £5 extra per month and a third can’t survive £25 per month rises.

The Government needs to get a grip. It could start by boosting Universal Credit payments, cutting VAT on energy bills and insulating UK homes. It could also contribute funding to local government to avoid huge Council Tax rises.

On a related note, we have seen how the exorbitant cost of rents and stifling business rates affect our high streets in Warwick and Leamington, with Tesco raising prices, M&S closing down and now House of Fraser doing the same.

We need, as Labour has called for, significant business rates reform and support for our high streets – to fend off any other closures or price rises in our shops.

House of Fraser was a jewel in the crown of the Parade and Leamington’s shopping offer. We cannot afford to lose another major retailer.

As students prepare to return to campus over the coming weeks, another term is set to begin with the spectre of a new wave of Covid-19 sweeping across UK university campuses. Students are into their third year of disruption. For some, their entire university careers experienced under the cloud of Covid. No one wants a repeat of the photos of students locked in halls as Covid rates rocketed across university campuses in October 2020.

So, over a year on, why are we still asking the same questions of the government’s pandemic response? Why is are students still struggling to get Lateral Flow Testing (LFT) when required to do so? And why have universities not been granted more support to ventilate lecture theatres and buildings?

Over the past weeks, Covid cases have reached record levels and all recent Department for Health briefings have underlined that this new Omicron variant is highly transmissible and that case rates are particularly high among younger demographics

University campuses are unique places; places where students can put their ideas to the test, make lifelong friends and work hard towards achieving their dreams. Unsurprisingly, NUS survey results show students want to be on campus – 89% reported they were keen to get back in-person when safe to do so, enjoying the world class experience our universities have to offer. Students want their university experience, but they also want to keep themselves, their friends, families and communities safe.

Students are doing their bit. ONS data from December shows 90% have had one vaccine with 78% having had two doses and students agree with government guidance that they should get tested before moving into university accommodation.

Our amazing universities have done an inspiring job, from the creation of the vaccine to now rolling out this essential protection to their student communities.

But this week students trying to do the right thing are again being let down by government incompetence.

At the time of writing, all home delivery slots for LFTs are unavailable and the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies has highlighted the lack of availability in UK pharmacies, representing a “huge” problem for the UK. If students weren’t able to pick up a testing kit from their university before they left campus in December, the only way they can access university-provided test now is to travel to campus untested. The Welsh Labour Government, having planned ahead and managed their supplies for the winter, has stepped in to provide England with 4 million additional tests but we’re still facing shortages. Students want to do their bit, but can’t due to the failure of this government to get a grip on supply chain issues.

The Department for Education needs to make it crystal clear how many testing kits are being ear-marked for use by universities and when students can expect to access home-testing kits.

It would be inexcusable to allow Covid-19 to run wild on campuses once again. Not only does it put people in danger, but it could mean more educational disruption. Students, staff and all the other members of university communities deserve better.

An educational campaign that addresses male violence has been called for by respondents to an MP’s survey about women’s safety.

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western launched it two months ago and has received 266 responses.

The survey invited women, vulnerable people, and members of the LGBT community to share their thoughts on tackling male violence in Warwickshire.

Strikingly, 69% of respondents said they carried keys in their hands when walking home alone at night in case they needed to be used to defend themselves.

Most respondents voted that violence in the street and sexual crimes were the most worrying issues across the county.

An educational campaign in schools emerged as the most popular way to improve women’s safety.

Boosting the county’s rape conviction rates, treating violence against women and misogyny as hate crimes and turning on streetlights also proved to be top priorities.

Nearly half said they send their live location to family or friends while travelling home and more than two thirds said they call someone while walking.

Almost 80% said they cross the road when another man is walking towards them and more than half simply pay for a taxi to avoid travelling by foot.

Many Leamington respondents said they would avoid going out alone at night altogether and others said the town centre at weekends, parks, dark roads, canals and alleys are particularly intimidating.

Mr Western said: “It was great to receive so many respondents and it is a mark of how engaged the public is about this issue.

“In the end, there were clearly more popular choices when it came to issues and potential solutions.

“I will now be holding a women’s safety summit on January 21 involving experts in tackling sexual violence, advocates for marginalised communities, universities and police.

“At this early stage, we have decided to lobby for male violence education to take place in Warwickshire schools – while we will also look at simple measures to improve people’s security such as switching on streetlights at night in particular places.

“We will be consulting all relevant authorities and experts to decide the best course of action.”

He says the detailed survey results will be shared with regional authorities and help them gauge the public’s perceptions of where the problems lie.

Mr Western said he modelled the survey on the anonymous anti-rape forum Everyone’s Invited, which provides a safe space for people to share experiences.

More than 5,000 people signed Labour campaigner Chloe Fojtik’s petition calling on streetlights in the county to be turned on at night – and she says she received an outpouring of support and heard many harrowing stories of what has happened to women on the county’s streets.

An MP has vowed to keep up the fight against the merger of Warwick and Stratford district councils after councillors backed plans.

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western insists there is no clear public mandate for the reforms.

More than 1,400 people have signed his petition calling for a referendum to have the final say on the merger.

This is a greater number of residents than those from Warwick district who partook in the councils’ costly public consultation.

He has also warned the merger could be among the first of many ‘disastrous’ losses of district councils across the UK.

He points to a leaked draft ‘levelling up’ white paper which reveals plans to pursue a single-tier mayoral system – scrapping lower layers of local government.

Mr Western says as more district councils merge to save money after years of savage government cuts, the more centralised local authorities will become.

He says the merger would bring the county one step closer to a single unitary authority and greater loss of devolved decision making – including cuts to the number of councillors.

Warwick District councillors yesterday (December 13) backed plans to merge services with neighbouring Stratford District Council ahead of the creation of a South Warwickshire authority by 2024.

The decision came despite the public consultation that conveyed no clear-cut support for the proposal from the public.

This was particularly true in the online questionnaire – filled out by more than 1,600 people – which showed 64% of Warwick district residents were against the plans.

This was compared with 48% of Stratford residents in support, and 44% in opposition.

A phone survey as part of the consultation – which the councils claim to be ‘representative’ but has only been filled out by 600 people (300 per district) – shows greater support in both districts, with 58% supporting the plans.

But Mr Western has warned there is a risk that the much lower level of support in Warwick across the two exercises was skewed by greater support in Stratford.

He added that the residents’ focus group did not prove a reassuring level of support, while the ones for stakeholders and council staff were also inconclusive.

“I still believe a majority of people in Warwick district are against the merger, according to the consultation and my petition.

“The questionnaire shows a further three quarters in the district feel it will limit their access to councillors and local decision-making.

“It would be deeply undemocratic to impose a model of governance on the residents of Warwick district that has received no clear public mandate – and is premised on cost-savings that have been inflicted by the government cuts.

“More people than there were respondents from Warwick district in the whole consultation have now signed my petition for a referendum – and I firmly believe it remains the best course of action.

“Residents deserve the final say and questions still need to be answered – but WDC’s leaders are willing to side with Stratford residents to force this through.”

Mr Western launched a petition calling on a Citizen’s Assembly to take place to fully inform residents about all options for future regional governance, followed by a referendum to have the final say.

At yesterday’s meeting, a total of 23 councillors voted for the proposal, while 12 voted against and 5 abstained.

After the plans were also backed by Stratford district councillors, both councils are set to submit a request to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Michael Gove, to recognise the arrangement.

Mr Gove is under pressure to explain the leaked draft white paper which threatens to make Britain’s system of local governance one of the most centralised in the western world.

It would see England’s 181 district councils and 24 county councils either merged or scrapped – while elected ‘metro mayors’ would oversee larger territories like in Birmingham and Manchester.

But the government has denied plans for the overhaul.