Update on Long Marston Airfield Development and proposed Relief Road

Long Marston Airfield is Warwickshire's only designated Garden Village and Phase 1 of the development is already under construction.

Highway modelling acknowledges the need for a relief road to the south west of Stratford-upon-Avon town (known as the Southern Western Relief Road (SWRR)), to address concerns regarding highway capacity.

Planning applications for the remaining phases of development and the SWRR have been submitted to Stratford-on-Avon District Council (SDC) and are awaiting determination with funding to deliver the SWRR still to be secured.

The District Council has been working with Warwickshire County Council (WCC) and Homes England, the Government's housing delivery agency, to progress delivery of the Garden Village.

In light of the climate change emergency declared by both Councils, it has been agreed to commission consultants to investigate sustainable transport options for Long Marston Airfield. This work will include considering how the Garden Village could become more self-contained so as to reduce the need for residents to travel.

Councillor Daren Pemberton, SDC Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Place & Economy Says: "Long Marston Airfield could become a blueprint for what new large-scale developments should look like in a zero-carbon world."

However, Cllr Pemberton continued: "The SWRR rightly remains on the table and its route is safeguarded. It remains the only identified solution (i.e. in the adopted Core Strategy), subject to planning permission being granted, to addressing the traffic impact of the new settlement.

"However, this new work is an opportunity for fresh thinking in light of climate change and COVID-19 and it is right that we explore every avenue. It may be that this work confirms the necessity of the SWRR. What we won't be doing is pre-judging any outcomes."

The study is to be commissioned shortly and will be made available on the District Council's website - www.stratford.gov.uk/lma in due course.