Southam

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section sets out the full policy and justification for meeting development needs to 2050. Provision is made for a minimum of 54,925 homes between 2025 and 2050, with a total identified supply of 57,610, a headroom of about 4.9%. It also provides 129 Gypsy and Traveller pitches, 20 Travelling Showpeople plots and 35 boat dweller moorings. Each district will maintain its own five-year housing land supply, based on 1,112 homes a year in Stratford-on-Avon and 1,085 in Warwick, with detailed year-by-year delivery trajectories for every allocated site.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy carries forward employment allocations from earlier plans. They include 4.5 hectares at Gaydon and Lighthorne Heath for Aston Martin Lagonda's expansion, land at Thickthorn in Kenilworth, 8 hectares at the Long Marston New Settlement, 1.58 hectares west of Banbury Road in Southam, and a 25 hectare employment site south of Alcester Road, Stratford-upon-Avon. The Stratford site requires a new roundabout onto the A46 at Drayton Manor Drive and a wildlife and nature area.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section repeats the carried-forward employment allocations under Policy DS.5, covering sites at Gaydon and Lighthorne Heath, Thickthorn in Kenilworth, Long Marston, Southam and south of Alcester Road in Stratford-upon-Avon. It adds 19 hectares at Atherstone Airfield near Stratford-upon-Avon, where development must provide suitable access and active travel links, protect important views of the Registered Park and Garden and nearby listed buildings, enhance ecology and include boundary landscaping, supported by a detailed transport assessment.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section describes South Warwickshire's key economic assets beyond its major investment sites. They include the Silicon Spa gaming cluster around Leamington, employing over 2,000 highly skilled people, the automotive industry with Aston Martin, JLR and Lotus, food and drink businesses, and a highly skilled workforce. Tourism assets include Shakespeare's Birthplace, Warwick and Kenilworth castles and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Around 70% of Warwickshire is agricultural land, and the section stresses the need to safeguard existing employment uses.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section explains how the town centre policy will be applied. In the main urban centres, at least 50% of units in Primary Shopping Areas should remain in retail use. It sets out the hierarchy of centres, with Leamington Spa and Stratford the most significant, Warwick and Kenilworth serving more local needs, and smaller rural towns such as Alcester and Southam acting as Local Centres. Evidence shows a need for 7.1 hectares of office land, about 57,900 square metres, up to 2050, to be met mainly through conversions rather than new site allocations.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section covers proposal GAY.1, a 588-hectare employment allocation at Gaydon next to the Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin Lagonda sites. It provides about 157 hectares of strategic employment land and 81 hectares of non-strategic land, focused on automotive manufacturing. At least 50% of floorspace on the main site must be industrial or research uses, with warehousing capped at 50%. It includes 51 hectares for JLR expansion, 7.5 hectares for AML, 73.5 hectares of testing tracks, and a travelling showpersons yard of at least 8 plots.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section covers proposal SOU.1, land east of Southam delivering at least 3,122 homes across 201 hectares between 2028 and 2045. It includes 2.8 hectares of employment land, 13 Gypsy and Traveller pitches, three primary schools, a new secondary school plus a one-form expansion of Southam College, and two local centres. Densities of at least 40 homes per hectare apply. Bus services must improve, including a half-hourly service to Leamington, and development must keep a strong sense of separation between Southam and Napton on the Hill.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section lists every site allocated in the plan, organised by settlement. For each allocation it gives the local planning authority, settlement category, allocation type, related policy, site reference and name, the number of homes, hectares of employment land and any Gypsy and Traveller pitches. The list runs from Alcester through to Wellesbourne and beyond, covering both large strategic sites such as the new communities and small local sites of only a few homes.