Norton Lindsey Parish Council

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  • South Warwickshire Local Plan – Regulation 19 Submission

    After consultation and discussion NLPC has submitted the following response to the South Warwickshire Local Plan Regulation 19 consultation.

    Submission

    Norton Lindsey Parish Council represents 368 residents in 161 households (source 2021 census) in the parish of Norton Lindsey, which covers the majority of the village of Norton Lindsey. The village is situated immediately to the south of the proposed HAT new settlement.

    The Council fully supports and endorses the consultation submission made by Keep Hatton Station Rural action group (KHSR).

    The Parish Council held an open meeting in the Village Hall on Monday 15th June, which was attended by over 60 residents and dealt with many questions with regard to the draft South Warwickshire Local Plan (SWLP) and its potential impact on the village. Representatives of KHSR attended to discuss their representations.

    There was no support shown at the meeting for the SWLP allocation of the proposed HAT settlement.

    All households in the village had previously received a flyer advertising the meeting, which was also advertised on the Facebook Village page and the Council’s website. The Council also participated in the Joint Parishes Liaison Group which met to discuss the impact of the SWLP on the surrounding neighbourhood.

    The KHSR document represents a fully researched, factual assessment of the viability, sustainability and deliverability of the HAT proposal in the SWLP and concludes therefore that the Plan is unsound and undeliverable.

    It illustrates that a proposed new settlement, centred on Hatton Station will severely damage the surrounding Green Belt and have a huge adverse environmental and economic impact on the countryside and village settlements in the surrounding area.



    Policy ID.1 Securing Infrastructure Provision

    Traffic

    This submission however considers the most significant potential impact that will affect the Parish of Norton Lindsey directly – that of increased traffic on the local rural road network. The impact of this development on this network would be significant and, without substantial mitigation, disastrous.

    NLPC believes that insufficient traffic modelling has been undertaken – even at a high level – to understand the impact of HAT on traffic moving through the parish of Norton Lindsey and therefore believes that the SWLP is unsound.

    All traffic from the proposed site leaving in a Southerly direction would need to travel down one of two routes

    • Dark Lane over the M40 motorway and then either continuing along Dark Lane to its junction with the A4189 or along Norton Curlieu Lane to its junction with the A4189
    • Staton Road over the M40 motorway and then continuing to its junction with Dark Lane.

    Dark Lane is a ‘single-track road with passing places’ with numerous blind-bends.  Norton Curlieu Lane is also a ‘single-track road with passing places’, several blind-bends (being even narrower than Dark Lane) and is also signed as being unsuitable for Heavy Goods vehicles.

    It is likely that if a development of this size, at this location was granted, that either:

    A. Vehicular traffic must be prevented from exiting/entering the site to/from the South, by ‘stopping-up’ Dark Lane.  This would force all traffic North from the site avoiding the local rural road network. Whilst recognising that this would have an unfortunate impact on residents of Norton Lindsey Parish who use this road to travel North, this would ultimately lead to the best overall outcome for the Parish of Norton Lindsey.

    OR

    B. An alternative package of significant mitigation measures such as the following would need to be adopted (For the avoidance of doubt, Norton Lindsey Parish Council is not proposing or supporting these ‘possible’ highway changes, rather it is at this stage simply outlining the magnitude of the likely changes that would be required if this development went ahead) 

    1. Significant widening of Dark Lane, with a probable requirement for compulsory purchase orders, would need to be undertaken to allow two-way traffic along its full-length
    2. Norton Curlieu Lane would likely need to be closed at its junction of Dark Lane to vehicular traffic. Appropriate widening of Norton Curlieu Lane would not be possible due to the proximity of houses to the highway.
    3. Significant alterations at the junction of Dark Lane and the A4189 would be needed –likely requiring either traffic-controlled signals or a roundabout. It is not clear if this would be possible without significant highway realignment that would potentially require purchasing of neighbouring properties.
    4. To prevent traffic utilising the village of Norton Lindsey as a ‘rat-run’ for traffic heading in the direction of Stratford-upon-Avon, Wellesbourne etc, then significant and intrusive traffic calming would need to be put in place – particularly around Curlieu Lane, Wolverton Road, Main Street and Snitterfield Lane.
      a. Main Street in Norton Lindsey has no pavement for a significant part of its length and has narrow ‘pinch points’ where pedestrians walking in the road and vehicular traffic meet without appropriate separation. This area has been identified as having poor pedestrian safety and a 20-mph zone has recently been implemented. If the Hatton development were to take place, significant alterations to pedestrian safety on Main Street would be likely necessary – however any scheme would be complicated by the proximity of properties to the road, the conservation area status of this street and nearby listed buildings.
      b. It is likely that Brittons Lane would need to be closed at the junction of the A4189, as this lane is not suitable for any increase in traffic due to its width, blind bends and the nature of its junction with Warwick Road. If it remained open it would also likely need to be made one-way and necessitate significant and intrusive traffic calming on New Road.
      c. Curlieu Lane is also on the route to Wolverton School for children walking to school. The junction with Wolverton Road already has limitations in visibility and approach speeds and there would need to be appropriate mitigation put in place.
    5. Is likely that a significant improvement of the junction of the A4189 and the B4463 would be needed given the undoubted increase in traffic accessing J15 of the M40 or continuing along the A4189 into Warwick. This would likely further require changes to the junction of Warwick Road and the B4463

    Norton Lindsey Parish Council recognises that no appropriate traffic modelling has yet taken place for this proposed site.  Whilst understanding that modelling may be done in the future, it does make it very difficult to raise specific points during this part of the consultation process.  The previous comments are therefore based on the current understanding of the Council of the proposed development.   

    Any issues on the local principal road network – particularly affecting Junction 15 of the M40 or the A46 – currently results in significant increases in traffic through the village of Norton Lindsey.  This new development would exacerbate that significantly and would undoubtably lead to a requirement for more traffic calming through the village.

    Norton Lindsey Parish Council are concerned that there has been a view put forward by the developer that suggests very little traffic will travel South from the site.  Current behaviour and local knowledge proves that this is at best naive, and at worst misleading.    These local roads are already used as an alternative route to the M40, A46 and Stratford, Henley etc and have caused traffic issues for residents for many years.

    If the roads out of the site are improved, this will simply be moving the traffic issues to other locations, such as the centre of Norton Lindsey, Snitterfield, Heath End, Saddlebow Lane etc.



    Healthcare provision

    Norton Lindsey is currently served by two local GP practices, at Budbrooke Medical Centre and a satellite surgery of the Stratford upon Avon Trinity Court practice at Claverdon. Due to housing development at Hampton Magna, the Budbrooke practice is fully subscribed and the on-site pharmacy has extended lead times for repeat prescriptions to three days, due to increased demand.

    The concern of NLPC is that the HAT development and the growth in population will not be matched by the provision of primary health care services on the site of the new development, especially in early stages of the development.

    Furthermore, Warwick Hospital is located on a congested site and already struggling to meet demand in A&E, clinical surgery and car parking for patients and staff. There are no known plans to accommodate the growth in population associated with the huge growth in housing included in the SWLP.

    Conclusion

    In the Parish Council’s view proposal HAT is unsound: it is not justified, not effective, not evidenced and not consistent with national policy.

  • South Warwickshire Local Plan

    The South Warwickshire Local Plan has now reached ‘Regulation 19’ stage and NLPC is seeking residents view on the proposed plan.

    As part of NLPC’s consultation with parish residents, a joint meeting with the Keep Hatton Station Rural group was held on the 15th June at Norton Lindsey Village Hall.

    The slides presented by Norton Lindsey Parish Council can be found here and those by KHSR here.

    Full information on the proposed plan can be located at the South Warwickshire Local Plan site, along with the formal plan itself (778 pages!) , technical evidence and relevant maps.

    If you have any representations about the plan, please email them to clerk@nortonlindseyparishcouncil.gov.uk

    We will continue to update this page with information on the South Warwickshire Plan as it becomes available.

  • Work On 20MPH Zone To Start In Norton Lindsey

    Between the 22nd and 24th June, work will be underway to implement the 20mph scheme along Main Street/Snitterfield Lane (part)/Church Road/Canada Lane/New Road (part) in Norton Lindsey. Traffic control (alternate one-way) will likely be in place for the duration.

    This is the culmination of the campaign by many residents, the Parish Council and the County Council to help reduce speed on the village’s roads – particularly those parts of the centre of Norton Lindsey without a footpath.

    Full details can be found here.

  • MHCLG seeks views on Warwickshire local government reorganisation

    This statutory consultation seeks views on the proposals that the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has received following the Secretary of State’s invitation to councils in Warwickshire to submit proposals for unitary local government for Warwickshire.

    The 2 proposals in this consultation were made by the following councils on 28 November 2025:

    Warwickshire County Council and Rugby Borough Council proposed one unitary council for the whole of the area of Warwickshire comprising the current areas of:

    • North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby, Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick


    North Warwickshire Borough Council, Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council, Stratford-on-Avon District Council, Warwick District Council proposed 2 unitary councils. These would comprise the current areas of:

    • North unitary authority: North Warwickshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth, and Rugby​
    • South unitary authority: Stratford-on-Avon, and Warwick


    This consultation asks questions about each proposal to help inform the assessment of the proposals.

    The consultation can be found here and NLPC would recommend all interested residents to respond.

    Norton Lindsey Parish Council determined at a recent meeting to submit a response supporting a two unitary council approach.

  • NLP awards community grants totalling £3,580

    Norton Lindsey Parish Council was pleased to support community organisations serving the parish with grants totalling some £3,580 at its January 2026 meeting.

    The grants awarded were:


    OrganisationReason For GrantAmount
    Wolverton with Norton Lindsey and Langley Parochial Church CouncilServicing of clock at Holy Trinity Church, Norton Lindsey£250
    Wolverton with Norton Lindsey and Langley Parochial Church CouncilDonation towards costs of maintaining the Holy Trinity Church graveyard, Norton Lindsey£250
    Wolverton with Norton Lindsey and Langley Parochial Church CouncilDonation towards solving the damp issues at the Church Room, Holy Trinity Church, Norton Lindsey£300
    Norton Lindsey Public Access Defibrillator maintenance teamDonation to cover the cost of replacement pads for community defibrillator £50
    Wolverton Primary School / Wolverton School PTADonation towards the School’s ‘sesquicentennial appeal’ which will fund refurbishments of the library, kitchen and support/storage area£3,000

  • Summary Of Meeting – January 2026

    A busy January meeting this month of Norton Lindsey Parish Council (NLPC) covering finance for the year ahead, grant applications and planning matters.

    The proposed budget for financial year 2026/27 was scrutinised and this fed into discussions about what value to set NLPC’s precept at for the year ahead (the precept is the sole source of income for the council, bar some limited bank interest, and is an amount added to every council tax bill in the parish).  It was decided to raise the precept by 2.33% to £11,000 to recognise the effect of inflation etc, and to also approve the proposed budget.

    Grant applications from the Church Parochial Council for clock servicing at Holy Trinity (£250), a contribution to churchyard maintenance (£250), and work to hopefully help rectify the damp problems in the church room were approved (£300).  The costs of maintaining the defibrillator located at the village hall was also approved (£50).  There was then discussion on whether the grant application made by Wolverton School/PTA for their 150 Year Sesquicentennial Appeal would be appropriate for the Parish Council to support. Concerns were raised that the school is located outside the parish and does not necessarily benefit the community as a whole, but it was agreed that it constituted an important asset to the village and that NLPC should support organisations in the community wherever possible.  After debating it was decided to support the application at a level of £3,000 (Cllr Brown recused as Chair of Wolverton School Board of Governors).

    Planning matters were then discussed.

    1. After debate and vote (two councillors dissenting), it was agreed to reopen discussion of the recent planning applications at Brantwood, and Old Barn Cottage.  These matters had been determined at the December meeting, but it was felt by a majority that they had received limited scrutiny.  After further discussion it was determined that NLPC would continue to remain NEUTRAL to the proposals but would add further comments for the attention of the planning and conservation officer in each case.
    2. The outline planning permission application for up to six houses at the Chicken Sheds was then discussed.  As this is an outline application there is no detail on what size/design these houses would have, rather it is for agreeing the principle of housing on the site.  NLPC are fully aware of the long and detailed history of this site, and the views of residents.  NLPC decided at this stage to be NEUTRAL to the application (recognising that there will be further detailed applications to come), but wished to raise concerns that the need for safe pedestrian access to the site and appropriate hedgerow protections must be considered in subsequent applications.
    3. It was noted that the second planning appeal at Lower Norton Farm had been dismissed.  This means that both recent retrospective applications (new commercial premises and new stables) are now subject to enforcement action by the district council.
    4. It was agreed that NLPC would attend various meetings concerning the proposed Hatton development over the course of the next few months.

    There is a vacancy on the Parish Council – if you are interested in getting involved in matters similar to the above and helping to shape your community then please talk to Jenny the NLPC clerk (clerk@nortonlindseyparishcouncil.gov.uk) or any of the existing councillors.

    The full minutes for this meeting can be found here.

    Neil Brown