Plans for 'local centre' with shops, nursery and a care home in Heathcote given green light

Shops and a day nursery have been approved as part of a local centre to serve hundreds of new homes in Lower Heathcote.

A care home and office block were also given the green light along with an area of public open space on the land in Vickers Way alongside Heathcote Primary School.

But councillors at this week’s (Wednesday October 4) meeting of Warwick District Council’s planning committee insisted that more work be done in encouraging people to cycle to the centre.

A report outlining the plans explained that the nursery would accommodate up to 100 children while the care home would have 75 single en-suite rooms.

The three-storey office block would become the new headquarters for developers L&Q while the retail units would be split between one large food outlet and four smaller units which could be used for retail, health services such as a dentist, or community use.

Bishops Tachbrook Parish Council had objected to the plans on a number of grounds including concerns that the original blueprint for the area included more open space and a dedicated community hub.

They highlighted that the 2014 masterplan included a dedicated community building rather than an office and a care home and that the nursery had been planned on an area designated as open space.

And councillors at this week’s meeting also flagged up the need for pedestrians and cyclists to be able to easily reach the new centre.

Cllr James Kennedy (Green, Kenilworth Park Hill) said the council had adopted a very 20th Century approach by considering car-users first and urged officers to ensure that the cycleways in the area linked up with the new local centre.

He also said it was a shame that the nearest bus stop was 240m away rather than being right outside.

Gary Fisher, Warwick District Council’s development services manager, said: “It has very much been developed with accessibility in mind generally.

"My sense is that it is as close as possible to the bus stops that have been designed into the scheme and there is no doubt that it will be planned to connect to the various different cycleways.

“Perhaps we need a little bit more work to demonstrate how that will come forward.

"I feel comfortable that that could be added in as a condition requiring the applicant to submit details to show how that would be achieved.”

Councillors voted unanimously in favour of the plans.