'Big concerns' as hundreds more acres suggested for thousands of houses in Hatton
Local residents have expressed "big concerns" about the possibility of huge swathes of land around Hatton, Honiley, Haseley, Shrewley and Beasaule being put forward for thousands of new homes.
The results of the latest 'call for sites' for the South Warwickshire Local Plan (SWLP) - published in June - have seen a massive area of land around the villages suggested for development by planning consultancy JPPC.
In total some 666.66 acres of land around Hatton have been put forward for inclusion in the plan.
Much to the dismay of locals, the village has already been shortlisted as one of the 'most suitable' options for a 'new settlement' in the plan, with the potential for over 8,000 homes to be earmarked there.
A residents group - Keep Hatton Station Rural (KHSR) - has been launched to oppose the major development which they say the village and surrounding areas cannot cope with.
And while Warwick and Stratford District Councils are yet to make any decisions on where in the region will be earmarked for houses, residents in Hatton fear this latest publication is another step in their direction.
They have also called on the local authorities to make sure locals are given the chance to have their say on the new submissions.
A spokesperson for KHSR told Nub News: "We are concerned about the handling of the third Call for Sites by the joint councils.
"Firstly, we are concerned that the results are not widely known about.
"Additional sites have now been put forward around Honiley, Haseley, Beausale, Hatton Park and Little Shrewley as part of B1, Hatton New Settlement, which local residents may be unaware of.
"If these sites were included in B1, it would more than double in size.
"This means that residents impacted by the new potential sites appear to have been denied an opportunity to comment on their potential inclusion in B1.
"It may be that they will have to wait for the next formal public consultation – by which time, it may be too late to have much influence on the outcome."
The SWLP will ultimately see where around 35,000 houses are built around south Warwickshire.
Nub News recently reported more possible sites for development have been put forward through the third 'call for sites' which formed the latest 'preferred options' public consultation.
The first two calls for sites for the SWLP brought some 700 suggestions across Warwick and Stratford districts.
These were whittled down to 36 - including the 12 potential new settlements - for the consultation earlier this year.
The councils said not all the sites will be needed for new homes, which is one of the reasons they asked locals for their views.
Four of the 12 new settlement suggestions were considered more suitable: Hatton, Long Marston, Bearley and Wilmcote, and land south of Leamington Spa.
MP for Kenilworth and Southam Sir Jeremy Wright has also said Hatton is not suitable for being turned into a new settlement.
When the latest consultation was launched in January, a joint statement from the two councils said: "The preferred options document identifies 24 potential strategic growth locations and 12 potential new settlement locations, which are an indication of where the councils consider large-scale strategic growth may best be located.
"In addition, smaller scale growth is likely to be appropriate in other locations.
"Overall, the growth locations identified would accommodate significantly more than South Warwickshire's identified housing and employment needs, and therefore not all these locations will be allocated as a part of the plan making process.
"The SWLP team will be undertaking further analysis of the growth locations and potential new settlements to conclude which locations, and specific sites will be most suitable locations for South Warwickshire's growth strategy."
WDC has been approached for further comment.
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