The biggest Warwick planning stories from 2023
By James Smith
31st Dec 2023 | Local News
As ever, planning applications and council meetings have continued to be a rich source of stories in Warwick.
Over the past 12 months we have covered everything from
Here is a look back at 10 of the most-read and interesting planning stories from 2023.
1. Hospital Entrance
Works to rebuild the entrance at Warwick Hospital are now well underway, after plans were signed off earlier in 2023.
The trust has been given permission to knock down the existing buildings and replace them with a three-storey extension.
The scheme forms phase one of the trust's masterplan to improve facilities at the 474-bed hospital.
Planning permission for the major redevelopment was granted by Warwick District Council at the end of March.
The trust has now been given permission to build a new ground floor reception, plant room and admission suite as well as exterior landscaping.
Visitors are now using the new entrance.
2. The Range
Having received planning permission earlier this year, The Range has opened at Leamington Shopping Park.
Planning permission for the development was signed off by Warwick District Council earlier this year, and has also seen a new mezzanine floor built - accessible by lift and escalator.
There is also a small outdoor garden centre to the rear, while the store is also ready for Christmas, with a whole festive range taking up much of the upper floor.
3. New Homes
District planners have signed off on detailed plans for 180 new homes in Warwick.
Developer William Davies Ltd has already been given outline planning permission for the Gallows Hill estate near Warwick Technology Park, but has now had its reserved matters application approved by Warwick District Council (WDC).
The company said the designs for the 13.77 hectare site "respect the local character and, alongside adjacent developments, continues to move the area towards a sustainable future through an increase in housing choice".
The application includes 72 affordable homes.
4. Industrial Estate
Councillors hope to have retained a trump card despite voting through in-principle permission for an unpopular warehousing development on the edge of Warwick.
Midlands Land Portfolio Limited applied for outline planning consent for storage, distribution and industrial use of 8.8 hectares of land to the east of Stratford Road, next to junction 15 of the M40, Warwick.
Outline applications deal with the principle of the type of development proposed for a site but not the detail of how it will come together.
5. Historical Landmark's Refurb
A local pub has said it is committed to pay for vital repair work at a major historical landmark in Warwick, after a fresh application for the project was signed off.
Permission to rebuild an 80-metre-long stretch of boundary wall between the Saxon Mill and the Grade II listed Guy's Cliffe Park and Garden was signed off last year.
But the Coventry Road pub - which is owned by Mitchells and Butler - has now been given then green light for a second application which will see less invasive work completed on the wall.
6 'Dilapidated' Home
Plans to turn a "dilapidated" Warwick shop into a family home have been put forward to the district council.
If approved, the planning application would see the vacant shop on Smith Street turned back to residential use, to create a "family home".
The application submitted to Warwick District Council says the grade II listed unit has been empty since October 2022, with all the previous businesses proving unviable.
7. Local Plan
A further eight sites for potential new housing developments around Warwick have been suggested to the local councils.
The plots have been put forward as part of the second 'call for sites' for the new South Warwickshire Local Plan (SWLP).
Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon District Councils had already asked locals to suggest areas for development in 2021.
Published in January 2022, the first set of results outlined some 555 possible sites for new housing across the region.
But it could be years before locals see the new local plan, with a delayed timetable recently announced for the major planning document.
8. The Waterside Inn
Fresh plans to turn a canalside pub into flats have been submitted to Warwick District Council (WDC), just months after the building was put up for sale.
Developer Cresco Investors Limited had previously applied for planning permission to flatten the Waterside Inn and replace it with a 40-bed apartment building before withdrawing the plans earlier this year following a number of objections.
Previous planning applications to WDC had said there had been a "universally negative" response to try and secure a new operator to reopen the business.
The Queensway boozer was then put on the market with local agent Bromwich Hardy, with a guide price of £2,750,000. The listing has since been taken down.
9. Union View
The ongoing planning saga at Union View in Hatton continues, with the developer still left waiting to find out if it can use the temporary access route for longer.
WDC's planning committee this month heard developer Taylor Wimpey "urgently" needs permission to use the junction created for its construction vehicles, to now allow new homeowners to access their properties at the Union View development.
When planning permission for the controversial development was granted, the developer was told new homeowners would have to access the estate off a new junction further along the Birmingham Road.
While some of the houses have now been completed and sold, work on the new turning for residents has only just started, with Hatton locals now facing 11 months of roadworks in the village.
Taylor Wimpey has now applied for permission to widen its construction traffic entrance to allow for both homeowners and contractors to enter the site.
10. Five Guys and KFC
A former Frankie & Benny's at Tachbrook Park Drive is set to be knocked down and turned into two fast food outlets, after plans were signed off by the district council.
The closed restaurant at Leamington Shopping Park will be replaced by a KFC and possibly a Five Guys, the application submitted to Warwick District Council (WDC) revealed.
First submitted in 2021, the scheme will see two 'drive thrus' created - with the unit designed for Five Guys the larger of the two.
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