Warwick planning roundup: Mega lab, dog walking and campsite

By James Smith 24th Sep 2022

Here are the biggest planning stories from the last week in and around Warwick.

Mega Lab

A south Warwickshire 'mega' laboratory temporarily set up to help tackle the Covid-19 pandemic could be put to use for much longer if the district council backs plans for its planning permission to be extended.

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency has applied to keep using the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory beyond February 2023 - the date it was originally given approval until.

The Leamington Spa lab, which has processed over 7.3million Covid-19 tests to date, opened in July 2021, six months after it was initially supposed to.

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Dog Walking Blocked

Plans to turn a farmer's field into a dedicated dog walking area have been rejected by the district council with the scheme labelled unsustainable.

The proposal for Squab Hall Farm on Harbury Lane would have seen a 2.4 metre high fence built around the boundary of the 1.1 hectare site, with bookings taken online before customers came to walk their pets.

The application said the Bishop's Tachbrook farm has "undergone significant diversification" over the past 25 years with the dog walking field planned to be its latest offering.

Read the story here.

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Country World Camping

Camping and caravanning is set to continue at Hatton Country World past the end of 2022 after permission was given for a temporary site to become permanent.

Warwick District Council gave the tourist attraction the green light for a temporary campsite last July, with the scheme set to run up until January 1 2023.

But district planners have now accepted a change to the original proposal that will see it become a permanent feature at the Dark Lane business.

Read the full story here.

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Hotel's Expansion

A Leek Wootton golf club hotel is set for a major extension after district planners granted permission for it to build 26 new bedrooms.

The Warwickshire Hotel and Country Club has been given the go-ahead for a two-storey extension for new rooms as well as a single-storey extension for a new breakfast room.

The hotel, which already has 56 rooms, an indoor swimming pool and sauna complex, said the expansion was needed to keep up with the demand from customers.