A number of residents have asked us for an update on what is happening at the Leyes Lane site, and this summary aims to bring you up to date. There is a lot of detail, which we hope you will find helpful and do please contact us if you have further questions.
Back in 2021, your local Green councillors proposed a plan for sustainable housing on the Leyes Lane site with a good mix of affordable homes, planned to promote active travel, conserve Kenilworth’s green spaces and enhance biodiversity. Above all we were keen to see you, the local residents, engaged in planning our common future.
The site eventually came into the ownership of the District Council in November 2024 and since then the Housing Team at WDC has been working at pace to develop the plans. On January 16th this year WDC issued a press release confirming the three key ambitions for the site:
- For a minimum target of 40% affordable homes, as part WDC’s commitment to address the national housing crisis
- To build low carbon homes and assess the potential for Passivhaus and other low energy construction techniques
- That these developments should complement the local Kenilworth community
Spruce Retrofit was appointed to guide the Council in the development of their vision. These specialists are providing advice on low cost, low carbon options and the potential for Passivhaus developments for the sites, which go beyond the requirements of the Council’s newly adopted net zero Development Plan Document (DPD).
Once this work is complete the Council’s housing team will work alongside development and regeneration experts Altair Ltd, who have been commissioned to advise on how the sites can viably achieve these ambitions. The Council is expecting to receive the findings of Spruce and Altair during April and will use their recommendations to finalise specification requirements and to accelerate the delivery of housing on the sites.
In response to a question from Cllr Kennedy on 20th March, WDC confirmed that good progress is already being made. Specifically the following steps are underway:
- Assess the cost and carbon performance of different building standards (such as Passivhaus). This is the work that Spruce/Randall Simmonds are currently working on (update below): complete at end of March.
- Review options for the schemes in the context of the emerging Housing Development Strategy. This is the work Altair are currently working on with Spruce/Randal Simmonds (update below): complete first week April.
- In the context of our aspirations for what is actually built (carbon performance, mix of housing, amount of social housing etc) agree realistic delivery options including an assessment of delivery timescales, viability and overall impact on the Housing Revenue Account: WDC will need to work on this in April.
- Consider including a proposal in the Local Growth Initiatives to meet any gaps between our aspirations and the scheme viability: input from finance is critical for this and their capacity is limited, so we don’t expect it until late April or May.
It is difficult to be specific about the process thereafter because the agreed delivery mechanism will be critical to the procurement options we choose to take and will require financial and risk assessments, which will follow the Spruce and Altair work.
Update from Randall Simmonds/Spruce work: RS/Spruce have completed a first draft of their report and have committed to finalising the report next week. Unsurprisingly, the report is suggesting that for carbon reduction and residents’ energy bills, Passivhaus Premium is the best option; however, it is also the most expensive option in terms of development costs. The report gives us realistic numbers to play with for steps 3) and 4) above.
Update from Altair: they are continuing to draw together the work on the Housing Development Strategy and hope to have a draft report with us soon. In parallel with that they have been working with RS/Spruce to ensure that the approach and scheme design for Leyes and Rouncil is consistent with the Housing Strategy. As part of this, they will be setting out delivery options for us to inform step 5) above.
As your local councillors we will continue to keep you informed as soon as possible on the progress being made on this project, which is so important for the future of Kenilworth.
If you have any questions, please contact us via the website
With best regards
