Warwickshire News Mine

And the overall results show 47% opposing the colleges’ co-location proposals and 46% supporting. The remaining 7% neither support nor oppose or did not state a preference.

However, the results have shown a complete split in the town between the age groups between those in favour and against the colleges’ co-location - 78 per cent of respondents aged under 18 are in favour of the colleges’ co-location, 71 per cent of those aged 18 to 29 are either supporting or strongly agreeing with the co-location, while in contrast 71 per cent of those aged over 60 oppose the co-location.

Residents were invited by Warwickshire County Council and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council to express their opinion on proposals to co-locate North Warwickshire and Hinckley College and King Edward VI College in the heart of Nuneaton.

The consultation took place over two weeks, from 28th February to 14th March and involved a series of manned exhibitions as well as access to the questionnaire on line.

Parking and traffic were expressed as the main concerns during the consultation, with many saying that the development will add to an existing problem in the town, but many people also highlighted the potential economic benefits to the town, creating jobs and helping local businesses, while others talked about the improvement to education facilities for the borough.

The results, which were analyzed by the Electoral Reform Society, will now be considered by Warwickshire County Council at the Cabinet meeting on 24th April.

Cllr Alan Farnell, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: “I am pleased to see such large numbers of people have responded to the consultation and expressed their views. We will be considering the ERS report and the detailed comments at our Cabinet meeting in due course”.

Warwickshire County Council’s Cabinet agreed in February to approve funding for a new library as part of the proposed colleges co-location into the town centre, subject to amongst other things, the outcome of public consultation.

The college’s proposal, on a site opposite the town’s Criminal Justice Centre off Vicarage Street, is a variation on the original Nuneaton Masterplan, which dates back to 2005. In the original Masterplan the site potentially housing the colleges was earmarked for mixed-use residential, offices, a multi storey car park and retail.

For more information on the proposals see http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/regeneration.

Link to WCC