Cheylesmore Conservative Councillors Hazel Noonan and Kevin Foster are calling on members of Coventry City Council’s Planning Committee to listen to the hundreds of local residents who have had their say on the future of the Cheylesmore Pub Site in making their decision on Thursday 12th January 2012.
The site has been derelict since the Cheylesmore Pub closed in 2006 and now two competing proposals are looking to bring it back into use. The first is a plan by a large supermarket chain to build a new store on the site. The second is a proposal by the Cheylesmore Community Centre for a community hub that would encompass many of the services provided by the current centre, plus new facilities for local people. Each proposal is the subject of Planning Applications that have been submitted to the City Council.
Whilst both ASDA and the Community Centre have conducted surveys of public opinion in the area local Conservative Councillors were keen to give every resident living near the site a chance to have their say. Kevin and Hazel therefore wrote directly to over 3,600 residents who live near the site whose names appear on the electoral roll. Of those nearly 900 responded and by a 2:1 margin they supported the Community Centre Plan when asked to choose between the two competing schemes.
Council Planning Officers have recommended that the 2 ASDA Applications are approved which would see a supermarket built, even if a later application for the Community Centre Project is approved. Yet Cllr Hazel Noonan (Con, Cheylesmore), who will also be presenting 2 petitions gathered by a local residents group is stressing that the final decision is one for Councillors to make.
Hazel said: “Thursday is decision day for the Cheylesmore Pub site and I am calling on Planning Committee members to listen to the views expressed by so many residents on this issue. Whilst some residents do support the ASDA plan it is clear that an overwhelming majority would prefer to see a new Community Hub on the site. Councillors can make a choice on Thursday to support the dream of a new centre or instead support a big business that already has a large store in the ward I represent.”
She concluded: “Hundreds of people have commented on, discussed and campaigned around this issue over the last 6 years. Now it is decision time.”