Campaigners will gather outside the Council House on Wednesday 12th October at 9.15 a.m. ahead of a hearing about the Council’s ‘Local Plan.' Backed by Conservative councillors, campaigners want the Planning Inspector to reject proposals which identify Greenbelt land for development.
The contentious plan includes provision for 5,000 new houses on the Greenbelt in Keresley (Bablake ward) and 2,000 new houses in Eastern Green (Woodlands ward). It includes warehousing and a retail centre the size of Cannon Park on the Greenbelt at Eastern Green. A number of other sites around the city are also affected including Coundon Wedge (Bablake ward) and Cromwell Lane (Westwood ward).
Coventry also has agreements in place with other councils to take the city’s ‘overspill’ housing. This has led to contentious development plans on Coventry’s border at sites like King’s Hill and Broad Lane.
Conservative councillors from Woodlands, Westwood and Bablake wards have teamed up to fight the proposals. At the hearing on Wednesday morning Councillors Peter Male and Gary Ridley, Julia Lepoidevin (Woodlands ward) will call on the Planning Inspector to reject the Council’s proposals.
Westwood Councillors David Skinner, Marcus Lapsa and Tim Mayer are calling for the proposal to build on Cromwell Lane to be dropped. They’ve conducted a traffic density and speed survey which shows Cromwell Lane, and the Tile Hill Village area already has significant traffic problems.
The councillors have received the backing of Cllr John Blundell, the Leader of Coventry Conservatives, who said; ‘This Local Plan is a developer’s charter – it treats freshly released Greenbelt land and Brownfield sites in the same way. It means the first day this plan is implemented we could see bulldozers on the Greenbelt while Brownfield sites are still available. Brownfield sites should be prioritised for development and we need a plan which reflects this. The plan should strike a balance between development and Greenbelt conservation.’
Speaking ahead of the hearings Woodlands Ward Councillor, Cllr Julia Lepoidevin said; ‘I’m deeply concerned about the impact this could have on local infrastructure and services. We’ve already seen problems with the A45/ Broad Lane roundabout; imagine it with an extra 2,000 houses nearby! Eastern Green has been heavily targeted for development - even on the Solihull border. Yet once the Greenbelt’s gone it’s gone forever - with all this development in our area will we still be able to call it Eastern Green?’
Also supporting the campaign Cllr Jaswant Birdi whose Bablake ward takes in Keresley said; ‘We know new houses need to be built in Coventry. However, the construction of warehousing and a new retail centre on the Greenbelt won’t address housing need. Labour said they’d protect Coundon Wedge and now they’re planning to build on that too! These plans have been rushed through and these hearings could be the last chance that residents get to speak out. We’d urge the Planning Inspector to listen to the people, reject this document and ask the Council to think again.’