Fury as plans for homes in former Coventry green belt to be given green light

Plans for 40 homes on old land in Coventry’s green belt could be approved despite objections from local councils and residents. The scheme involves demolishing a house and building on farmland at Hall Hill Cottage on Fivefield Road.

It is the latest part of so-called “urban sprawl” for Keresley, which involves building more than 3,000 homes on former green belt land. Plans for over 2,500 homes in this area have been approved in the last six years.

Council officers say the “outline” proposals for Fivefield Road should get permission at a meeting next week on May 23. But three local councils oppose the bid and it has also been hit by 26 letters of objection, council documents say.

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Keresley Parish Council highlighted an increase in traffic, a lack of access for people walking or cycling and a “lack of bus service”. “No bus services and therefore unsustainable,” added an objection from North Warwickshire Borough Council.

Warwickshire County Council claimed that “it has not been demonstrated that safe and adequate access can be achieved”. Residents also raised other issues, including the impact on nature and whether the scheme was needed.

People highlighted concerns about the impact on services such as schools and doctors, highways, drainage and flooding, the council officers’ report added. But he said the homes were “much needed” and the site had been earmarked for housing since 2017.

The report defended the way traffic in the area had been modeled and said highways teams had no objections. Access to the site will be “acceptable” and safe for emergency services to enter and exit, the report added.

The developers will pay to expand a nearby bus service and bike routes in the city, it said. The report admitted there were “potential negative impacts” on some animal species, including badgers and great newts.

But he said woodland would be created on a field north of the homes, which would be a “net gain” for biodiversity. Officers however raised another issue with the plans, which they described as a “negative impact”.

Will not make as many Section 106 contributions as required by policy. This is money that is paid by developers to help reduce the impact of schemes on services in the area such as schools and doctors.

The council originally asked for £1.5m plus 25% affordable housing, but a viability assessment by the developer found it could not deliver this. After “extensive negotiations”, around half the money, around £790,000, will be paid and 10 of the 40 homes – the number requested – will be affordable.

Most of the Section 106 funds will go to schools and highways, and some to health care and parks. But it does not include two major contributions originally requested, including £300,000 for the planned Keresley Link Road and around £290,000 for primary schools, the report said.

But council officers said the contributions were “acceptable” and would reduce the housing impact “without putting too much pressure on statutory services”. They said the benefits of the scheme would outweigh any negative impacts and recommended that it continue.

Councilors on the council’s planning committee will have the final say next Thursday, May 15.

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