Council says homes plan is not a charter for developers
CHIEF HITS BACK OVER CLAIMS THAT HOMES SCHEME IS BASED ON ‘ALTERNATIVE FACTS’
COVENTRY City Council has hit back after Conservative councillors claimed a plan for thousands of homes on green belt was based on “alternative facts”.
The Labour-controlled council is set to put its plans out for public consultation after a government planning inspector gave them the all clear.
Coventry’s Local Plan - which allocates areas of land for development between now and 2031 - identifies where the council suggests 25,000 homes should be built. It is being finalised, but currently indicates that about 8,000 of those homes would fall on land currently designated as green belt.
Tory councillors have claimed the plans are based on “alternative facts” and “erroneous projections about population growth” postBrexit.
Conservative councillor Peter Male, who represents Woodlands, said; “This plan is a developer’s charter; we’d like to see an approach which prioritises the development of brown field sites across the city before the release of green belt land.
“Once the green belt is gone it’s gone forever, yet this plan contains no safeguards for the green belt in the event that the economy slows or in light of the uncertainty surrounding Brexit. Green belt sites are cheaper to build on and they’re easier to market so it seems pretty obvious to me that on day one of this plan developers will head straight for Eastern Green.”
Coun Julia Lepoidevin, who also represents Woodlands, said: “This entire process has been developerled from the start and we seem to be rushing to develop green belt land based on half-truths and alternative facts.
“Much of the ‘ evidence’ presented to the inquiry was based on erroneous projections about population growth. It’s also based on a real optimism about the ability of existing infrastructure to cope with these changes.”
But Labour councillor Linda Bigham, cabinet member for development, pointed out the plan was being produced as a result of the Tory Government’s demands and that the Conservatives had previously proposed more houses should be built in the city when they controlled Coventry council.
She said: “It’s ironic that Conservative councillors are complaining about our local plan, which is, in fact, trying to respond to targets set by national government and which plans for fewer homes than the Conservative council’s former plan.
“The plan is not a developers’ charter; it is one that plans positively for the homes and jobs that the people of this city need, whilst also continuing to protect the highest value and most sensitive green spaces across Coventry.
“This includes creating new protection levels for some areas and, thanks to close working with partners, there are plans for nearly 18,000 homes to be delivered outside our boundary, which will contribute to the city’s need.
“We have worked very hard to ensure we have a clear plan, one that balances the need for our city to grow with protecting important green spaces, while also ensuring it can be approved by the inspector and the secretary of state. The longer we don’t have an approved plan, the more vulnerable we are to housing developers bringing forward inappropriate sites without the necessary infrastructure to support them.
“We have been up front with local people at every stage and ensured there have been lots of opportunities for people to have their say; this includes people making their points in person to the inspector.
“This next stage of consultation is about giving local people the chance to comment on the changes being proposed as a result of previous engagement and following feedback from the inspector.” The proposals include more than 3,100 homes on green belt land around Keresley, along with an additional 2,250 houses on the Windmill Village Hotel’s golf course and surrounding area next to the A45 in Eastern Green. An estimated ten per cent of the city’s 3,000 hectares of protected green belt land would lose that status and become prime construction land, while a total of 17,000 homes are allocated to existing brown field sites. Proposals also include 900 homes in Walsgrave, next to the M6; 1,400 across Foleshill and Holbrooks; 475 in Bablake; 285 in Longford; and about 250 around Tile Hill Railway Station. The north-west of the city is set to bear the brunt of planned development with roughly 30 hectares of green belt land in the area earmarked to be converted into employment land - on top of the major housing projects. More specific proposals will be drawn up for the areas if the local plan is signed off, but initial suggestions are that a major new supermarket complex the size of Cannon Park and a new primary school could be built in the Eastern Green area.
There are also discussions about opening up Pickford Brook, which runs through the area, and making it a feature which runs all the way to the city centre.
The Tory government has ordered councils to identify how it can meet the housing needs of the future.
Housing plans across Coventry and Warwickshire aim to accommodate more than 88,000 homes across the region.
The figures are based on population growth estimates which are put together from data which includes numbers from the Office of National Statistics.
There is some dispute over the accuracy of the figures, but councillors from the controlling Labour group have been clear that homes will only be built if they are needed - and the figures could change should new data become available.
The new proposals are due to be signed off for public consultation by the council’s cabinet on March 7 and then given final approval at a public full council meeting on March 14.
If approved, the final consultation period on the Local Plan will run from Wednesday, March 15, to Friday, April 28.
Much of the ‘evidence’ presented to the inquiry was based on erroneous projections about population growth. Tory councillor Julia Lepoidevin