Plans submitted for huge garden village
DEVELOPMENT WOULD SEE 425 HOMES ON EDGE OF CITY
PLANS for a 425-home “garden village” on the edge of Coventry have been submitted.
The mammoth development would take place on land formerly designated as green belt on Westwood Heath Road.
It sits just outside the Coventry border and is an area under the control of Warwick District Council. It was recently designated for housing as part of the council’s Local Plan, removing its green belt protection.
A previous application for the site was withdrawn after Coventry City Council raised concerns about how the resulting traffic in the area would be dealt with.
But the plans have now been resubmitted to Warwick District Council by developers Crest Nicholson.
Details of the revised plans are not yet publicly available, as the council is yet to validate the application.
The previous application for the site set out plans for a garden village style development with greens, allotments, areas for wildlife to flourish, play areas and even community orchards.
There was also a convenience store and paths between houses to link it all together.
Bosses at the company said they were inspired by 19th century reformer Ebenezer Howard.
In 1898 he came up with the garden city concept which aimed to combine the best of city and country living in towns and cities built from scratch. His ideas were used when planning Letchworth Garden City, Welwyn Garden City and Hampstead Garden Suburb. The application is being dealt with by planners at Warwick District Council as the site is just inside the Warwickshire border. The site is one of a handful of areas of greenbelt land on the edge of Coventry ear marked for housing in Warwick District Council’s local plan. Another is the Kings Hill area near Finham, earmarked for an initial 1,800 and possibly more in the future. Some residents in Finham near Kings Hill and Burton Green near Westwood Heath Road are opposed to the plans and have protested in opposition. An additional 500 homes could be built on the Westwood Heath site in the future, if the roads can be improved.
Councils in Coventry and Warwickshire aim to find space for 88,000 new homes by 2031 – and have divided up areas of land under their control accordingly by drawing up local plans.
Coventry’s Local Plan was approved earlier this month and could see 25,000 new homes built in the city.
However, the city is expected to need an additional 18,000 homes according to population growth estimates – and land in Warwickshire has been allocated for this purpose under a partnership agreement with Warwickshire councils.
In many cases this land is on, or near to, the Coventry border.
Some campaigners have questioned the accuracy of the population growth estimates, and the need for the additional housing. But Coventry’s Local Plan was recently signed off by an independent government inspector.
Councillors in the city have also stated that, if the population growth figures change in the future, the Local Plan could be amended accordingly.
Campaigners have questioned the accuracy of the population growth estimates, and the need for additional housing.