OLD LONDON TAXI SITE SET TO BE DEMOLISHED
THE old London Taxi site in Coventry is to be demolished to make way for hundreds of new homes.
Coventry City Council planners have granted approval for the demolition of the old manufacturing site on Holyhead Road.
Applicants Broyonie Developments had previously made a joint bid with Persimmon Homes for 107 houses to be built on the site, however the council’s planning department objected to the housing scheme due to a lack of open space and affordable housing.
West Midlands Police also raised concern over the current crime rate in the area, fearing new homes “will potentially exacerbate these problems”.
The original plans were withdrawn at the end of March, but the council last week approved a stand-alone application to demolish the London Taxi site.
The homes plans are set to return at a later date.
A spokesman for Persimmon Homes said: “The scheme was withdrawn owing to a number of amendments requested by the local planning authority.
“These amendments have now been made, and a joint planning application will be submitted in the next few weeks.
“In the meantime, the owner of the site continued with the noncontentious demolition application.”
The previous submission for 107 dwellings consisted of 71 houses and 36 apartments. In addition, it was also proposed to provide an extension to the existing BMW site to allow them to store more vehicles, while a ‘discount food store’ was also mooted.
The 3.92 hectare brownfield site is part-vacant since the departure of the London Taxi firm, when it moved most of its operations to its new £300 million Ansty Park site in 2017.
The site is allocated for 110 dwellings in Coventry’s local plan.