Bid to turn family home into apartments blocked by city planners

Local Democracy Reporter

A BID to turn a large detached family home in Coventry into new apartments has been blocked by planners at the city council.

Developer Kingswood Homes sought to demolish 145 Warwick Road and construct 24 apartments in a new four-storey building.

The current property - built in the 1950s - is set within a substantial plot of land and is just a five-minute walk from Coventry Railway Station.

The applicant said it provided an “opportunity to utilise an existing site within the built up, sustainable area of Coventry, minimising the requirement for encroachment into the open countryside”.

However a delegated decision by head of planning Tracy Miller rejected the bid last week after she criticised the lack of any affordable housing.

She said: “The development fails to make any or any adequate provision for affordable home ownership.

“Having regard to the pressing need for affordable homes in Coventry the failure to comply with paragraph 64 of the Framework renders the development unsustainable.”

The applicant argued the development “falled below the threshold” as schemes only need 25 per cent affordable homes if they consist of 25 dwellings or more. This scheme would have provided 24 dwellings, through 19 two-bed apartments and five one-bed apartments, as well as a 38-space car park. The site is within the Kenilworth Road Conservation Area and sandwiched between family assessment centre Dudley Lodge and apartment block Tudor Court, with the Grade II listed King Henry VII School opposite.

The applicant said the plans sought “to maintain a Victorian style of development”.