ANGER OVER PLANS FOR HUNDREDS OF NEW HOMES
PLANS have been submitted for 566 homes at Eastern Green in Coventry.
Developer Bracebridge Holdings said their bid on land adjacent to the Windmill Hotel and Golf Course provides “new housing in a sustainable location where housing is needed”.
The development contains a mix of one-bed flats to fourbed detached homes, whilst also provides 25 per cent affordable housing.
However residents have branded it “illogical” and “unnecessary destruction” of open space, with almost 7,000 signing petitions calling for a review of the council’s Local Plan and population figures it is based on.
“Surely the sensible thing to do is to consider that, what it might mean, then come back to these applications in the future,” said Conservative opposition leader Cllr Gary Ridley, who launched one of the two petitions.
“It seems to me that they are putting the cart before the horse in considering these applications before they consider the bigger issues.
“We are going to be stuck with this for a long time.
“Once the green belt is gone it’s gone forever and I don’t really see that it’s wrong to make sure that we get it right.”
The site forms part of the wider Eastern Green SUE which is allocated for 2,250 houses in the council’s Local Plan after it was removed from the green belt in 2017.
It will eventually consist of substantially more than that - a now revised total of 3,091 homes, 15 hectares of employment land, a new district centre and a primary school.
A new A45 junction to serve the homes was approved in June.
Other applications in the SUE have yet to be approved, including Hallam Land Management’s plan for up to 2,400 homes, and a bid for up 125 homes on land off Pickford Green Lane; while plans for another 60 homes off Pickford Green Lane outside the SUE were submitted in September.
Resident Peter Maddock labelled it “piecemeal” planning, while Steven Cox from the Allesley Green Residents’ Association said locals feel they are being “brushed aside”. He added: “This is just another attempt to destroy a large area of important open space on the fringe of Coventry solely for the purpose of unnecessary housing.
“Fundamentally the allocation of 2,250 dwellings stipulated in the Local Plan for Eastern Green are developable within the adjacent Hallam site which is already for 2,400 dwellings, and the unnecessary destruction of this very popular recreational amenity should be refused.”
Mr Maddock said residents are also concerned about the size of the green buffer between new and existing homes , as well as the impact on roads and pollution.
He said: “With 566 homes and an average of two cars per home it is over 1,000 extra vehicles.
The big traffic impact for the whole SUE will fall quite heavily on roads which are fairly chock-a-block already.”
The 40.52 hectare site - known as the Windmill Green site - is currently used as an 18-hole golf course, parking and storage.
The scheme will be accessed via the new A45 grade separated junction.
A three-metre-wide shared footpath/cycleway is also proposed.
The Environment Agency has warned of potential flood risk from the nearby Pickford Brook, with a one in 100 year risk of flooding for some areas in Flood Zone 3.
However the applicant said the council has “no historic records of flooding on the golf course”, with risk “managed in flood routes by setting floor levels at a minimum of 150mm above roads and open space. A representative for Bracebridge has not provided a media c o mment , but in planning submissions the applicant said: “Our vision is to create a sustainable residential development, with high quality-design and environmental standards.
“The proposed development will be in a sustainable location, with easy access to pedestrian routes, local facilities and amenities, and close to public transport including bus routes, minimising the need to travel by car.”
A consultation ends on November 11, with a decision expected next year.
It seems to me they are putting the cart before the horse in considering these applications before they consider the bigger issues. Cllr Gary Ridley