Mammoth 621 home development in Nuneaton branded 'Coventry's need, not ours'

[dutchman]

The huge estate was rubber-stamped last night



A mammoth 621 home development in Nuneaton has been given the go-ahead despite appeals: 'It is Coventry's need, not ours'.

The huge estate will be based off Golf Drive but campaigners say the only reason it is being built is to meet the overspill housing needs of neighbouring Coventry - not those of Nuneaton.

It caused fury at a Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council online planning meeting last night (April 20).

Angry Whitestone ward councillor Kris Wilson said the area of land, known as HSG9, was included into the Borough Plan, the council's blueprint for all future development plan, at the 'last minute' to accommodate an extra 4,000 homes, which are 'overspill' from neighbouring Coventry.

"Golf Drive was only put into the Borough Plan because of the overspill from Coventry, this is not local need - it is Coventry's need.

"The open space we are going to lose from this is critical."

He also raised concerns about the development's impact on the already congested roads in the area including Lutterworth Road, which he claimed was the 'most busy' road in the borough.

"I have severe reservations about the plans," he added.

"I would urge the committee to reject the application, it is not needed, it will have a severe impact on the highways network and it will have a detrimental impact for residents.

"It is Coventry's need not ours."

A statement submitted by Dennis White on behalf of Whitestone Residents Action Group, also raised concerns about more traffic in the area.

"I have lived here for almost 25 years, we are losing what we thought were protected views of the greenbelt," the statement said.

"New customers of Taylor Wimpey will have a chance of whether or not to buy based on the proposed development, we do not."

Cllr Andy Sergeant said he had concerns about the impact on traffic - not only in Lutterworth Road but the wider area - such as tailbacks along Gipsy Lane, as well as Crow Hill Road and towards Attleborough.

Cllr Rob Tromans said that the application was 'premature' as more detailed work was needed on the proposed measures to ease traffic.

Cllr June Tandy said that she would like the application to be deferred to seek clarity from Warwickshire County Council's highways team on what extra details are needed for the road changes.

A vote was taken with six in favour of agreement for the housing development, six against and one abstention.

This meant that Cllr Bill Hancox, as chair of the planning committee, used his casting vote - in favour of the development going ahead.

[rebbonk]

I doubt it's needed at all. Coventry's projections are based upon demonstratably flawed figures.

[dutchman]

Council calls on government to stop the 4,000 'overspill' homes from Coventry



Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council plans to call on the government to issue a legal stop on being forced to accept 4,000 homes from Coventry.

Councillors will be asked if they agree to ask the government to issue a moratorium on largescale development in the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough area while Coventry City Council’s housing need is properly assessed by the government itself.

Ruling Conservatives also want to step away from the current Memorandum of Understanding, which is an agreement between all local councils in the area.

This Memorandum of Understanding led to the Town Hall being forced to take on the extra homes the neighbouring city said it did not have space to accommodate.

The issue of the borough having to take an extra 4,000 'overspill' homes from neighbouring Coventry and for these to be built on Greenbelt land is incredibly contentious and one in which the Tories now want to tackle.

They have tabled a motion at the forthcoming full council to try and put a stop to it.

“We are compelled, against our will, to build 4,700 new homes on Greenbelt as a result of the decision to take an additional 4000 houses from Coventry City Council," the motion reads.

"Against this background, this council believes that the Local Plan does not adequately protect existing communities from increasing loss of limited greenspace and further densification of the borough. Therefore, we have no confidence in the Local Plan."

The full council meeting is taking place on Wednesday night (July 14) at the Town Hall in Nuneaton.

Councillors will be asked to vote if they approve the motion and the actions planned as part of it.

It is the latest move from the council to try and solve issues in the 'borough plan', which is the blueprint for all future development across the two towns.

A public consultation is underway as part of a formal review of the plan and people are being asked to have their say.

[rebbonk]

These homes are not needed. Follow the money!

[dutchman]

Nuneaton housing review plan ‘premature’, says Coventry council



A neighbouring local plan review which could have a dramatic impact on house-building in Coventry has been labelled “premature”.

Conservative leaders at Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council (NBBC) opened a consultation into a Local Plan review shortly after gaining control of the authority in May.

Similarly to local Tories and campaigners, they have raised concerns over “incorrect” Office for National Statistics (ONS) population forecasts for Coventry which have formed the basis for thousands of new homes.

NBBC had agreed to take some 4,000 of the 42,400 new homes Coventry council is planning by 2031 as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) deal agreed by the authorities.

However, they have now opened a public consultation to review the Local Plan, and further stated an intention to withdraw from the MOU – a decision the council is to state it is “extremely disappointed” in.

Speaking at a housing meeting on Friday, July 9, cabinet member for housing and communities Cllr David Welsh said: “I am disappointed that that’s the case.

“As local authorities we have to challenge government together on the way they are doing things. The position they have taken is a disappointment to Coventry and the region as we have worked well with other local authorities.”

The authority is to write a formal response to NBBC’s consultation to outline its concerns.

Concerns over the ONS figures have been held cross-party by politicians including Labour’s Taiwo Owatemi and Zarah Sultana, and Tory West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.

However, Coventry’s housing chief Cllr Welsh has resisted calls for a Local Plan review of their own, arguing the council has no option other than the use the ONS’s 2014 population forecasts to develop its Local Plan.

Council planning officer Rob Back said additional work to develop a Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessment (HEDNA) across both Coventry and Nuneaton was underway, adding that the authority wanted NBBC to wait for the results before progressing further.

He said: “The reason we think it is premature to pull out of the MOU – we also think it is ineffective to pull out as the only way they can is to adopt a new plan – is because as a group of local authorities we recently commissioned something called a HEDNA, which is an assessment of housing and employment needs across the sub-region and the likely levels of growth.

“Our view is until that piece of work is done, which is something Nuneaton are working with us on, it is premature to try to predict what that is going to say.”