Residents fight Charterhouse Fields heatline plan

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Residents have vowed to lie down in front of diggers to stop playing fields being dug up to fit new underground heat pipes.



They are furious at news the Heatline project – which will take waste warmth from the Whitley incinerator to heat the Council House – will involve tearing up Charterhouse Fields.

The group of campaigners say they have not been properly consulted about the plan, which will see a swathe of the fields, off London Road, dug up for the scheme which would also heat the cathedral, the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum and Coventry Sports Centre.

Residents have also been told a stretch of London Road will also be temporarily reduced from four lanes to two for the project, with work set to start next month.

The work laying the network of underground pipes is expected to be completed by October next year.

The Charterhouse Residents’ Association says the first they knew of the scheme was when they stumbled upon a map of the route online last week.

The matter was discussed at a meeting on Thursday where many vowed to stop the work going ahead by lying in front of the digger.

Paul Maddocks, deputy chairman, said: “I would lie down in front of the digger to stop it if I had to. I’m retired so I’d stay all day.

“We are not happy about this. People come here to walk their dogs and exercise.”

He added: “We were about to deliver leaflets to houses about our meeting when we found a map online showing the route of the Heatline.

“No one contacted us from the council, we called them and an officer told us.

“There’s been no consultation even though there’s been talk of the Heatline plan for months.

“If we’d known about it we would have suggested an alternative cheaper route alongside the river.”

Dave Griffiths, chairman, added: “It would involve digging up the central two lanes of the London Road. It would cause untold disruption for users of one of the main arteries into the city centre.”

Residents met on Friday at the fields with placards for a protest.

Among them were husband and wife Roy and Sandra McLaney, of nearby Cornwall Road.

Sandra, 68, said: “I’ve lived here all my life and we, as residents, feel this is all we’ve got by way of green space but it’s always being encroached on.

“That land is very special to us. I have memories of paddling in the brook, walking in the fields and seeing cows and cart horses there as a child.”

Roy, aged 69, said: “We’re never consulted on anything that happens around here. We are always taken for granted.”

It is the residents’ second fight in nearly as many years to protect the treasured playing fields.

The group has been involved in a battle with Blue Coat School since April 2011 to stop the school claiming part of the land.

A council spokesperson said: “The Heatline project is an exciting opportunity to save thousands of pounds in heating public buildings and help those in fuel poverty to use heat ‘shipped’ from the Waste to Energy plant.

“We have met with members of the Charterhouse Residents Association to talk through the detail of the scheme including the impact on Charterhouse Fields. We have had discussions with them about how the area could be landscaped after the installation.

“Cofely District Energy, who will operate the Heatline network, has made it clear they want to work with residents on site to keep them informed and ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum and access is maintained.

“The initial works are expected to last three or four weeks and the area of the field will be levelled and professionally reinstated.”

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Work starts to bury miles of pipes under Coventry roads

WORK to bury miles of pipes under Coventry’s roads is under way.

A “breaking ground” ceremony has been held to mark the start of work on Coventry’s Heatline project, using heat from Whitley incinerator to heat city centre buildings.

The work is expected to take nine months to complete and will include a long strip of London Road being unearthed for up to 12 weeks as the pipes are laid as far as the ring road.

Cofely District Heating, the firm behind the work, says it will keep two lanes of the four-lane road open during the work and will leaflet local residents to keep them informed of progress.

Mike Smith, non-executive director, said: “We expect the Heatline will assist in Coventry’s economic development in attracting inward investment.

“A lot of towns and cities talk about energy from waste and for many it’s an aspiration but Coventry is actually doing it and I’m sure it will lead the way for many others.”

Starting at the Whitley incinerator, four miles of underground piping will run alongside London Road, past the railway bridge, then under the very middle of the length of the dual carriageway, passing under the ring road roundabout and dividing in two.

One section will continue north, under the ring road to a 65ft tall thermal store building before running under the “elephant” to the sports centre and the cathedral.

The other will run from the ring road roundabout towards the new Severn Trent building and north, past the courts, to civic centres 1, 2, 3 and 4, the Council House and the Herbert Art Gallery.

The council is not funding the work, with £2.2million coming from a Housing and Communities Agency grant and £3.2 million coming from Cofely.

But the council – as well as the cathedral, sports trust and Herbert – will pay Cofely a monthly bill for the energy they use over the 25-year contract.

Other city centre buildings, such as Coventry University, the Transport Museum or big businesses like Ikea, would be able to be added to the network at a later date.

Despite environmentalists’ concerns that the project will tie Coventry into burning rubbish instead of reducing and recycling it, the council reckons the scheme will make the city a “national leader”.

Coun Abdul Khan said: “Our aspiration is that the scheme will grow and provide energy to a number of locations across the city.

“The Heatline reaffirms Coventry’s reputation as one of the UK’s leading cities as far as green credentials are concerned.”