Another 700 student flats proposed for former gasworks site

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Re: Another 700 student flats proposed for former gasworks site

Postby dutchman » Fri Jan 15, 2021 3:21 pm

Critical committee rejects 22-storey apartment plan on edge of Coventry city centre

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Controversial plans for 731 apartments rising up to 22-storeys high have been unanimously thrown out by a critical Coventry planning committee.

Plans for the old National Grid site on Abbotts Lane were branded “far too big for the area” as all eight committee members rejected plans at a meeting on January 14.

Complex Development Projects sought to build apartments and 711sqm of retail and commercial space on a brownfield site that has sat vacant since 2012.

They described it as a £100 million scheme which would create ‘quality accommodation to rent and buy in a highly-sustainable area’.

But it failed to hit a number of council policies, including providing zero affordable homes, only 0.4ha of green space and less than a third of the requested £4.1m in Section 106 requirements.

It led to objections from Nicola Rynott, head of St Osburg’s Primary School, opposite the site, who said it would have an “immense” and “disastrous” impact on the school’s community, impacting parking, traffic and safety.

The plans – more than seven times the 100 homes the site was allocated for in the council’s Local Plan – also led to objections from MP Taiwo Owatemi and West Midlands Police, the latter concerned about potential crime from high-rise tower blocks. And the committee was also highly-critical of the plans, with chair of the committee Cllr Lindsley Havard summarising: “It does appear to me that this is an attempt to cram in as many houses into the area as possible.

“I don’t think it enhances or respects the surroundings, nor do I think it contributes to the character of the area.

“When I looked at the list of what needs to be complied with to satisfy paragraph 127 of the National Planning Policy Framework in my view it fails on every count. There are too many red flags and I can’t support it.”

A total of 195 car parking spaces were provided but this was branded “wholly inadequate”.

Highways raised no objection and councillors were told a review found there was enough on-street capacity for parking in the vicinity.

But committee member Cllr Seamus Walsh said: “They seem to think there’s adequate parking spaces. I’ve lived around there for many many years, you’re lucky to get a fag paper through some of the spaces let alone another car."

While council officers said there were a “number of issues” with the application they branded it acceptable “on balance”, also accepting the developers’ stance that any affordable housing would make the scheme “unviable”.

Planners recommended to delegate approval to officers however that was unanimously rejected by councillors, with a motion to refuse unanimously agreed by the committee.

Reasons for refusal were listed as intensive development, inadequate parking and affordable housing.

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Re: Another 700 student flats proposed for former gasworks site

Postby dutchman » Sat Jan 15, 2022 6:29 pm

Plans submitted for more than 200 houses to be built near Abbotts Lane in Coventry

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A planning application has been submitted for more than 200 new homes near Abbotts Lane and Upper Hill Street in Coventry.

Coventry City Council has said there will be a mix of types of housing, including apartments, duplexes, and townhouses, and some of the houses built will be classed as 'affordable.'

The site where the houses are set to be built is comprised of the former gasworks site on Abbotts Lane, and the brownfield land is situated immediately outside of the A4053 City Centre ring road.

Coventry City Council previously rejected plans for this housing development citing that 'the proposals would result in an over-intensive development of the site.'

However, the developer Barton Willmore has made significant changes to the planning application including an increased level of car parking and an enhanced landscaping scheme to ensure the public realm is green.

Residents were consulted in an event that took place in November last year, and the response from residents was mainly positive with most confirming that they would want to see the site redeveloped for housing.

Currently, the development is awaiting the green light from Coventry City Council, and the decision on whether the new development will go ahead or not will be made in March.

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Re: Another 700 student flats proposed for former gasworks site

Postby dutchman » Sat Jan 15, 2022 6:33 pm

It's called "Bait and Switch".

First submit a planning application which is bigger than you really need and when that is rejected submit a smaller one which is almost certain to be accepted. :roll:
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Re: Another 700 student flats proposed for former gasworks site

Postby dutchman » Fri Feb 04, 2022 8:02 pm

Plans for 200 new homes in Coventry branded a 'significant over-development'

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Plans for hundreds of new homes just outside Coventry Ring Road have been labelled a "significant over-development".

More than 200 new homes could be built on land on Abbotts Lane and Upper Hill Street, which is "on the doorstep" of St Osburg's Primary School.

This is one of a number of issues raised by Coventry MP Taiwo Owatemi who has officially lodged a formal objection with Coventry City Council's planning committee.

The houses are set to be built on a site comprised of the former gasworks on Abbotts Lane, and the brownfield land is situated immediately outside of the ring road.

The planning application has been revised, after a previous, very similar application was rejected by Coventry City Council in January 2021.

Now over a year on, developer Barton Willmore has made significant changes to the plans, including an increased level of car parking and an enhanced landscaping scheme to ensure the public realm is green.

Taiwo Owatemi said: “A number of local residents have contacted me to express serious concerns regarding the impact this development would have on their neighbourhood.

“Whilst the developer has made some revisions to the application, a number of the objections I raised previously have not been adequately addressed.

“The application would green light 200 homes, with another 480 granted outline permission - this is still far higher than the around 100 homes allocated to this site in the local plan, and a significant overdevelopment on the doorstep of a local primary school and one of Coventry’s oldest streets.

“Furthermore, there will only be around a third of the parking spaces needed to meet demand which would be created by these new homes which is still far too low, meaning further pressure on local roads and existing parking spaces for residents.

“I am also concerned that whilst this development will provide a small amount of ‘affordable’ housing, this is not enough to meet the needs of local people.

“As I believe this breaches both local and national planning rules, I have formally submitted my objections to the Planning Committee ahead of their next meeting."

Currently, the development is awaiting consideration from the city council and the decision will be made next month (March).

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Re: Another 700 student flats proposed for former gasworks site

Postby dutchman » Sat Nov 05, 2022 5:06 am

Plans for huge 690-home development in Coventry rejected over 'red flags'

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Plans for a 690-home development in Coventry have been rejected by councillors for the second time. The bid for outline permission to build seven blocks of flats on land at Abbotts Lane in Coundon had been recommended for approval by council officers.

It was a different version of a 731 home-scheme for the site by Complex Development Projects which was refused by councillors last year. But members of the council's Planning Committee weren't convinced by the new proposals and voted to refuse the scheme by four to one.

Local residents voiced their concerns about the plans at the meeting yesterday afternoon (November 3). Nicola Rynott, headteacher at nearby St Osburg's primary school, criticised the "huge" scale of the development and plans for a vehicle exit opposite the school entrance.

Roads near the school are extremely congested and bringing more cars would be "disastrous" for the safety of pupils, she said. She added: "We continue to be concerned about the proposal high-rise buildings overlooking our playgrounds from a safeguarding point of view.

"And we echo the West Midlands Police's concerns about the size of the development and potential anti-social behaviour increasing crime, which is already an issue in the area. I was personally labelled in the Coventry Telegraph as irresponsible for objecting to this development as it stands.

"I think I would be more irresponsible as headteacher of the school if I did not object." A woman living close by said in a statement: "As a local resident with a grandchild at St Osburg's the development on this scale fills me with dread.

"I don't want ten, fifteen, twenty-storey blocks towering over me, invading my privacy. I fear for the safety and health of pupils going to and from school because all of the additional traffic and air pollution so near to the school's worst hotspots."

Resident Amrit Coyle added: "The site was viably allocated for 100 houses in our Local Plan - this application is for seven times 100 homes." Sherbourne Cllr Gavin Lloyd, who sponsored two petitions against the plans, said: "We want development. We do want it not to be a vacant gas site.

"What we don't want unfortunately is what is put forward. It is massively overcrowded and massively intense for the community to deal with." Others at the meeting spoke in support of the scheme.

Councillors on the Planning Committee were divided on the plans with many raising "red flags" about the scheme. Cllr Ryan Simpson said it was a "particularly tricky" scheme for him as a Sherbourne ward councillor as well as Committee member. But Committee Chair Cllr Lindsley Harvard said there were "too many red flags" for him to support the application.

"There are too many red flags here. I was disappointed first of all that the views of the West Midlands Police that were there in the report last time were not there this time," he said.

"Looking at what the CDP says, it says 100 units here, not 690 - it's clearly an overdevelopment in that respect. In terms of parking, yes, massively under-supplied when you see what is in the parking requirements in the CDP.

"We did hear a statement that you can't have problems with air quality and call for more parking. A few things there - it's not impossible that you can have lower parking and incredible problems with air quality because of the number of deliveries there."

"Affordable housing is another red flag for me, yes it's saying we can look at the West Midlands plans and see what happens there but that's jam tomorrow." He also criticised the housing mix and the height of the buildings which would recreate "well-documented" problems with 1960s and 70s high-rise blocks.

After a lengthy debate Cllrs Harvard, Auluck, Nazeem and Pervez Akhtar voted for a motion to refuse the plans with Cllr Simpson against and Cllr Naeem Akhtar abstaining. The grounds for refusal were overdevelopment, insufficient parking, air quality concerns, the housing mix and the affordable housing provision.

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Re: Another 700 student flats proposed for former gasworks site

Postby dutchman » Fri Oct 20, 2023 3:07 am

Plan for almost 700 homes on old gas works site in Coventry gets green light on appeal

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A huge 690 home scheme in Coventry will be built after developers won an appeal against the council. Coventry council will also have to pay part of the developers’ appeal costs after an inspector found it had behaved unreasonably in some areas.

Plans for housing blocks on the old Transco gas works at Abbotts Lane in Coundon were turned down by Coventry’s Planning Committee last year. It followed an outcry from residents against the scheme with 97 people signing a petition and plans were also criticised by the headteacher of nearby St Osburg’s school.

But Coventry council officers had recommended plans get the go-ahead and the Coventry Society also voiced their support. Moves to get the site ready for housing and develop a “linear park” nearby have also had funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) according to a report.

Following an inquiry and site visits over the summer, a government inspector allowed Complex Development Projects (CDP)’s appeal with conditions, in a ruling last week (16 October.) It means 212 of the homes now have “full” permission to be built and 478 have only “outline” meaning more details need approved before work can start.

The scheme called Abbotts Park will be made up of seven blocks between four and 21 storeys high, and include commercial or other service space. In his review of the plans, the inspector dealt with a range of concerns including its appearance, effect on parking and traffic and the types of homes provided.

He concluded the scheme is of “a very high standard of design,” its blocks aren’t too high and will actually improve nearby heritage sites. While the development has spaces it could be a ‘car free’ scheme as it’s so well positioned and would likely improve road safety, he said.

On housing mix, he said people of all ages including families often go for 1-2 bedroom homes so it won’t just be occupied by graduates and other young people. The site’s constraints – and the council’s “difficult housing supply situation” – also weighs “strongly” against larger houses and gardens, he wrote.

And the level of affordable housing, 20%, isn’t in line with the city’s policies – and expecting a developer for this kind of site to accept less of a normal return would be “unrealistic.” On fears of overlooking, he said buildings are far enough away from nearby homes and a nearby school.

And he failed to see why the “passive surveillance” of the street from residents would be a negative given crime levels reported by West Midlands Police in the area. On concerns about using contaminated land for housing, the inspector said plans include remedy work to prepare the site for housing.

In his view, re-using the site in a positive way would be “far better” than leaving it “derelict and un-used and left to fester in its contaminated state.” He concluded the scheme complies with local policies and stressed the “massive benefits” it will have.

“It is obvious from the foregoing that there are no adverse impacts that would result from the proposal that come anywhere near outweighing the massive benefits that the scheme would deliver.” CDP also applied for a partial award of costs against the council relating to several parts of the appeal.

The inspector agreed with this and has ordered the council to pay up as he found “unreasonable behaviour” leading to “unecessary or wasted expense” had been shown. This included the council “misunderstanding or misapplying” its own policy and delaying its response to several issues that resulted in CDP producing evidence and witnesses it didn’t need.

Coventry council also applied for partial costs against the developer, claiming CDP had behaved unreasonably by making some of their applications for costs against the council. But the inspector refused this as he had agreed with CDP’s application for all the costs it had applied for – meaning these had “substance” and therefore weren’t unreasonable.

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