COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Industrial and retail units also form part of the plans



Plans have been submitted for up to 311 homes and industrial and retail units on the site of a former power station in Coventry.

The mixed-use scheme is earmarked on land off Alderman’s Green Road in Longford, but the bid has already sparked local concern and a petition.

Applicants TIS Worldwide Ltd and Bridgewell Investments Ltd have proposed 1,700 sqm industrial space alongside 1,225 sqm of retail/office space, including a bar or restaurant.

In planning statements they say the site offers “an excellent opportunity for the redevelopment of brownfield land”, creating “a characterful and liveable new neighbourhood”.

“The proposed development will provide 311 residential units which include one and two bed apartments as well as two, three and four bed dwelling houses,” they have said.

“All of which are designed to create a high quality and attractive place to live and provide efficient, flexible and accessible homes.”

But residents have raised concerns over the site suitability and the scale of development. The site in Longford was home to a coal fired power station which was demolished in 1979 and used for landfill until it was landscaped in the 1990s.

In 2014, there were previous plans approved for a 225-berth canal boat marina, 24 houses and 35 small warehousing units, but development never took place.

Community group Longford CAN, who have raised a 60-name petition objecting to the plans, said there are fears over the impact on roads in conjunction with a number of other developments already mooted for the area including 500 homes on the former Hawkesbury Golf Course site, and 73 homes and 19-hectares of business units on land off Wilsons Lane/A444.

Michael Fell, group secretary, said: “This is 300 plus houses and we haven’t got the highways to take all the traffic.

“This plan also comes straight out onto a very narrow highway. You are also going to have goods vehicles delivering to the site but we haven’t got the capacity in Longford to take all this traffic.

“We are not against development, in fact the power station site we would be glad to see it developed in the right manner because it has become a real nuisance for anti-social behaviour."

Major homes and retail scheme on old Coventry power station site withdrawn



Developers have withdrawn ambitious plans for up to 311 homes and industrial and retail units on the site of a former power station in Coventry.

A mixed-use scheme was sought on land off Aldermans Green Road, in Aldermans Green, close to the Hawkesbury Junction where the Coventry/Oxford canals meet.

It entailed 1,700 sqm industrial space alongside 1,225 sqm of retail/office space, including a bar or restaurant. But the plans sparked local concern with a petition of 120 signatures objecting to the scheme.

Statutory consultees also raised objections over the site’s ground condition, impact on roads, lack of funding for sports facilities, and a design set against the “historic” canal.

The site was previously home to a coal-fired power station which was demolished in 1979 and used for landfill until it was landscaped in the 1990s.

In 2014, plans had been approved for a 225-berth canal boat marina, 24 houses and 35 small warehousing units, but development never took place.

While the Environment Agency said the 2014 bid found elevated metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and asbestos, they said there had been “limited” assessment by the current applicant into the risks it posed to water contamination.

Calling for a comprehensive site investigation and risk assessment, they added: ”Without these conditions, the proposed development on this site could pose an unacceptable risk to the environment and we would object to the application.”

The Canal and River Trust objected over the “little scope for soft landscaping” alongside the canal, branding the design as a “heavy built-up urban character very much as odds with the current semi-rural canal corridor”.

Highways England raised objections due to concern trip rate data used to assess traffic implications was based on the 2011 census, too old, and “no longer representative”; while further information was sought around drainage.

Sport England objected over concerns the development, if approved, may have placed additional pressure on existing sports facilities, “with no contributions being made towards sports facilities”.

NHS Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group requested £217,162 to fund improvement works, stating existing services “do not have the physical capacity” for the 746 residents estimated in the development.