Plans refused for 'vile' homes on derelict land in Longford

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Plans refused for 'vile' homes on derelict land in Longford

Postby dutchman » Mon Jan 23, 2023 5:26 pm

Councillors weren't happy with the designs

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Plans for new family homes in Coventry on disused land have been rejected over their "out of character" look and small gardens. One city councillor dubbed the designs "vile" and another raised fears that people would be left with substandard housing.

The houses were set to go on an overgrown space used regularly for fly-tipping sandwiched between three roads in Longford. It was the fourth application by local developers since 2015, with the one before this rejected by the government's planning inspector on appeal.

Plans for eight three-storey, three-bedroom homes plus a 'tiny forest' on the vacant site between Over Street, Haddon Street and Tallants Road had been backed by a council officer. But the bid was turned down by a majority of the council's planning committee last week.

Councillors were critical of the look of the homes and the size of some of the gardens. Cllr Catherine Miks said: "It looks very modern but it's out of character with the rest of the area."

She added: "I am most concerned at the loss of the green spaces, even though it is being used for the wrong reason, and the three storey high houses."

Cllr Ryan Simpson also commented: "I have to agree with other members of the committee, I think the design looks vile quite frankly."

Cllr Gavin Lloyd highlighted that some of the shared amenity space - back garden plots for four of the homes - would be less than the minimum size under planning guidance. Planning Committee Chair Cllr Lindsley Harvard further pointed out that these plots would be half the 50 metres squared required in the Coventry Development Plan.

He added: "I note there is a lovely paragraph here which says - more or less - prospective occupiers will have the choice about whether the house is fit for them to live in. Well it seems to me that it's the market that dictates what houses people can buy or rent, and those who are least able to raise the money, according to this kind of build, will end up with sub-standard housing at that rate.

"And I'm not sure we should be sanctioning a situation in which these houses are built and people are placed in that position."

Responding, the council officer overseeing the application said it was a balancing act down to the committee to resolve.

"I've put it on balance that whilst [four of the plots] are under, [the homes] are not affordable housing so we're not making people live in them, they're market housing. And on that balance I recommended for approval."

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