COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Coventry council will decide on the plans next week



Coventry residents fear a new housing scheme would cause "chaos on local roads." Plans to bulldoze 17 garages to make way for homes in Willenhall have met with huge opposition.

The scheme to build four new affordable houses at Meadfoot Road will be voted on by councillors next Thursday, 12 September. Council officers say plans lodged by Citizen last year should go ahead.

But a petition signed by 68 people strongly objected to the plans according to a report for next week's meeting. Petitioners claimed a "significant" number of vehicles would have to park on local roads instead, which would be "hugely impactful."

It would hit some streets where parking is already "at maximum," they added. Neighbours also wrote 16 letters objecting to the scheme and the council report summarised their concerns.

Some 20 vehicles regularly park at the site, bin lorries "struggle to collect bins" and the road is "almost an informal one-way system because of the double-parking" concerned residents said. "The scheme will result in chaos on local roads," they added.

Others claimed the access road is too small and noise from construction and new families would hit locals' quality of life. The site is "confined and overlooked," locals told the council.

Binley and Willenhall councillor Ram Lakha (Labour) also backed the petition and raised an objection to the plans. But council officers pointed out that the parking court is private land and has been closed off to vehicles according to Citizen.

The site had to be re-closed after breaches and people "have continued to force entry onto the site to park vehicles," the report added. Officers also claim that most homes on the road have a driveway, can access one or convert their front garden.

They admitted that some residents do not have these opportunities, but said plans had been changed to replace a house with eight unallocated spaces for locals. The new spaces will have "natural surveillance" from the new homes so will be a "much safer and secure environment," officers added.

The access road to the site will be made wider so two vehicles can enter, they said. Officers also said the homes would be a "high-quality" living environment and enough distance from current houses to avoid affecting locals.

On noise from people living in the new homes, the report pointed out the area is residential and the use of the site is "compatible" with surrounding homes. Housing officers also said the extra affordable family homes it will provide is "welcomed."

The housing plan is part of a wider scheme by Citizen to re-develop former garage sites in the city. Any tenants of the garages at Meadfoot Road have had the opportunity to move to another Citizen site locally, a planning document said.

The site has been fenced off since May this year, it added. The new homes would be two 2-bedroom houses and two 3-bedroom houses and available at social, affordable or intermediate rent, the application form stated.

Plans can be viewed on the council's online planning portal via reference PL/2023/0000167/FUL.

The scheme in Willenhall has got the go-ahead from the council



A Coventry parking court will be turned into houses, despite fears of the impact on local roads. Plans by Citizen to build on the Willenhall site were voted through by councillors last week on September 12.

The social housing group will knock down 17 garages and build four affordable houses on the land off Meadfoot Road. But the plans sparked huge opposition from residents with almost 70 signing a petition against it.

Their appeal warned that the number of vehicles forced to park on nearby roads instead of the site would be "hugely impactful." Others claimed it is used by up to 20 vehicles regularly and warned of "parking shortages" in the area.

They also told the council that not all homes can turn their front gardens into driveways. Council papers revealed that people are breaking into the now closed site to park their vehicles.

Councillors discussing the scheme at a meeting also raised similar concerns. Chair Cllr Lindsley Harvard (Lab, Longford) highlighted the fact that the site originally had 42 garages.

He said: "Presumably when this estate was first designed it was decided that 42 spaces off-road were needed so that the estate could function correctly [with] motor cars that existed there. Are we just abandoning whatever was within that original planning decision, and saying it doesn't matter, or what?"

Cllr Catherine Miks (Lab, Lower Stoke ), who grew up in the area and still visits, called the scheme an "overbuild." She added: "There is not going to be sufficient parking and I've seen more than 10 and 11 cars parked back there."

But council officers recommended the scheme get the go-ahead anyway. One told the meeting that the former garages on the site were only available to people leasing them and used for storage as well.

"The fact that they surrendered their leases suggests that they themselves didn't want to retain and pay for the parking space," she said, though Cllr Harvard suggested there may have been other reasons. The officer also pointed out the new scheme will include eight unallocated parking spaces for any residents to use.

Council officers told the meeting four or five vehicles are still parking at the closed site, and one a visit in the evening a few spaces in the area were still available. One added that a lot of homes on the estate had converted their front gardens into hardstanding to park on since it was built.

In a statement read at the meeting, Citizen said it has been working with the city council to bring forward housing schemes on old garage sites in the city. They said the garages at Meadfoot Road are not suited for large modern vehicles and are reaching the end of their "economical lifespan."

They claimed the site has problems with fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour and currently "does not provide benefit to the community." The group also said the move is part of their commitment to helping tackle the city's housing shortage and reduce costs to the council of temporary housing for families.

Council officers recommended the scheme be approved and said in their report that most homes in the area already have access to off-street parking or could convert their front gardens. Councillors voted for to approve the scheme by five to two, with one abstention.