Flats to be built on site of demolished Tile Hill pub...

[dutchman]

Long gone inn managed by former Coventry City skipper to be replaced by an apartment block



Flats are to be built on an abandoned plot of land which used to house a pub run by a former Coventry City footballer. Plans for the three-storey block on the overgrown area at the junction of Jobs Land and Jardine Crescent in Tile Hill were approved by planners last week.

The vacant plot used to house the New Star pub. Built in 1959, former Sky Blues skipper George Mason was the first landlord after the defender hung up his boots after playing 330 times for the Highfield Road club between 1931 and 1952. It later became known as the Woodsman but closed in 2002 and was later demolished due to structural problems.

Now developers Comitto Ltd have been granted outline planning permission to build 12 flats over three floors. Six will have two bedrooms and the other half will be one-beds. There have been previous attempts to build apartments on the land but these were turned down by Coventry City Council and also on appeal.

A report by planning officer Richard Edgington explained that two neighbours had raised objections on grounds including the impact on wildlife, an increase in noise and disturbance and there being insufficient parking. There were no objections from the various statutory bodies such as highways, ecology, fire or police.

Referring to the previous applications, the report said: “When comparing the plans, amendments had duly been made to make provisions for amenity space and the building has been altered to reduce the windows overlooking neighbouring residents and the proximity to boundaries. When considering the current proposals, the building is located away from the northern boundary and side-facing windows are secondary thereby mitigating the direct overlooking of habitable room windows to adjacent neighbours to an acceptable level.”

It added that while some small trees will be lost, the flats would be sited away from the established trees along the northern and western boundaries. Four of these are covered by tree preservation orders (TPOs).

More than £80,000 had been requested as developer contributions to help improve schools in the area but the developer argued that such a figure would make the scheme unviable. The money would have shared between primary and secondary education.

The report added: “In this case it is accepted that the site, which has been vacant for a period in excess of 15 years and is allocated within the adopted local plan, is a challenging site given the modest proportions, location and presence of TPO trees. The site will also likely involve additional groundworks which add further costs. There are substantial benefits in bringing forward this brownfield site that is allocated and has been subject to anti-social behaviour over a prolonged period.”

In granting planning permission it was agreed that there would be no developer contribution.

[dutchman]

The pub bore a striking resemblance to the old people's home in Spon End!