Unpopular plans for 112 homes at former Coventry college set for approval

[dutchman]

Local residents and Sport England have voiced concerns



A controversial development of more than 100 homes on the site of a former college has been recommended for approval despite a series of objections. Local residents and Sport England have voiced concerns about a housing scheme on the site in Henley Road that was home, until recently, to Coventry College's Henley campus.

Residents fear the new homes would increase traffic and congestion and say different access points will 'undermine highway safety'. According to objections listed in the official planning application, people living in the area want the college use to be retained and believe there is a 'lack of infrastructure within the area' for new homes.

Sport England is especially concerned about the loss of sports facilities within the site. Yet, despite their collective objections, the application for 112 dwellings and public open space will be approved if a recommendation from planning officers is endorsed at the council.

In their conclusion, Coventry City Council planners considered the application 'to be acceptable in principle and will not result in any significant impact upon neighbour amenity, highway safety, ecology or infrastructure, subject to relevant conditions and contributions'.

They said the layout demonstrates the site is 'capable of accommodating a residential development of up to 112 dwellings with areas of open space'. The access points proposed are 'considered acceptable from a highway safety point of view', planners added.

The site is 'in a sustainable location with good access to facilities and the proposals in respect of the outline are considered acceptable', the application adds. However, the council's planning committee has delegated the final decision to the Strategic Lead for Planning, subject to conditions and the completion of a S106 Agreement 'to secure the contributions listed within the report'.

Coventry College, which owns the site, first mentioned the proposal for new homes in an Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) Screening Opinion, early in 2021. Carol Thomas, Principal and CEO at Coventry College, said at the time: "Coventry College is, as to be expected, looking into a number of options regarding future use of the current Henley Campus site, and the screening application is part of that process.

"It is far too early at this stage to go into any further detail as this is a scoping exercise that will take several months."

[dutchman]

Plans lodged to redevelop former college campus



A developer has lodged plans to knock down buildings on a former college campus to make way for more than 100 homes.

Living Space Housing has submitted a planning application to redevelop Coventry College's Henley campus, which closed three years ago.

It proposes to build 118 homes on the site, along with two multi-use games areas, a 50-space car park and a play area.

It comes nine months after previous plans to build 112 homes on the site were thrown out by a government planning inspector after developers appealed Coventry City Council's decision to refuse the scheme.

In their decision published in August last year, the inspector said there were no special circumstances to justify losing "local green space".

Following the decision, a spokesperson for Coventry College said the appeal outcome had minimal impact on its ability to sell the land.

They said the sale would support reinvestment into its city centre campus.