Major new road "will cut through Keresley Wood"

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Plans for a major new road would carve through a vast stretch of green belt land, it has been revealed.

Details of the proposed North West Link Road were published by Coventry City Council to show how it plans to grow the city over the next two decades.

Part of those proposals, known as the Local Plan, include more than 36,000 new houses – with large swathes of countryside around Keresley identified as a potential location for many of those homes.

Council officials argue the new road, which would link Browns Lane with Prologis Park, would be an essential part of the infrastructure required to serve new homes in the area.

But residents say the road cuts through the heart of a memorial wood recently established in Keresley and is not the right solution.

Coun Kevin Maton, cabinet member for business, enterprise and employment, said: “There has always been a desire to take the Browns Lane road and use it to link up some of the developments in the north of the city.

“What may now happen is that there will be opportunities to do that should development go ahead in the north west.”

Keresley Parish councillor Allan Owens has hit out at the proposed route of the link road which he says cuts directly through Jubilee Wood, in Keresley. I t was created as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and includes several trees planted in memory of departed loved ones.

He said: “They have talked about a link road for years but now we have a community woods there I’m not sure how they are going to do it.

“The woods were only put there two years ago and there are memorial trees directly where the route would go. There are around 400 trees in the wood and it is an asset to the area.

“I and others helped to plant those trees and put a lot of time and effort into those woods.”

Mr Owens also said the size of the road was not appropriate for the area and that too many new homes seemed to be destined for Keresley.

“We are talking about a similar size road to that in Browns Lane,” he said.

“I don’t think the areas marked for development are fair. They should be better spread around the city.

“A lot of people in Keresley are devastated and feel like we are being persecuted because we have been active in our green belt protests.”

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'No intention' to build new road through Keresley wood



Fears that a memorial wood could be destroyed by a planned new link road have been cooled by a leading councillor.

The new road would link up Browns Lane with Prologis Park in the north west of the city and initial plans seemed to show the route passing through Jubilee Wood, in Keresley.

But Coun Kevin Maton, head of business and employment, has said there is “no intention” of building through the area.

The wood was created as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and includes several trees planted in memory of departed loved ones.

He said: “What we have produced is quite a detailed map with a potential route placed on top of it. Obviously that seems to indicate the new road would go through the woods. It is not meant to be very specific, it’s to demonstrate the potential type of infrastructure that might be put in place should development take place in that area of the city.

"There’s no intention, if possible, of building a road through those woods.”

He added that a meeting was planned with residents in the area and council officers to try and answer any questions and concerns people have about the proposed link road.

The road forms part of documents released as Coventry City Council looks to develop its “Local Plan” which sets out how the city will grow physically and economically over the next two decades. Part of those plans include 32,000 potential new homes in the city by 2031 – with many of those houses earmarked for the north west of the city.

Residents in the Keresley area have previously complained that they are being treated unfairly and will be landed with an unfair share of the housing burden.

Coun Maton said: “People in Bablake didn’t complain when there were houses built in Allesley Green and Potters Green.

“In the past there’s been new housing built on a regular basis and I don’t remember people in Bablake saying ‘we are getting more housing than other people’.

"There has to be a balance of where housing has gone in the past and where housing is going to go in the future.”

He added that the council would continue to look at brown field sites as well as green belt sites and more details on proposed locations would be revealed as soon as possible in order to give people time to have their say on any potential building.