Jaguar Land Rover's plan to build a car factory in Coventry

[dutchman]

£500m Jaguar Land Rover expansion into Coventry green belt given nod by government



Jaguar Land Rover’s £500million expansion plans in Coventry have been signed off by central government.

The secretary of state has decided not to ‘call in’ plans for the luxury car firm to expand its global headquarters at Whitley onto a 60-acre green belt site south of the A45.

The development had been viewed as controversial by some, including the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, who raised concerns about building on the site.

Green belt building plans tend to be called in by the secretary of state, but Greg Clark has decided against doing so in this instance after the scheme was approved by Coventry City Council and Warwick District Council.

Previous plans in the area near Coventry Airport and Baginton have been rejected. In February last year, then Secretary of State Eric Pickles blocked the Coventry Gateway plan, which promised to create thousands of jobs but had no end.

In a letter to Coventry City Council, the department for local government department has confirmed its decision not to intervene this time.

It reads: “The policy makes it clear that the power to call in a case will only be used very selectively.

“The government is committed to give more power to councils and communities to make their own decisions on planning issues, and believes planning decisions should be made at the local level wherever possible.

“The secretary of state has decided, having had regard to this policy, not to call in the application. He is content that the application should be determined by the local planning authority.”