DECISIONS on two controversial major planning applications in Coventry have been put on hold until the New Year.
City planners were last week recommended to approve plans for a huge regional recycling centre on former green belt allotments off London Road, close to the proposed 70-acre Charterhouse Heritage Park.
Councillors were also asked to consider outline planning permission for a £100 million residential scheme with 731 apartments and up to 711 sqm of retail/office floor space in a series of buildings of between four and 22 storeys high on a former 5.5 acre National Grid brownfield site in Abbots Lane.
Thirty-one letters of objection have been submitted opposing the plans including one by West Midlands Police over concerns that the road structure is inadequate to accommodate a development of this size so close to the Holyhead Road junction – where there have been a number of serious collisions including fatalities. View the plans here.
The planning committee meeting was postponed a day before councillors were due to sit last Thursday (December 10). It has now been rescheduled for Thursday January 14 and can be viewed live online.
So far 29 letters of objection have been received against the proposed London Road Material Recycling Facility behind Coventry & Solihull Waste Disposal Company, including one from Whitley Resident and Neighbourhood Watch Association
Concerns have been raised about traffic on the already heavily congested road system nearby, noise pollution, the impact on air quality and the new Charterhouse Heritage Park, the smell of burning waste and plastic packaging and the loss of local wildlife, trees and a former green belt site.
Historic Coventry Trust (HCT), which is restoring the Grade I Listed Charterhouse, does not object to the proposal but has expressed concerns that the proposal could have a detrimental affect on the new park as well the landscape features and wildlife.
Each year the council pays around £1.6 million to private sector waste recycling firms – so it is estimates the facility could save up to £847,000 per year. It would treat 175,000 tonnes of recyclable waste a year.
As Coventry does not produce enough waste on its own to make running such a facility viable the proposed facility would be developed with seven local authorities: Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, North Warwickshire Borough Council, Rugby Borough Council, Stratford District Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Walsall Council and Warwick District Council.
Coun Patricia Hetherton, cabinet member for city services, said: “This facility looks set to be really impressive and in the short term it’s going to help us make sure our waste and recycling service is as efficient as it can be. In the long term, it’s going to enable us to raise our recycling rates.
“Our aim to ensure Coventry is a cleaner, greener city and this facility will help us match that aim. It will give us the opportunity to make the recycling process more efficient and environmentally friendly.”
If approved, work is anticipated to start by spring 2021 with the full site being operational by spring 2023. You can take a look at the plans for the proposed recycling plant by visiting the Council’s Planning portal here.
Also on the agenda include plans for 30 one-bedroom retirement apartments in Ebbw Vale Terrace, Cheylesmore which has received 22 letters of objection and a 178-signature petition.
