PLANS are afoot for “a new neighbourhood” of 204 new homes with community recreational facilities on a disused piece of land adjoining Coventry Sphinx Sports and Social Club in Stoke Aldermoor.
The club, which incorporates Coventry Sphinx Football Club, has teamed up with developers Wellington Arch to draw up development plans “to secure their long-term future”.
Proposals include up to 204 new homes including affordable housing, landscaped public open space, a children’s play area, a skate park, a multi-use games area for community use, as well as a network of footpaths and cycleways to link with the surrounding area.
A wildlife corridor is also included in the plans to promote biodiversity and ecology. Up to 700 new trees and hedgerow species will be planted on the site while significant trees on the site will be retained, including a lime that is protected by a Tree Preservation Order.
Dannie Cahill, Joe Fletcher & Neil Buswell, trustees of the Sphinx Club, said “We are incredibly excited at the potential that this development of a long disused piece of land has to secure our future at our historic home.
“We’ve been at Sphinx Drive since our establishment in 1946 and these plans will ensure we’re here for generations to come. We are incredibly proud of the work we do within the city community, currently working with around 300 young people from the surrounding area.
“We were the first club in Coventry to receive the F.A. Charter for our work with young people. To have the opportunity to now take on the ownership of our home and secure significant investment in our facilities as we seek to grow our involvement in the community could be a fantastic moment for our club.”
Local residents have an opportunity to view and comment on the emerging plans before a planning application is submitted to Coventry City Council via a new website, landadjoiningsphinxclub, established by the developers.
If approved the club will be gifted with the freehold of their Sphinx Drive home which they currently lease, as well as securing investment in the club’s facilities.
The site, acquired by developers Wellington Arch, is currently a disused former private golf club previously owned by Rolls Royce. The golf club ceased operating 20 years ago and the site, which is fenced off from the surrounding community, has since become overgrown with brambles and scrub.
Gary Leigh, director at Wellington Arch, said “We are delighted to have acquired this site which has lain largely forgotten since it closed 20 years ago.
“We see a fantastic opportunity to open this site up to the surrounding communities for the first time in generations, delivering high quality new homes and extensive open space and facilities which will be fully accessible to local residents. We are particularly pleased to be working with The Sphinx Club who have a proud record in the city, and to have the opportunity to support them as they look to build for the future at their historic home.”
Wellington Arch has undertaken detailed pre-application discussions with officers at Coventry City Council and together with The Sphinx Club are now preparing to submit a planning application for the disused land.
