A PARISH councillor has slammed proposals for thousands of houses to be built in Keresley Village following a protest outside the council house.
Speaking after Wednesday’s meeting with an independent planning inspector, Sandra Camwell told The Observer that the Council are treating Coventry “like legoland” and “building where they please”.
Her concerns have been raised after Labour councillors outlined their local plan for the city’s development in the next 15 years.
The plan identifies various green belt sites around the city, including plans to construct 5,000 new houses in Keresley, 2,000 houses in Eastern Green as well as warehousing and a retail centre the size of Cannon Park at Eastern Green.
Ms Camwell, who has lived in Coventry all her life, said the population of the city is being suffocated – and added the region’s services would not be able to cope with more houses.
She said: “Coventry is overpopulated with students, we’re all being suffocated.
“If they’re going to build housing then build it in an appropriate place – there are talks of introducing warehouses to Keresley, our roads are too small to cope with heavy construction vehicles.
“Labour are saying warehouses will create jobs, but these jobs won’t be well paid and the people working won’t be able to afford a mortgage.”
Wednesday’s meeting saw Conservative Councillors and supporting campaigners voice their concerns to an independent planning officer.
When questioned about who would benefit if plans go ahead, Ms Camwell answered with a straight “no one”.
She said: “No one will benefit should these plans go ahead, it will put more pressure on local services and increase congestion.
“They should consider building on brownfield sites before using green belt land.
“Residents have told me they’ve suffered from years of misery wondering what will happen to the green belt land.
“I was born and raised in Coventry and I’m a proud Coventrian – but I fear the city will lose its identity if these plans go ahead.”
