Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director of Place

To consider the above petition, bearing 537 signatures. The Petition Organiser and Sponsor, Councillor Lapsa, has been invited to attend the meeting for consideration of the item.

The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Executive Director of Place which responded to a petition bearing 935 signatures, which was organised and sponsored by Councillor Marcus Lapsa. The petition requested that the existing Cov Tech sports field at Mitchell Avenue no longer be considered for the provision of new homes as part of the Council’s Local Plan.  Councillors Lapsa and Skinner attended the meeting and spoke in support of the petition.

The Site was first highlighted as part of the draft Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA), which was published as part of the wider consultation on the Council’s draft Local Plan in September 2014. The Local Plan and SHLAA were subject to extensive public engagement between September and December 2014. As part of this process, it was expressed that all sites were only at draft stage and that further evidence was being undertaken and would feed into any final proposals. It was also expressed that no final decision had been made on any site and that the Council remained committed to protecting the most sensitive and highest quality green spaces.

A key part of this evidence review included assessment of the city’s green belt, as the site currently sits within the green belt to the south west of the city. National Guidance dictates that changes to green belt boundaries could only be made through a Local Plan. It is for this reason that the Site required full consideration through the Local Plan as, should it be deemed suitable for development, then it will need to be allocated and see a change in green belt boundaries. Likewise, should it be considered inappropriate for development then it would need to be considered within the context of on-going green belt protection.

The development of supporting evidence documents remained on-going at this stage. To support this assessment work, consideration would also be given to the Council’s playing pitch strategy (in consultation with the national governing body the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Coventry Sports Strategy 2014 – 2024. This could potentially involve a relocation and re-provision of the sports pitch within the surrounding area.

In speaking in support of the petition, Councillors Lapsa and Skinner referred to their concerns regarding suitability of a re-located sports pitch and issues expressed by those who run the Rugby Club in respect of the length of the current lease in terms of its future operation.

The site’s current lease between the Council and the Rugby Club would expire in December 2016. The future renewal of this Lease and the terms of such renewal would depend, in part at least, on the future decisions made through the Local Plan and it was expressed that the club had been offered an extension on the lease until summer 2018 to give them short term security whilst the Local Plan goes through due process. It was re-iterated that the outcome of the viability assessment would indicate whether or not the site would be suitable for development.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for Business, Enterprise and Employment agreed that, in consultation with the Head of Planning, full regard would be given to the requests of the petition alongside other appropriate evidence when developing the Council’s new Local Plan. This was with a view to presenting the new Local Plan to Cabinet and Council in October 2015, where final proposals for the Site would be considered.