Save the Green Belt!

Save our Meriden Gap

The beautiful Warwickshire countryside, all around Coventry, is in grave danger of being covered over with thousands of houses – at Kings Hill, Eastern Green, Keresley, Allesley, Cromwell Lane, Westwood Heath, and more. Our green lungs and farmland are at risk. During the 2016 Local Plan process Coventry Council took this land out of Green Belt, and allocated it for housing, on the basis of population figures now being questioned by the Office of Statistics Regulation. We are monitoring the OSR very closely and will use the reports to influence future housing policy.

Our first legal battle has commenced in the Planning Court 15 July.

URGENT FUNDING NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE CASE

Our legal team has framed the case as a fundamental issue that goes to the heart of the question of housing growth in our region. If we have to lose Green Belt to meet housing needs, then new housing must deliver housing to meet local needs. Seems obvious but when approving the Eastern Green consent, Coventry City Council failed to ask that question and failed to condition the consent to ensure the development delivers housing suitable for our population. That failure puts more Green Belt land at risk as developers deliver unaffordable “executive” housing just creating more pressure to release even more Green Belt.

With the national news on 15 July about a possible Giga battery factory in Coventry what is needed is homes to meet the population needs not large executive homes that are unaffordable to most and which cannot provide housing to bring the jobs to Coventry.

This is Our Last Chance

If you can, please give today. We need to raise £13,000 by 10am on 7 August 21, but this could rise to £50,000 to complete the case. All donations, small or large, will really help. Please send this on to anyone else who may feel as passionately as we do.

Questions?

• Is this judicial review for Eastern Green or for others around the city?
  • Is is for the Hallam Land application for 2400 homes at Eastern Green. However, if it succeeds, it will help other cases, all round the city.
• What is the basis case that the legal team has, that makes it possible to win this case?
  • “The Officer’s Report was significantly misleading, and the Council erred in law, because the Council granted the Permission with no condition controlling the housing mix.”
  • The Planning Committee was significantly misled as they were told at the meeting that the Interested Parties had assessed the cumulative effect of development outside the boundaries of the Coventry Local Plan (2016) (“CLP”) when assessing the highways impact of the Development
• What are our realistic chances of winning against a council that has deep pockets?
  • The law is difficult but other local groups have succeeded. A local group in Leeds, won a court case against Leeds City Council, which will require land to be returned to green belt. Their case is not the same as ours, but it shows determined local people can win. They raised £72,000.
• What are your realistic chances of reaching the £13,000 target?
  • More than 20,000 people have signed our petitions. If they all gave just £10, it would raise £200,000 which gives you an idea of what can be possible. The fundraising has started well.
• If the target is not met, do we get our money back or is the money not taken unless the target is met?
  • The pledges will only be collected if and when we meet our initial target, which is £13,000 by 10 AM on 7 Aug 2021.
• Where does my money go?
  • The money goes to the Campaign to Protect Rural England Warwickshire Branch who are bringing the case. They are a long established local Charity reg 1092486, with offices in Warwick.

PLEASE make your feelings known and contribute to our crowdfunding page

More info:
https://www.coventrygreenbelt.org – Keep Our Green Belt Green, [KOGG]
https://www.cprewarwickshire.org.uk – CPRE Warwickshire
Contact office@cprewarwickshire.org.uk