12 September 2008
Plans go in for flagship regeneration
The latest milestone in the £350m regeneration of the north-east of Coventry has been reached with an outline planning application lodged today with the council planning department.
It is expected that a decision by city planners on whether the plans get the go-ahead will be made around Christmas 2008.
The huge scheme would see up to 3328 new homes built over 12-15 years in Wood End, Deedmore, Henley Green and Manor Farm. Details have been finalised with the involvement of local residents.
The plans for the redevelopment of the area have been produced by a consortium of developers, Bovis Homes, Keepmoat Ltd and Persimmon Homes in partnership with the Whitefriars Housing Group, Coventry City Council and Coventry New Deal for Communities.
Whitefriars is leading Coventry’s project management of the scheme as it owns most of the land and existing properties in the area. The council is also putting significant areas of land into the plan and NDC, through Government grants, has been able to fund the development process so far. Lynn Wassell, Whitefriars’ project director, working on behalf of Whitefriars, Coventry
City Council and NDC, said: “The Coventry partners were happy to give the submission their seal of approval. We have all been working towards this for some time so it is a real milestone to have got to the stage where the plans are submitted.
“The redevelopment of north-east Coventry will have a huge and transformational long term impact on the people who live and work there and will provide high quality homes and significant investment in open space and play provision. To help residents during the process, we are also opening a Whitefriars’ office in the area.
“Thank you to all the residents who have helped us to get to this stage and given their time to influence the plans.”
The project would see a number of properties in the area demolished and replaced with new ones and up to 2,500 new properties for sale.
Councillor Gary Ridley, Cabinet Member (City Development) said: "This important regeneration scheme is a wonderful opportunity for the people who live in the area and this is a major step forward. The number of proposed new homes, both for sale and rent, will provide existing and new residents with a range of housing choices not available at the moment and will help us to make lasting change now and for future generations."
In addition to the new homes, work will also take place to improve the condition of those properties which will remain. New roads, community buildings, communal play areas and green spaces are all included in the proposals and several million pounds will be spent in the area to improve public open spaces.
As the project develops, Whitefriars is set to open an office on September 15. The base, on Hillmorton Road, will be staffed by the regeneration team. Residents, including non-
Whitefriars’ tenants, will be able to view the outline planning proposals, find out the facts behind the redevelopment and discover ways they can get involved. The office will be open from 10am to 3pm from Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 11am to 4pm
Thursday. Late night opening on Wednesdays, up until 7pm, will also be available via appointment.
Whitefriars owns and manages more than 2,000 homes in the NDC area.
For further information please contact Michelle Hallmark at The Bridge Group on 024 7656 0449 or m.hallmark@bridge-group.co.uk