Coventry City Council are planning to remove 10% of our land from the green belt. In Whitley they are taking 51.5 hectares (127.2 acres) of green belt from us. They want to re-designate it for development. This is 26.5 hectares of green belt by Whitley Business Park and 25 hectares of green belt at Baginton Fields and south east of the business park.
We ask Coventry City Council to leave the land in Whitley as green belt for the following reasons -
-The green belt at Whitley serves its purpose as defined in the NPPF.
-Politicians at Coventry City Council have not been visionary in the local plan. They say Coventry is restricted by its green belt. Yet they have shown little ambition for attracting long term and less land intensive employment.
- Development of the green belt at Whitley would not be sustainable development. Sustainable development is defined by the General Assembly of the United Nations as "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This massive disposal of the green belt is too much at once. It is lazy planning that ignores the consequences for future generations.
- Coventry City Council along with Warwick District Council intend to develop all the green belt between Coventry and Baginton. The fundamental aim of green belt is to prevent urban sprawl.
- Our green belt is rich with wild life. Four species of birds that are on the birds of conservation red list, will loose their feeding grounds, resulting in their eradication. Any wildlife that can't live outside of this unique and varied corridor of green belt will die.
