CovSoc member, Peter Hunter, goes jogging to help improve his mental health and wellbeing. But it doesn’t always work out that way. Peter writes ….
This week’s jog was just going to be a jog for the fun of it. Nothing specific to see or do, just a run for fun on a beautiful May (May 26th) morning. So there I am, jogging west along the Oxford Canal, passing under Tusses Bridge on Aldermans Green Rd. past what used to be the Elephant and Castle and then I’m confronted by what can only be described as environmental vandalism on an industrial scale. A couple of acres or so of the former power station site which a few weeks ago had been covered in emerging woodland had been bulldozed, the vegetation totally gone.
This is the second time this type of clearance has taken place here, but this time it is more thorough and covers a larger area. In the past I’ve been more laid back about developer goings on at this site, confident that development isn’t a realistic proposition here, but the vandalism on this scale is a game changer. It is also clearly illegal. Whoever cleared the site (and I’m making an assumption that this was carried out by the landowner or a prospective developer) is acting in a manner which is clearly contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which protects nesting bird habitat during the nesting season from February to August. This work was carried out in the last few weeks – well into the breeding season. The site had become a significant nesting site for a range of species, comprising dense vegetation, shrubs and trees several meters tall. We’re not talking about the odd nest here, we’re potentially talking about nests in the hundreds. This isn’t a mistake by someone, clearance on this scale is a purposeful act of destruction.
Let’s look at the background to this debacle. The former Power Station site was decommissioned in the 1970’s. After standing idle for some years the buildings and cooling towers were demolished and the site was used as an authorised tip for a variety of materials. The tipping was shaped to form a significant hill and was landscaped and planted with trees.
The intention was that when tipping at the power station ended, the site should be landscaped and handed over to the City Council to be used as a mini country park linking Hawkesbury Junction and Aldermans Green. However, for a variety of reasons that never happened and the land was left to develop naturally into a wild open space / conservation area. The land was at the time designated as Green Belt.
For over a decade, nothing happened to the land. Around 2014, the site’s then owners started to put together proposals over which there was widespread consultation with the local community. Eventually planning permission was granted for a large Marina, a limited amount of enabling development and the retention of a large part of the site’s open space / parkland. However, the development never proved to be financially viable and the planning application lapsed.
Subsequently, the City Council and the local development plan inspector, for a reason known only to themselves, agreed to the site being included in the latest development plan as a mixed – use development site. In 2020, a firm of Cheshire based developers, Fitzwilliam Capital held a 7 day consultation over proposals for a mixed use development on the site. However, nothing came of that and looking at the company’s website, it would appear that they still own the land and are trying to sell it.
My immense frustration over development proposals for this site is that they have been and are likely to continue to be totally unrealistic. The City Council’s development plan allocation of the site for mixed uses is also unrealistic.
The site was used for the tipping a variety of material and was restored to be used as open space, specifically not to be used for development. There are so many reasons why this makes such a poor development site.
- The landform comprises a steep hill making development difficult.
- The site comprises tipped material 10’s of metres in depth making it unsuited for development without vastly expensive remedial work.
- The material tipped at the site may almost certainly mean the land beneath the surface is polluted, again requiring expensive remedial work.
- Access to the site is difficult and potentially expensive.
The advertising blurb from the current owner in trying to sell the site states –
“The site is centrally located with great commuter links, countryside and canals on its doorstep. The site is 30 acres / 12.1 hectares with planning granted in August 2014 for a mixed use residential development. The site is situated next to the Coventry canal network, close to major transport links of M6/M1 motorways, the site could accommodate circa 450 homes and provide attractive, desirable canal side living.”
The blurb doesn’t state that the site will prove to be a nightmare to develop – verging on the undevelopable. The prospect of building 450 houses on there is pure fantasy. I have no doubt that the site could be acquired by any new prospective developer for remarkably small sum but the cost of developing the site will be astronomical – way beyond what the development could ever make.
So having banged on about the site’s development history, where does the site clearance come in. My assumption and it is only an assumption, is simply that the site is more saleable in a cleared state than if it is covered in semi – mature woodland and the clearance is a cynical attempt to aid the sale of the site. We’ve had a decade of hare – brained ideas for the redevelopment of this site, but this latest bout of intentional vandalism in illegally clearing the site is the last straw for me. I will be approaching the City Council with a view to pursuing a prosecution under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. This site is an important feature in the canal corridor in Coventry and local people are tired of developers trying to make a fast buck out of a site that just isn’t suitable for development (Coventry City Council please note when reviewing your development plan).
If the City Council aren’t prepared to act on this, I will be looking to put together a partnership of other interest agencies and organisations to pursue a private prosecution, which is allowed under this legislation. OK, there are lots of assumptions in this rant and I will be asking the owners if there is a legitimate reason for the site clearance and asking for details of the approval that they received from Natural England prior to undertaking the work. However, if this isn’t forthcoming, hell hath no fury like that of a grumpy old jogger.
Maybe I should just give up the jogging and life would be quieter.