Latest news with #CoventryCityCouncil
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Plans to build homes in Jubilee woodland criticised
Plans to build homes in a woodland created to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee have received objections from a civic society. Coventry City Council has submitted two planning applications which would see up to 18 self-build homes constructed in the meadows of Jubilee Wood in Keresley. However, the chair of the Coventry Society, Trevor Cornfoot, said despite Keresley Parish Council previously being told by the city council "no more land would be taken from the parish for housing", it was now wanting to "grab even more land". The BBC has approached the authority for comment. The city council's plan also included upgrades to vehicle access off Watery Lane, as well as the creation of new roads and access points into the two proposed sites, the society said. Coventry Society said the Keresley Urban Extension Design Guide 2019 showed that the woodland was "protected" as a greenfield site and had been "specifically detailed" within the city's Local Plan as "one of the protected woodlands within Coventry". Mr Cornfoot added that it appeared the 3,100 houses already detailed in the 2019 Guide "were not enough", as the authority wanted to "sacrifice" 25% of the woodland for more housing. The society said the parish council had worked alongside the city council at the site to plant saplings when the woodland was created in 2012. They also planted an oak tree in 2016 in honour of the late queen's 90th birthday. Two memorial trees were also added to the woodland by Keresley Parish Council in December 2023 to commemorate the reign of the late queen and the accession of King Charles III. The society claimed the council's proposal would see the new properties built where the trees were planted. It added that it supported land being designated for self-build housing but felt the homes should be "built on allocated sites" in line with the city's Local Plan. Mr Cornfoot said the society had called on the authority to withdraw the two applications and, if not, wanted the planning committee to "unanimously refuse them". Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Pond created as part of historic river restoration Cafe and community plans for rotten park pavilion Trees replanted at vandalised wood Coventry City Council Coventry Society
BBC News
21-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Plans to build homes in Jubilee woodland receive objections
Plans to build homes in a woodland created to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee have received objections from a civic City Council has submitted two planning applications which would see up to 18 self-build homes constructed in the meadows of Jubilee Wood in Keresley. However, the chair of the Coventry Society, Trevor Cornfoot, said despite Keresley Parish Council previously being told by the city council "no more land would be taken from the parish for housing", it was now wanting to "grab even more land".The BBC has approached the authority for comment. The city council's plan also included upgrades to vehicle access off Watery Lane, as well as the creation of new roads and access points into the two proposed sites, the society said. 'It is protected land' Coventry Society said the Keresley Urban Extension Design Guide 2019 showed that the woodland was "protected" as a greenfield site and had been "specifically detailed" within the city's Local Plan as "one of the protected woodlands within Coventry".Mr Cornfoot added that it appeared the 3,100 houses already detailed in the 2019 Guide "were not enough", as the authority wanted to "sacrifice" 25% of the woodland for more housing. The society said the parish council had worked alongside the city council at the site to plant saplings when the woodland was created in 2012. They also planted an oak tree in 2016 in honour of the late queen's 90th memorial trees were also added to the woodland by Keresley Parish Council in December 2023 to commemorate the reign of the late queen and the accession of King Charles III. The society claimed the council's proposal would see the new properties built where the trees were planted. It added that it supported land being designated for self-build housing but felt the homes should be "built on allocated sites" in line with the city's Local Plan. Mr Cornfoot said the society had called on the authority to withdraw the two applications and, if not, wanted the planning committee to "unanimously refuse them". Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Band leader disappointed at 'paltry' Godiva Festival fee offer
A musician has said he is disappointed at being offered only a "very small fee" and not being booked for a Coventry Siddiqui, manager of Impact Steel Band, said he was approached by Coventry City Council to perform on two days at the Godiva Festival, but after sending over the band's rates and receiving a smaller offer, the band was dropped completely."The fee that they were offering was paltry," he said. It was a very, very small fee - but they wanted my full band… the whole shebang."The council said it regularly liaised with more artists than it booked as availability and scheduling conflicts were common, adding supporting local talent was a key priority. The authority added while performers' costs "can be one of the many elements in planning, in this particular case, the artist was unable to perform at the time slot available, which unfortunately meant we couldn't include them in the final line-up". However, Mr Siddiqui said the band, which features 10 to 12 musicians, was available for both in Coventry's War Memorial Park the festival runs from 4 to 6 March the authority announced ticket prices for 2025 would be frozen, and earlier this year injected £330,000 into the event to cover a shortfall for this year's show. 'Fair pay' He said it was a lot to expect local artists to just be "grateful and happy that we are offering you a slot in such a big event". "You want to just get a fair pay," he said. He added the musicians recently played in the Caribbean and performed "all over the country at very high-profile events". The band had played at the festival years before, when it was a free event, said Mr Siddiqui."We love the Godiva, we would love to perform in our home town, it's our city and we're super proud of being in our city," said Mr council added decisions were made based on a number of factors, including availability, how an act fits into the programme and logistical considerations."We continue to value and support the city's local talent and look forward to seeing that in action at this year's festival," it added. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
West Midlands city develops new driverless tram technology
Coventry's tram network, like much of the city, was destroyed during World War 85 years since the last tram ran in the city, they may be set to return, thanks to new technology called Very Light Rail (VLR).It's hoped the technology, parts of which have been developed in the West Midlands, could make trams affordable for other towns and cities across the world. Here we explain more. What is Very Light Rail? It's like a tram but with different technology that will likely make it more cost effective and greener. Rather than the train-like systems we currently see in cities like Manchester and Birmingham, VLR involves single, battery-powered cars that can each transport around 50 first, they will require drivers – but the aim is for the system to be autonomous. Tram cars will be recharged regularly, rather than relying on overhead power cables or electrified lines seen on other transport with the latest iteration devised in partnership with Coventry City Council, it will work with specially engineered concrete slabs embedded into the road surface with tracks laid on top. Why not just use normal trams? For medium-sized cities like Coventry, full size tram networks are simply comparison, the one-mile long Eastside Metro extension in Birmingham has a budget of £ City Council aims to demonstrate that VLR can be delivered at a cost of around £16m per mile. One of the main reasons it could be more cost effectiveness is that the VLR system requires engineers to dig just under 1ft (30cm) into roadways – compared to around 3ft (1m) for traditional means there is rarely any need to interfere with underground utilities, significantly reducing costs and the amount of time it takes to install. There is also no need to electrify routes, making the technology much a VLR track should take less than half the time it would to install a traditional tram system. Why are Coventry doing this? The idea was originally formulated by Coventry City Council as a way of linking up the city with the proposed HS2 stop in Solihull. Trams were seen as a possible solution but, as well as the cost, the city's layout was seen as since then the system has shown potential to be a cross-city transport solution instead, but will need to secure funding in order to be iterations of VLR systems were not suitable for use in urban environments. But new technology changes that by using special weight bearing concrete slabs and vehicles specially designed for tight new system has been developed by the council in partnership with WMG at the University of Warwick and the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation, which runs the Dudley Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre (VLRNIC). Councillor Jim O'Boyle, Labour cabinet member for regeneration, said: "It's smaller than a bus and it fits very comfortably into a relatively small road area."The good thing, as well, is that it goes around very tight corners and that makes it completely unique."There's no other rail-based system anywhere in the world that can turn the tight corners that this system can – and that is why it's ideal for a city the size of Coventry." Where and when could the trams run? A 220m demonstrator track running between Greyfriars Road and Queen Victoria Road is already under construction and is due to be up and running by the end of of the public will be able to apply to ride on the demonstrator, with details due to be published in the coming lines in the proposed network would link the city centre with the Coventry Building Society Arena to the north, University Hospital to the east, Coventry Airport in the south east and Warwick University to the south city council is targeting 2027 for the first full route to be installed in the city – with the airport route likely to now be prioritised. How much has been spent on the project? A total of £32.1m of public money has been committed to the project since it was first publicly discussed in £26.5m has been spent to date, with that funding being provided by the Government's Department for Transport via the West Midlands Combined money has been spent on developing the vehicles at a facility in Dudley, as well as the track technology. Why aren't other cities doing this? The main reason this hasn't happened before is because the technology to make it hasn't it's now been made possible by a mode of transport it could partly Micallef, Coventry City Council's VLR programme lead, said: "Battery technology that has been developed in the automotive world is what makes a battery-powered tram possible. "In the same way, the concrete that makes our slabs possible is an innovation only available in these last years."He said "the whole point" of the project was to make tram technology affordable for smaller towns and City Council also has a vested interest in making the technology a success as it owns the intellectual property rights to it, which means taxpayers could stand to benefit if it becomes mainstream. There has already been international interest too, with active discussions taking place with interested parties in Canada, New Zealand, Argentina and The Philippines. Is it environmentally friendly? Adding to the technology's appeal are the potential environmental benefits as cities look to cut emissions, as well as introducing a tram network should reduce the amount of vehicles on the road - assuming it is well there would be some environmental impact associated with the production of the batteries and the wider system, those responsible for delivering VLR believe its green credentials are still strong. Hamish Falconer is project manager at Colas Rail, which is installing the demonstrator track. He said: "With efficiency comes time, comes money, comes cost, comes reduction in labour as well."So less people, less machines, less material removed from site - makes this a really green way to deliver light rail."(There is) a lot less imported material as well. The fewer amount of materials we remove, and the fewer amount of materials we bring in, ultimately means a greener construction." Is everyone convinced? While Coventry City Council advocates for the benefits of VLR, not everyone has fully bought into the idea. The Government, which has provided funding to date, seems reluctant to fully back the project at a time when money is the length of the city's demonstrator track has had to be scaled back - with the plan originally for it to run half a mile (800m) between Coventry railway station and Pool Meadow bus it's hoped a successful trial on the 720ft (220m) demonstrator track could unlock more funding and allow VLR to be rolled out across the city. Councillor Gary Ridley is the Conservative opposition leader on the council. He said: "There are lots of questions now within local transport circles, and within the local community, about whether this project does represent value for money."He added: "At this moment in time, people are starting to say will this represent value for money, does it actually solve the problems we need to solve?"They were quoting something like £100m just for one leg of it a few years ago, and people have asked the question would that money be better off spent on bus services?"
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
No charge for VE Day street party road closures
People who want to throw a street party in Coventry to celebrate VE Day are being encouraged to get their applications in to the city council. This year's VE Day marks 80 years since World War Two ended, and streets will be able to select one day over the upcoming May Bank Holiday week - either the 3, 4, 5, 10 or 11 May. The closing date for applications is 1700 BST on 14 April. "There is no charge or cost, all we ask is for everyone who wants to hold a street party that requires a street closure just to log on to our website," said David Keaney, head of network management at Coventry City Council. "We want to make it as easy as possible; we recognise lots and lots of people come together for VE Day celebrations, and street parties are the way that they like to celebrate," he said. "We will try and facilitate as many as possible. "Street parties are most suited to small residential roads, particularly cul-de-sacs with a simple closure with a few cones and road signs – which we will supply at no cost - for the event." He added that the authority would consider options if there were applications for busier roads. "This year we've seen a smaller uptake so far... we wanted to encourage as many people as possible to think about it. "We would want as many people as possible to do this because we recognise that particularly coming out of winter, the first bit of warm weather is an opportunity for people to come together as a community." Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Road closure fees waived for VE Day street parties Street parties recreated for WW2 events programme Coventry City Council
