Plans for 350 homes near ancient Coventry monument rejected
Coventry City Council says proposed development would harm protected countryside and heritage landscape
Plans to build 350 homes near an ancient monument on the northern edge of Coventry have been refused by city planners.
The outline application proposed a housing development on land off Fivefield Road in Keresley, between Pikehorne Wood and Bunsons Wood.
A new scheme that would see 350 homes built in Coventry near a 2,000-year-old ancient monument has been thrown out.
Applicant Marc Wilson (Richborough) and agent Max Morgan (Marrons) submitted outline plans for the scheme on land off Fivefield Road, Keresley. The site lies between Pikehorne Wood and Bunsons Wood.
Along with the new homes, it would include vehicle, cycle and pedestrian access from Fivefield Road, ecological enhancements, highway improvements, parking, landscaping, drainage features, open space and all other associated works/infrastructure.
But Coventry City Council officers say the proposal is against planning guidelines because it would result in a loss of land in a protected swathe of countryside.
Planning officer Emma Spandley said: “The designated Green and Blue Infrastructure Corridor is required to remain open and free from built development.
“This corridor provides an essential landscape, ecological and heritage function, linking Burrow Hill Fort in the north through Hounds Hill and along the Hall Brook toward the Jubilee Woodland. Its designation reflects the area’s landscape sensitivity, its contribution to local character, and the heritage significance of the Scheduled Ancient Monument at Burrow Hill Fort.”
“By introducing development into this strategically important open space, the proposal would cause unacceptable harm to the landscape character and appearance of the area.”
Burrow Hill Fort, also known as Corley Camp, is the remains of a rectangular hillfort from the Iron Age. It was used by the Celtic people of Britain as an elevated settlement where villagers could easily see rival tribes approaching.
There is a raised section on the hill that was once a defensive rampart of piled-up soil with a wall of stones reinforced by a timber framework and with a deep ditch in front. Traces of circular stone huts have been found on the top of the hill along with pieces of pottery.
In Britain, the Iron Age – a period when iron took over from bronze as the dominant metal used for weapons and implements – is said to have lasted from around 800BC to the time of the Roman Conquest in 43AD.
Planners also said the developers had not provided enough information to show the houses would not have a “severe impact” on the road network or on the supply of natural groundwater that feeds ancient woodlands including The Alders.
In addition, the scheme does not include enough open space for the estimated population of 840 residents.
Nearby, a separate scheme for 550 new houses off Tamworth Road was given outline permission in February 2022. In June, developers Bellway Homes asked the council to approve the details of what’s been done with trees, drainage and landscaping next to more than 200 of the homes.