Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Prepared by Pegasus Planning | Bluemark Developments Ltd/The Queen’s College, Oxford/Cala Homes (Midlands) Ltd | May 2009 | Bir.2588
KERESLEY SUSTAINABLE URBAN EXTENSION
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Pegasus Planning Group 5 The Priory Old London Road Canwell Sutton Coldfield West Midlands B75 5SH
Telephone: (0121) 308 9570 Facsimile: (0121) 323 2215
PPG Ref: BIR.2588
Date: May 2009
COPYRIGHT
The contents of this document must not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of Pegasus Planning Group LLP
Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension Social, Economic and Environmental Issues
CONTENTS
Page No
1. Introduction 1
2. Existing Baseline Position 4
3. Strategic Policy Context 27
4. Strategic Outputs 29
5. Specific Outputs 34
6. Conclusions 54
APPENDICES (BOUND SEPARATELY)
1. Retail Appraisal
2. Ward Based Study Area Plan – Drawing No. 38-1
3. Site Location Plan – Drawing No. 25-1
4. Open Space Provision Plan – 26-1
5. Education Provision Plan – Drawing No. 27-1
6. Community Services Plan – Drawing No. 28-1
7. Employment and Public Transport – Drawing No. 39-1
8. Priority Neighbourhoods
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 This document has been prepared to inform and support the development of a new sustainable urban extension on land on the northwest edge of the built up area of Coventry. It is prepared on behalf of clients the Queen’s College Oxford, Bluemark Developments and Cala Homes (Midlands) Ltd. The site itself is entirely contained within the Bablake Ward of the city. However, it abuts the Holbrook and Radford Wards within Coventry City Council’s administrative area, the Exhall ward within Nuneaton and Bedworth Council’s administrative district and the Fillongley ward within North Warwickshire’s administrative district.
1.2 The site incorporates an area of open land which is predominately in use for agricultural purposes. The area also contains other uses which could be expected in the urban fringe. These include a golf driving range, playing fields, areas of woodland, former mineral workings and recreational open space. The area also contains various buildings including areas of linear residential development located on the Tamworth Road (B4096), Bennetts Road, Fivefield Road and Thompson’s Road.
1.3 To the east of the site is the small settlement of Keresley. To the south of the village is the former Coventry Colliery now redeveloped as ProLogis Park. To the south of ProLogis Park is the President Kennedy Secondary School, its playing fields and further south again is the largely residential area which makes up the Holbrook area of the Coventry.
1.4 Beyond the most southerly part of the site is the Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic School and Community College and its playing fields located off Sandpits Lane. To the west are the largely linear settlements of Brownshill Green and Hawkes End. To the northwest is the rural settlement of Corley and further north is the M6 motorway including the Corley Motorway Service Area.
1.5 The site is largely defined by clear boundaries. To the north this site is defined by the administrative boundary between Coventry City Council and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, which in turn follows a public footpath. The eastern boundary is largely formed by Bennetts Road, with the exception of an area of open land located east of Bennetts Road which in turn is defined by Penny Park Lane, existing development off Brookford Avenue/Bantam Gardens/Hall Brook
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Road and Watery Lane. To the south the site is defined by Sandpits Lane whilst its western boundary is formed by Tamworth Road.
Policy Background
1.6 The proposal involves the release of Green Belt land on the north western edge of Coventry to help to achieve the housing targets identified in the RSS Phase II Revision. As part of the evidence base for Coventry City Council’s Core Strategy, areas of search were identified where land could be identified to meet with long term housing needs. As part of this process the City Council in its Core Strategy Proposed Submission has identified a site on the north western edge of the city as the Keresley Eco-Suburb (safeguarded land). The general location of this site is shown on the Spatial Strategy diagram. The Keresley Eco Suburb site is identified as having the capacity for 3,000 new dwellings, to form part of the housing supply to be delivered between 2006 – 2026.
1.7 Separate representations will be made relative to the specifics of the policies relating to Keresley, particularly the need to identify the site specifically as a strategic allocation for development.
Purpose
1.8 This document is prepared to support the proposed identification of land at Keresley to form a sustainable urban extension. It also seeks to set out current social and economic conditions within and adjoining the site. This information will inform the developer of the proposed urban extension and help in maximising the benefits associated with the development of the site to those who live and work in its immediate surroundings. It is one of a series of reports addressing such issues as transportation, masterplanning, design and landscape which are submitted to Coventry City Council as part of the Core Strategy process.
1.9 The report identifies an appropriate study area for an appraisal of existing characteristics. This includes population characteristics, housing stock economic activity, educational attainment, crime, health and other social/economic characteristics. The report also identifies existing infrastructure and whether it has any capacity, so as to maximise the sustainability credentials of an urban extension.
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1.10 This document also aims to identify and quantify potential outputs from the proposal. These can take the form of specific physical works, identified targeted regeneration initiatives, as well as more generic benefits from increasing households within a particular catchment area. These benefits can take the form of specific physical outcomes such as the development of new employment or retail facilities or improvements to training initiatives, recruitment of workers or improvements to the range of available housing stock to provide more balanced communities.
1.11 Finally it is intended to specify the linkages between the various policy and regeneration aspirations and the outputs associated with the Keresley sustainable urban extension so as to maximise the benefits associated with the proposal in the widest possible sense. This will also allow for targeting of explicit issues through Section 106 Obligations or other measures associated with the development.
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2. EXISTING BASELINE POSITION
Introduction
2.1 Various sources of information are available to establish current socio economic conditions within both those areas of Coventry City which include or immediately adjoin the Keresley sustainable urban extension. Sources of information to provide for the most robust and wide ranging baseline position include the following:
• 2001 census • Indices of Multiple Deprivation (2007) • Annual Public Health Report and Coventry Compendium • Coventry City Council’s statistics produced by the City Council Research and Strategy Team
2.2 In addition to the above a wide range of supporting evidence has been produced by the City Council in support of the Core Strategy submission. This includes the following information which is of relevance to the consideration of social, economic and regeneration factors associated with the Keresley sustainable urban extension. Such reports include the following:
• Coventry Joint Green Belt Review – January 2009 • Coventry Habitat Biodiversity Audit • Employment Land Study • Green Infrastructure Study • Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment • Housing Market Assessment • Coventry Population Estimates and Projections • Shopping and Centres Study Update (October 2008) • Coventry Green Belt Review • Education Provision in Coventry
2.3 Finally due to the juxtaposition of this site relative to the boundary with Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and in particular the likely relationship between the northern portion of the site and the settlement of Keresley Newlands village, it is appropriate to identify baseline characteristics for the adjacent area within Nuneaton and Bedworth Council’s administrative district. This will also focus on
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publicly available statistic information including the Census, IMD rankings and associated data, annual report of the Director of Public Health 2008 (Coventry and Warwickshire PCTs), and further information provided in support of the Nuneaton and Bedworth Local Development Framework.
Extent of the Study Area
2.4 The study area for the consideration of the social, economic and regeneration aspects of the proposal is Ward based. Predominately it is focused upon those Wards in Coventry within which the Keresley proposal is located or those which immediately adjoin it. These Wards would consist of the Bablake Ward, within which the site is now wholly located, the Holbrook Ward which consists of the built up area immediately to the east of the site and the Radford Ward which comprises of the built up area predominately to the southeast of the site. However it is to be noted that at the time of the 2001 census the site was located within the Holbrook ward and was only placed within Bablake following boundary changes in 2004. As a result of these changes assessing information related to a number of wards adjacent to the site, rather than a single ward, is considered the most robust method of analysis.
2.5 In addition to the three Wards identified within Coventry there is also the need to provide information relative to the Exhall Ward within Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council’s administrative district, which is also directly associated with the site.
2.6 The site also abuts an area of countryside located in the Fillongley ward within North Warwickshire. As this rural area has little direct relationship in social and economic terms with the Keresley site, containing largely areas of countryside, it has not been included in the analysis of socio-economic data. However the adjacent area has been surveyed so that physical features such as playing fields have been identified.
2.7 The Ward Based Study Area is identified on Plan 38-1 contained in Appendix 2.
Methods to derive baseline data are summarised below:
• Information relative to the existing population profile and economic and social characteristics of the area have been taken from the 2001 census
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data. The information utilised has focused on the Neighbourhood Statistics and Super Output Areas, which provide the most accurate information available. This information has been compared with Ward level baseline information from Coventry City as a whole and against the UK average.
• In addition data has been utilised from the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2007 (IMD) which are produced by the Department of Communities and Local Government. The IMD combines a number of indicators covering a range of economic, social and housing issues to provide a single deprivation score for each small area of England. This allows each area to be ranked relative to their level of deprivation.
• Reference is made to the annual report of the Director or Public Health for Coventry and Director of Public Health for Warwickshire. This provides information relative to public health issues.
Study Area Population (2001 Census)
2.8 The majority of the site is now located within the Ward of Bablake which had a population of 15,041. This represents a fall from the population in 1981 of 15470. The Ward is the largest within the City having an overall area of 1823 hectares giving a density of population of 8.3 people per hectare. This is the lowest population density in the City.
2.9 The adjacent Holbrook Ward, which at the time of the census included the site, had a population of 18427 and has an area of 713.9 hectares. This gives a population density of 25.8 people per hectare.
2.10 The Radford Ward has a population of 16901 within an overall area of 303.9 hectares. This gives a density of population of 55.6 persons per hectare.
2.11 The Exhall Ward has a population of 7381 within an area of 559 hectares. This gives a population of 13.21 persons per hectare.
2.12 Table 1.1 gives some information relative to population within the study area.
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Table 1.1: Population Data (2001) for Study Area
Total Population (2001 Census based) Bablake Ward 15041 Holbrook 18427 Radford 16901 Exhall 7381 Total Study Area Population 57750
Age Structure
2.13 The age structure of the population within the study area is set out in the following table. This indicates that there are marked differences between the population make-up in the various Wards within the study area. The Bablake Ward contains a significantly higher proportion of elderly people than any of the three other Wards within the study area and in comparison to Coventry City as a whole. In addition Exhall Ward also has a population which also has a proportionately greater element of elderly people. The overall increase in the elderly as a proportion of the population in Bablake and Exhall is likely to have continued since the 2001 Census was completed.
Table 1.2: Age Structure (2001)
No of Persons and % of Total Population
0-9 years 10-19 20-44 45-64 65-75 75+ years years years years years
Bablake 1759 1795 4566 3686 1420 1811 (11.7%) (11.9%) (30.4%) (24.5%) (9.4%) (12%) Holbrook 2678 2785 6520 3804 1455 1182 (14.5%) (15%) (35.3%) (20.6%) (7.9%) (6.4%) Radford 2296 2333 6685 3153 1171 1268 (13.6) (13.8%) (39.6%) (18.7%) (6.9%) (7.5%) Exhall 854 909 2318 1841 827 632 (11.6%) (12.3%) (31.4%) (24.9%) (11.2%) (8.6%) Coventry 38720 43131 109324 63712 23615 22349 (12.9%) (14.3%) (36.3%) (21.2%) (7.8%) (7.4%) Source 2001 Census
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Table 1.3: Housing – By Stock
Detached Semi- Terraced Flat – Flat, part of houses or Detached houses or Purpose shared bungalows houses or bungalows built house bungalows including bedsits England 4,786,456 6,713,183 5,494.033 2,967,790 968,266 (22.51%) (31.6%) (25.6%) (13.9%) (4.5%) Coventry 11,967 33,980 59,872 17,095 2368 (9.44%) (26.8%) (47.2%) (13.5%) (1.9%) Bablake 1006 1951 2777 618 33 (15.5%) (30.2%) (43%) (9.6%) (0.5%) Holbrook 624 2589 3781 322 52 (8.35%) (34.7%) (50.6%) (4.3%) (0.7%) Radford 234 1536 4349 996 249 (3.14%) (20.6%) (58.4%) (13.4%) (3.3%) Exhall 523 1786 442 212 61 (16.8%) (57.5%) (14.2%) (6.8%) (2.0%) Source 2001 Census
2.13 The census has revealed that Coventry as a whole has a significantly different make up of housing stock to the national picture. In particular there is a significant difference between the amount of detached dwellings nationally and that in the City (22.5% compared with 9.44%). Similarly there is a significant difference between the amount of terraced housing between the national and Coventry perspective (25% and 47%).
2.14 In terms of ward level the Bablake Ward is more representative of the national picture whilst dwellings in Holbrook and Radford are even more concentrated in the terraced format (50.6% and 58.4% respectfully compared to nationally 25.6%). In terms of detached dwellings all of the Wards in the study area currently have limited amounts of such stock. Within England 22.5% of dwellings are detached yet in all of the Wards in the study area have less than 17% of dwellings in a detached format. Radford Ward has only 3.1% of dwellings in the form of detached dwellings. The Exhall Ward is shown to be predominately made up of semi detached dwellings and few purpose built flats.
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Table 1.4: Household Size and Tenure
Persons per Owner/ Private Rent Council’s HA household Occupier and other rent England 2.40 68.72% 8.8% 22.48% Coventry 2.37 69.3% 8.7% 22.1% Bablake 2.3 83.9% 3.7% 12.4% Holbrook 2.6 76.1% 7.5% 16.4% Radford 2.3 59.7% 12.5% 27.9% Exhall 2.4 78.7% 5.7% 15.6% Source 2001 Census
2.15 In terms of size and tenure it is evident that the Coventry average is very similar to that nationally. In terms of tenure the Bablake ward shows a higher proportion of owner occupation than either the England or Coventry average. It is evident that the Radford ward has a substantial element of Council or housing association rented stock.
Table 1.5: Employment and Economic Status
Full Time Part Time Self Employed Retired Disabled/ Permanently Sick England 14,499,241 4,196,041 2,954,988 4,811,595 1,844,901 (40.8%) (11.8%) (8.3%) (13.5%) (5.3%) Coventry 84,533 23,503 11,092 27,119 13,122 (39.3%) (10.9%) (5%) (12.6%) (6%) Bablake 4518 1392 742 1700 458 (43.8%) (13.5%) (7.2%) (16.5%) (4.4%) Holbrook 5397 1499 653 1646 834 (42.2%) (11.7%) (5%) (12.9%) (6%) Radford 4558 1203 477 1363 948 (38.1%) (10%) (3.9%) (11.4%) (7.9%) Exhall 2315 617 312 906 379 (43.6%) (11.6%) (5.9%) (17%) (7.1%) Source 2001 Census
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2.16 The type of employment data reveals that Coventry has a lower level of self employed persons than the England average (5% compared to nationally 8.3%). The Radford ward has a even smaller proportion of self employed residents (3.9%). The Bablake ward has a substantial element of retired persons at 16.5% and similar figure is found in Exhall (17%). Bablake has the highest proportion of people in full time work. Both Radford and Exhall show significant numbers of people who are disabled or permanently sick (7.9% and 7.1%) compared with the English or Coventry average (5.3% and 6%).
Table 1.6 Occupation Groups (16-74) Managers and Professional Associate Administration Senior Professional and Secretarial Officials and England 3424899 2515679 3104993 3004721 (15.26%) (11.21%) (13.84%) (13.39%) Coventry 14275 13117 15254 17108 (11.35%) (10.43%) (12.13%) (13.61%) Bablake 861 699 873 1081 (12.52%) (10.17%) (12.7%) (15.72%) Holbrook 813 525 802 977 (10.41%) (6.72%) (10.27%) (12.51%) Radford 571 534 720 751 (8.66%) (8.09%) (10.91%) (11.38%) Exhall 390 189 320 484 (11.69%) (5.67%) (9.59%) (Aged 16-74) Skilled Personal Sales and Process; Elementary Trades Service Customer Plant and Occupations machine England 2591875 1545367 1717796 1889126 2647042 (11.55%) (6.89%) (7.65%) (8.42%) (11.8%) Coventry 15284 8743 10519 13847 17577 (12.16%) (6.95%) (8.37%) (11.01%) (13.98%) Bablake 1008 463 504 646 741 (14.66%) (6.73%) (7.33%) (9.39%) (10.78%) Holbrook 1079 555 731 1184 1144 (13.82%) (7.11%) (9.36%) (15.26%) (14.65%) Radford 807 508 645 911 1150 (12.23%) (7.7%) (9.78%) (13.81%) (17.43%) Exhall 463 269 249 485 487 (13.88%) (8.06%) (7.46%) (14.54%) (14.6%)
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2.17 The information in Table 1.6 reveals similar trends to the other economic information analysed earlier. The Bablake ward shows a greater proportion of its population engaged in managerial; professional and associate professional occupations (35.4% of the ward in employment) in comparison to the Radford and Holbrook wards (27.6% and 18.3% respectively). Similarly the Exhall ward also shows a smaller proportion of employed residents in the managerial and professional sectors (27%) which is below all the other ward percentages and that for Coventry as a whole (33.9%).
2.18 Similarly when the information relating to those in occupations associated with plant and machinery operation and elementary occupations, this shows a greater proportion living in Radford (31.2%), Holbrook (29.9%) and Exhall (29.1%) than in Bablake (20.2%.
Table 1.7 – Industry of Employment
Manufacturing Construction Wholesale Real Education Health & Retail Estates & & Social Renting Work Business England 14.8% 6.26% 16.8% 13.2% 7.74% 10% Coventry 20.8% 5.1% 16.2% 10.77% 9.5% 10.2% Bablake 23.16% 5% 15% 9.8% 10.2% 9.25% Holbrook 25% 5% 17.4% 9.7% 6.5% 9.4% Radford 25.9% 6.1% 16.8% 8.75% 6.6% 10.2% Exhall 22% 5.9% 17.8% 10.4% 7.1% 9.5%
2.19 The above table breaks down the type of employment in each ward by sector. It reveals that all wards in the study are had a substantial reliance on employment in the manufacturing sector. This reliance is likely to have reduced since albeit it still likely to be in excess of the material picture. Employment in construction is below the national average in the whole of the study area.
Table 1.8 – Qualifications and Students (Aged 16-74)
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No Highest Highest Highest Highest Other Qualification Qualification Qualification Qualification Qualification Qualification/Level Attained Attained Attained Attained Unknown Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5 England 10251674 5909093 6877530 2962282 7072052 2459460 (28.85%) (16.63%0 (19.36%) (18.34%) (19.9%) (6.92%) Coventry 67445 36225 37889 22090 35942 15242 (31.39%) (16.86%) (17.64%) (10.28%) (16.73%) (7.09%) Bablake 2909 2010 2104 673 1692 919 (28.22%) (19.5%) ((20.41%) (6.53%) (16.42%) (8.92%) Holbrook 4893 2369 2335 769 1448 971 (38.27%) (18.53%) (18.26%) (6.01%) (11.33%) (7.59%) Radford 4347 2194 2040 1087 1564 728 (36.35%) (18.34%) (17.06%) (9.09%) (13.08%) (6.09%) Exhall 1998 1109 945 282 502 469 (37.66%) (20.9%) (17.81%) (5.32%) (9.46%) (8.84%)
Level 1 – 1 + ‘O’ level passes; 1 + GCSE any grades; NVQ Level 1 or foundation level GNVQ. Level 2 – 5 + ‘O’ level passes; 5 + GCSE (grades A-C); School Certificate; 1 + ‘A’ levels/AS Levels, NVQ Level 2 or Intermediate GNVQ. Level 3 – 2 + ‘A’ levels; 4 + ‘AS’ levels, High School Certificate; NVQ Level 3; Advanced GNVQ. Level 4 – Fix degree; Higher Degree, NVQ Levels 4 and 5, HNC, HND, Qualified Teacher, Qualified Doctor, Qualified Dentist, Qualified Nurse, Midwife, and Health Visitor.
2.20 The above table sets out education attainment in the study area and gives a comparison with Coventry City and England as a whole. It is notable that whilst Bablake contains an equivalent proportion of people with no qualifications (28%) all the other wards have a significantly greater proportion of people with no qualifications at all, with a peak of 38.2% in Holbrook. It is also notable that within Exhall ward there is significantly less well qualified people with only 14.78% of the population attaining Level 3-5 compared with 38.2% in England and 27% in Coventry.
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Table 1.9 Car or Van Ownership
No cars One car Two cars Three Four cars Total cars or vans or van or vans cars or or vans and vans vans England 5488386 8935718 4818581 924289 284453 22607629 (26.84%) (43.69%) (23.56) (4.52%) (1.39%) Coventry 40491 54117 22897 3834 1014 115930 (33.09%) (44.23%) (18.71%) (3.13%) (0.83%) Bablake 1543 2869 1549 290 91 7246 (24.33%) (45.24%) (24.42%) (4.57%) (1.43%) Holbrook 2036 3502 1351 170 66 7055 (28.58%) (49.15%) (18.96%) (2.39%) (0.93%) Radford 3085 3135 804 122 44 5308 (42.91%) (43.6%) (11.18%) (1.7%) (0.61%) Exhall 824 1335 723 129 29 3293 (27.11%) (43.91%) (23.78%) (4.24%) (0.95%)
2.21 The above table demonstrates that residents in Radford are much more likely not to own a car or van than residents of either Bablake, Holbrook or Exhall. Nearly 43% of homeowners in Radford do not own a vehicle compared with 24.3% of Bablake households. The level of car ownership in Radford is significantly below either the England or Coventry average.
Index of Deprivation 2007
2.22 The Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2007 (IMD) are produced by the Department of Communities and Local Government. The IMD combines a number of indicators, chosen to cover a range of economic, social and housing issues into a single deprivation score for each small area in England. This allows for each area, based upon Super Output Area level, to be ranked against one another giving a relative position in regard to deprivation. The lower the rank the relatively more deprived an area is.
2.23 The site is located within Local Super Output Area (LSOA) 590. This consists of the north eastern portion of the Bablake Ward. Area 590 is ranked within the most 30%-40% of the most deprived areas in the UK. The site is bounded to the west by LSOA 523. This is identified as being within the lowest 40-50% of deprived areas in England. To the east the site is bordered by LSOAs 591 and
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594. LSOA 591 is also within the lowest 30%-40% of deprived areas in England whilst 594 is located in the lowest 50%-60%.
2.24 However, within the vicinity there are also considerable variations in deprivation which can be expected within a large urban area such as Coventry. Within close proximity of the site are LSOAs 588 and 592, both of which are within the most 10%-20% of deprived areas within England.
2.25 Within the Bablake Ward it is evident that the index of deprivation is predominantly biased towards those less deprived LSOAs. Of the LSOAs within the Bablake Ward, 3 are located within the 30%-40% most deprived category whilst there are examples of other LSOAs within the next three categories, namely 40%-50% least deprived, 60%-70% least deprived and 70%-80% least deprived. This contrasts markedly with the LSOA’s located to the east and south of the site which form part of the predominantly built up area of Coventry. Within the wards of Radford and Holbrook there is a strong propensity for increased levels of deprivation. Within Holbrook, three of the LSOAs are identified as being in the 10 to 20% of most deprived. The Radford Ward demonstrates a higher degree of deprivation with all LSOAs being in the most 30%-40% deprived. In addition, four of the LSOAs are identified in the lowest 10%-20%.
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2.26 For the Exhall Ward it is notable that the Keresley North and Newland LSOA, which abuts the site to the east, is identified as being in the 30% most deprived in England1.
Employment Deprivation Domain
2.26 This domain measures employment deprivation based upon involuntary exclusion of the working age population from the labour market. Information analysed includes recipients of job seekers allowance, incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance. The data for the lower super output areas in the vicinity of the site indicates relatively little in the way of employment deprivation. In particular areas to the west of the site illustrate limited amounts of deprivation relative to employment. However, significant pockets of employment deprivation at the LSOA level remain within both the Holbrook and Radford Wards with some LSOAs in the lowest 10%-20%. Within Holbrook 3 LSOAs are in the lowest 10- 20% (588,592,596) whilst in Radford 4 LSOAs are in the lowest 10-20% whilst 2 LSOAs (631,632) are in the 10% most deprived areas in England for employment.
2.27 The Keresley North and Newlands LSOA is identified as being within the 20-30% most deprived in England for employment deprivation2.
1 Source Warwickshire Observatory 2 Source Warwickshire Observatory
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Education Skills and Training Deprivation Domain
2.27 This domain identifies the extent of deprivation in terms of education, skills and training in a local area. They provide two indicators relating to education deprivation for children/young people and relating to a lack of skills and qualifications amongst a subset of the working age population. The IMD reveals that the site and its immediate surroundings to the south and east all fall within the lowest 50% of deprived ranked areas. In addition the majority of the LSOA’s containing the site and its southern/eastern neighbours fall within the lowest 40%, with some substantial areas in the lowest 20%. Again, it reveals that substantial areas of the Holbrook and Radford Wards have significant levels of deprivation relative to education, skills and training with many areas being in the lowest 20%.
2.28 Considering the sub-group relating to the adult working population with no or limited qualifications (the skills sub domain), the position is even worse. This reveals that the site is in the lowest 20-30% and the area to the south are in the lowest 40%. However of greater significance is the significant area of the City immediately to the east of the site which falls within the lowest 20% of deprived wards relating to this particular domain.
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2.29 The Keresley North and Newlands LSOA is identified as being in 10-20% most deprived nationally for education, skills and training.
Barriers to Housing and Services Domain
2.29 This domain measures barriers to housing and key local services. The indicators are structured into two sub-groups comprising of geographical barriers and wider barriers. These include issues relating to access to housing including such matters as affordability.
2.30 The LSOA within which the site is located (590) is identified as being within the 10 most deprived areas in the City for this particular domain. The LSOA immediately to the west of the site comprising of Hawkes End and associated countryside, ranks in the most 10% of deprived wards for this particular domain nationally. This in particular is influenced by the affordability of housing and access to the key local services. This reflects the rural nature of the areas to the west of the site where access to affordable housing and local services is more difficult.
Crime Domain
2.31 This measures the rate of recorded crime for four major crime types which include burglary, theft, criminal damage and violence. The LSOA encompassing the application site is identified as being within the most 10%-20% of deprived areas. Overall it is notable that the majority of LSOA’s in the vicinity of the site have a deprivation score of below 50% including 3 below 20%.
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2.32 The Keresley North and Newlands LSOA is in the most 10% deprived areas nationally in terms of crime, making it the area most affected by crime in the study area.
Living Environment Domain
2.32 The Living Environment Deprivation domain is split into two sub areas. These consist of the indoor living environment which measures the quality of housing and the outdoors living environment which measures air quality and road traffic accidents. Within the indoor environment domain the site and its immediate surrounding LSOA fall within the most deprived 40%-60% in England. The areas to the east show significantly greater deprivation subject to this criterion, falling into the lowest 20% of deprived areas. The Index reveals that locations to the west of the site are generally in the least 50% of deprived areas whereas areas to the east and south are amongst the 30% most deprived with some areas in the most 10% deprived.
2.33 The Keresley North and Newlands LSOA is identified as being in the 50% least deprived for this particular domain.
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Health
2.34 The Director of Public Health for Coventry publishes the Public Health Annual Report. This document describes variations in the health of inhabitants of Coventry both in terms of health status and as in regard to access care. The most recent Annual Report is for the period 2008-2009. In addition to the main report the Department of Public Health published an Atlas of Variation in health and access to health care. These documents have been investigated with a view to giving the most up to date position in regard to the health of residents in the vicinity of the site and access to health care facilities.
2.35 Plan 28-1 identifies the Doctor’s surgeries within the vicinity of the site. It is noticeable that the Bennetts Road North and the Keresley Green Medical Centre are located within close proximity of the site. The Keresley Green Medical Centre represents a recent purpose built development under the SureStart regime and provides substantial modern medical facilities available to the local population. It provides accommodation for two medical practices namely Park Leys and Springfield. Each practice has its own reception area, consultation rooms and offices, sharing a minor operating suite and conference room.
2.36 The Bennetts Road North Surgery is administered via the Park Leys Medical Practice. It was formerly the main surgery for the practice up until the move to Keresley Green Medical Centre in May 2006. It provides three consulting rooms and two treatment rooms as well as administrative space. In addition to the doctors surgeries there is also a NHS Clinic located on Bennetts Road in Keresley. This facility is operated by Warwickshire PCT.
2.37 Coventry PCT has produced ward profiles for the city which identifies a number of key factors relating to the health of the community. This information largely reflects the social and economic pattern already established with patterns of ill health and premature death being concentrated in those areas with greater socio/economic problems. The following tables illustrate the key health indicators and rankings for the Bablake, Radford and Holbrook wards.
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Bablake Ward – Key Health Indicators and Rankings
Rate/Percentage England & Bablake Coventry Wales Births General Fertility Rate (per 1000 females aged 15-44) 51.2 60.3 59.1 Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 live n/a 6.8 5.0 births) 11.7 9.3 7.9 Percentage of Live births <2500g 2.2 1.7 1.5 Percentage of births <1500g Self Reported General Health Percentage of persons with good health 67.5% 67.4% n/a Percentage of persons with fairly good 22.8% 22.6% n/a health 9.6% 10.0% n/a Percentage of persons with not good health
Self Reported Limiting Long Term Illness (LLTI) 19.8% 18.6% 17.6 Percentage of persons with LLTI 10.0% 12.1% n/a Percentage of persons of working age with LLTI
Mean age of Death (years)
Mean age of death – Males 76.4 72.2 n/a Means age of death – Females 82.2 78.5 n/a
Mortality – Directly standardised rates (per 100000 population) 70.8 103.5 91.2 Mortality from all circulatory diseases 37.0 57.0 53.0 Mortality from all coronary heart 141.0 129.8 119.3 disease 13.3 17.7 16.2 Mortality from all cancers Mortality from all accidents
Leading Causes of Death – SMR* - all ages *Standardised Mortality Ratio 94 100 n/a SMR; all causes 103 100 n/a SMR; all heart diseases 90 100 n/a SMR; lung cancer 79 100 n/a SMR; stroke 112 100 n/a SMR; breast cancer 109 100 n/a SMR; prostate cancer Note: All Directly Standardised Rates and percentages relate to 2003/05 data, and SMRs to 2001-5 data. SMRs are standardised to Coventry. Limiting Long Term Illness and General Health data is from the 2001 Census. Small numbers (i.e. less than 5) are listed as ‘n/a’.
Source Coventry PCT Director of Public Health annual report 2008/9 and Atlas of Variation.
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Bablake
2.38 The general perception of inhabitants of Bablake relative to their own health is similar to that reported for Coventry as a whole, albeit the percentage of people living with a long term condition is slightly higher. It is notable that the average age of death is high compared with the rest of the city. It is also notable that the ward has a higher mortality from cancers than either the Coventry or national average and a higher mean age of death for both males and females in comparison with the Coventry average.
2.39 The general fertility rate is less than both the Coventry and England and Wales average. It is also noticeable that the percentage of live births which are of lower than average weight is significantly above the national and Coventry wide average.
Holbrook – Key Health Indicators and Rankings
Rate/Percentage England & Holbrook Coventry Wales Births
General Fertility Rate (per 1000 58.4 60.3 59.1 females aged 15-44) 7.1 6.8 5.0 Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 live 10.0 9.3 7.9 births) 1.3 1.7 1.5 Percentage of Live births <2500g Percentage of births <1500g
Self Reported General Health
Percentage of persons with good 66.8% 67.4% n/a health 23.0% 22.6% n/a Percentage of persons with fairly good 10.2% 10.0% n/a health Percentage of persons with not good health
Self Reported Limiting Long Term Illness (LLTI) 18.7% 18.6% 17.6 Percentage of persons with LLTI 12.7% 12.1% n/a Percentage of persons of working age with LLTI
Mean age of Death (years)
Mean age of death – Males 71.1 72.2 n/a Means age of death – Females 76.4 78.5 n/a
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Mortality – Directly standardised rates (per 100000 population) 116.3 103.5 91.2 Mortality from all circulatory diseases 64.6 57.0 53.0 Mortality from all coronary heart 157.9 129.8 119.3 disease 13.7 17.7 16.2 Mortality from all cancers Mortality from all accidents
Leading Causes of Death – SMR* - all ages *Standardised Mortality Ratio 103 100 n/a SMR; all causes 108 100 n/a SMR; all heart diseases 126 100 n/a SMR; lung cancer 109 100 n/a SMR; stroke 103 100 n/a SMR; breast cancer 105 100 n/a SMR; prostate cancer Note: All Directly Standardised Rates and percentages relate to 2003/05 data, and SMRs to 2001-5 data. SMRs are standardised to Coventry. Limiting Long Term Illness and General Health data is from the 2001 Census. Small numbers (i.e. less than 5) are listed as ‘n/a’.
Source Coventry PCT Director of Public Health annual report 2008/9 and Atlas of Variation.
Holbrook
2.40 Infant health is generally good within the ward and this is improving further. People’s perception of their health is average in comparison with others in Coventry. The mean age of death for both males and females is slightly below the Coventry average. The mortality from circulatory diseases and cancers is above both the Coventry and England and Wales standardised rates. There is a greater propensity for the population to die of lung cancer than the Coventry standardised rate albeit that death rates from cancers as a whole are falling.
Radford Ward - Key Health Indicators and Rankings
Rate/Percentage England & Radford Coventry Wales Births General Fertility Rate (per 1000 females aged 15-44) 67.9 60.3 59.1 Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 n/a 6.8 5.0 live births) 10.3 9.3 7.9 Percentage of Live births <2500g 1.6 1.7 1.5 Percentage of births <1500g
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Self Reported General Health Percentage of persons with good health 64.6% 67.4% n/a Percentage of persons with fairly 23.6% 22.6% n/a good health 11.8% 10.0% n/a Percentage of persons with not good health
Self Reported Limiting Long Term Illness (LLTI) 20.4% 18.6% 17.6 Percentage of persons with LLTI 14.7% 12.1% n/a Percentage of persons of working age with LLTI
Mean age of Death (years)
Mean age of death – Males 71.9 72.2 n/a Means age of death – Females 77.3 78.5 n/a
Mortality – Directly standardised rates (per 100000 population) 133.9 103.5 91.2 Mortality from all circulatory 77.6 57.0 53.0 diseases 166.9 129.8 119.3 Mortality from all coronary heart 25.6 17.7 16.2 disease Mortality from all cancers Mortality from all accidents
Leading Causes of Death – SMR* - all ages *Standardised Mortality Ratio 104 100 n/a SMR; all causes 109 100 n/a SMR; all heart diseases 128 100 n/a SMR; lung cancer 109 100 n/a SMR; stroke 62 100 n/a SMR; breast cancer 80 100 n/a SMR; prostate cancer Note: All Directly Standardised Rates and percentages relate to 2003/05 data, and SMRs to 2001-5 data. SMRs are standardised to Coventry. Limiting Long Term Illness and General Health data is from the 2001 Census. Small numbers (i.e. less than 5) are listed as ‘n/a’.
Source Coventry PCT Director of Public Health annual report 2008/9 and Atlas of Variation.
Radford
2.41 It is notable that 11.8% of inhabitants of Radford record that their general health is not good and that there are more people reporting living with a limiting long term illness than for Coventry as a whole. The mean age of death for both men and women is below that of Coventry as a whole. Mortality from circulatory
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diseases, coronary heart disease, cancers and accidents is all in excess of both Coventry’s and the England and Wales standardised rate. It would appear that the Radford ward has a higher mortality from lung cancer but a much lower mortality from breast and prostate cancer.
Exhall
2.42 The Exhall ward is identified as having a mixed representation in terms of health as established in the Indices of Deprivation domain relative to health and disability. Whilst some LSOA’s are shown to be in the 50% least deprived the Keresley North and Newlands LSOA is in the 10-20% most deprived.
Community Facilities
Library Provision
2.43 There are three libraries within a reasonable distance of the site. The nearest is the Keresley Newlands Library located immediately adjacent to the eastern boundary on Bennetts Road North. This facility is open three days per week and provides an information point for the Country Council as well as general library facilities. It is located within Nuneaton & Bedworth’s District and is administered by Warwickshire County Council.
2.44 Two further libraries are located some distance away within Coventry City Council’s administrative area. These are the Jubilee Library and Community Centre and the Arena Park Library both of which are located to the east of the site.
2.45 The location of the above libraries are shown on Plan no. 28-1.
Community Facilities
Education Provision
2.46 Plan no. 27-1 identifies the secondary and primary schools in the vicinity of the site. Two large secondary schools comprising of the Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic School and the President Kennedy School are located in close proximity to the site. The Cardinal Newman RC School is located immediately adjacent to
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the southern boundary whilst the President Kennedy School is within 600 metres of the eastern boundary. As these two schools are located immediately to the south and east of the site they have formed the basis of the following analysis. Coundon Court School, which is further to the south, is shown for information purposes.
2.47 The secondary schools are subject to the BSF Programme which will involve their considerable redevelopment over the next few years. It is anticipated that the President Kennedy School will be completed in 2012 and Cardinal Newman in 2013.
2.48 In terms of primary schools there are three primary schools located reasonably close to the site within Warwickshire Council Council’s administrative district and a further 10 primary schools within Coventry City Council’s administrative area. The nearest primary school to the site within Warwickshire is the Keresley Newland School which is adjacent to the north-eastern boundary. The nearest Coventry school is the Keresley Grange School located 700 metres south of the site.
2.49 In terms of existing capacity in Coventry schools both the President Kennedy School and Cardinal Newman School currently have some capacity, with the President Kennedy School in particular having around 100 places available in January 2009.3
2.50 For primary schools in Coventry there is capacity at the nearest school with 27 spaces available at Keresley Grange. The other primary schools (Whitmore Park, Holy Family, Parkgate) are either at full capacity or have less than 10 space available3.
2.51 For secondary schools in Warwickshire Ash Green School has a significant amount of capacity with around 220 spare spaces.4 The Warwickshire Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme is not as advanced as it is in Coventry and is currently programmed to start in 2013. It is not yet known when the Ash Green School will be programmed for the BSF project.
3 Source DCSF website and Coventry City Council Education. 4 Source DCSF website
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2.52 In terms of secondary school attainment the following sets out the position relative to 5 or more GCSE passes Grade A-C in 2008.
GCSE% Cardinal Newman School 43% Ash Green School 30% President Kennedy School 25% Warwickshire Average 51.4% Coventry Average 41.8% National Average 47.6%
2.53 For primary schools in Warwickshire the Wheelwright Lane Primary has less than 10 spaces. However the Keresley Newland school does have capacity with around 65 spare spaces.2
2.54 In terms of performance in 2008 relative to other schools in Warwickshire Wheelwright Lane School is ranked 57th and Keresley Newland 103rd out of 155 schools based on Contextual Value Added criterion. For the nearest schools within Coventry, Keresley Grange was ranked 59th, Whitmore Park 57th and Holy Family 19th out of the 83 Primary Schools in the City.
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3. STRATEGIC POLICY CONTEXT
West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS)
3.1 Coventry forms part of the West Midlands Metropolitan area and also the Birmingham, Coventry and Black Country region. The RSS Preferred Option focuses on the regeneration of the Major Urban Areas. The Preferred Option identifies growth targets for city centre retailing (minimum of 150,000 sqm) and office development (minimum of 250,000 sqm).
3.2 The RSS Preferred Option identifies that Coventry should provide for a net increase of 33,500 dwellings between 2006–2026. It notes that some of the housing allocations could be made adjacent to the City within Nuneaton and Bedworth District and Warwick District, depending on the capacity available within the City Council’s administrative district to accommodate housing growth.
3.3 The RSS Preferred Option also identifies that the Council should also maintain a five year rolling supply of at least 82 hectares of land for employment. In a similar manner to the housing allocation the RSS Preferred Option recognises that some of the required employment land release could be on land within Rugby, Leamington/Warwick and Nuneaton/Bedworth.
3.4 Any identification of land within adjacent administrative districts to meet with Coventry’s requirements will come forward via the Core Strategy/Development Plan document of each individual planning authority.
3.5 As part of the Government Office response to the Phase II Regional Spatial Strategy Revision a report was compiled from consultants Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners. This focused on whether the Preferred Option identified sufficient housing numbers to meet needs. It identifies three additional scenarios to those set out in the RSS Preferred Option, namely that land for between 417,100 and 445,600 additional homes up to 2026 should be identified. This compares with the 365,600 additional households identified in the RSS Preferred Option for the same period.
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Coventry City Council Core Strategy Submission
3.6 The Coventry Core Strategy submission sets out a range of policies and proposals intended to guide development within the City until 2026. It specifically references the Keresley site as having the potential to accommodate new growth necessary to meet housing targets. The detailed policies set out in the Core Strategy are subject to specific representations set out in a separate response as currently many of the detailed and specific policies relating to the Keresley proposal are not considered to be appropriate and require revision.
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4. STRATEGIC OUTPUTS
4.1 The development of a sustainable urban extension in Keresley provides the opportunity to identify a number of key strategic outputs which ought to be delivered as part of the implementation of the project. The merits of a sustainable extension are numerous and have been recognised through development strategies adopted by local planning authorities across the UK. However there is a clear distinction to make between extensions to existing urban areas and new build self contained settlements as promoted via the Eco-Towns Government project. Sustainable urban extensions are clearly distinct from the relatively recent eco town project.
4.2 The Keresley urban extension has been designed and developed to provide a highly sustainable extension to Coventry. It will provide for a significant increase in housing provision in the north west of the city which will have considerable benefits in underpinning existing businesses in the city and in the Bablake, Holbrook and Radford wards in particular, as well as the Exhall ward in Nuneaton and Bedworth. In addition a sustainable urban extension has additional benefits in allowing existing infrastructure to be utilised by new residents, thus negating the need for massive new infrastructure provision. This clearly has sustainability advantages in comparison with developments which require an entirely new infrastructure framework to be provided.
4.3 There are particular locational advantages associated with the Keresley proposal. Being located on the northwest fringe of the city means that it is closely related to a number of facilities which could be utilised by residents of the new development. This would include such open space facilities as the Coventry Colliery Sports Club, Keresley Rugby Club, the regional park associated with the ProLogis development, Coundon Hall Park including Coundon Hall Sports Pitches and other private sports fields such as Northbrook Sports Club, Hawkesmill Sports Club, the John Healy Golf Centre and Corley Cricket Ground.
4.4 In addition to the sports and recreation facilities outlined above there are also the facilities associated with existing secondary schools immediately adjacent to the site. These schools (the President JFK School and Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic School) contain a number of facilities including swimming pools, sports pitches and other associated facilities.
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4.5 Whilst the Keresley urban extension will provide for extensive on site provision of new open space, taking advantage of the existing open space infrastructure and ensuring that it is capable of meeting the needs and aspirations of the existing and expanding population, there is likely to be the need to enhance areas of off site open space. Consequently there would be opportunities to target existing facilities in locations which are likely to provide convenient and accessible locations for the existing and future population. Careful consideration will be needed to identify where existing facilities should be enhanced and where new facilities should be provided.
4.6 In addition as stated above existing infrastructure exists in the form of education establishments immediately adjacent to the Keresley urban extension. As well as the two secondary schools referenced above there are five primary schools within the immediately locality of the site. Keresley Newlands School is located immediately east of the site within Nuneaton and Bedworth’s district. Other schools in close proximity within the City of Coventry include the following:
• Whitmore Park Primary School, Halford Lane, Whitmore Park • Keresley Grange Primary School, Tamworth Road, Keresley • Holy Family Roman Catholic School, Beake Avenue, Keresley • Parkgate Primary School, Parkgate Road, Holbrook • John Shelton Community Primary School, Briscoe Road, Coventry
4.7 The Keresley urban extension provides the opportunity to target improved provision within the existing education infrastructure in the vicinity of the site, as well as providing new build facilities in direct association with the project. Again careful consideration will be necessary to establish where enhancement would be appropriate but this ought to be undertaken in the context of aiding the regeneration of existing communities adjacent to the site.
Employment
4.8 The Keresley urban extension provides significant opportunities to provide additional employment as part of its development. In particular the development of community hubs will provide a valuable resource in the form of new employment floorspace in a highly sustainable mixed use format. It is envisaged that the community hubs will deliver opportunities for the development of local
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businesses associated with the new residential suburb, as well as allowing greater opportunities for existing businesses in and around the site. The increase in the local residential population will clearly aid in underpinning many local businesses that rely on trade from their immediate surroundings. This is likely to be significantly important to address existing economic issues in Holbrook, Radford and Exhall wards. Here unemployment remains high and any proposals which can encourage existing businesses and the creation of new businesses should clearly be welcomed.
Retail
4.9 The development will provide for new retailing facilities located in the centre of the community hubs. These facilities will be in the most accessible locations particularly to local transport and non car modes. The objective will be to deliver convenient retail facilities within close proximity of all the new dwellings associated with the Keresley urban extension.
4.10 As well as providing for the needs of the new residents the proposal also seeks to ensure that local deficiencies in shopping provision are addressed. This will provide clear benefits to the existing population as new retail facilities are provided in close proximity to existing residents. This will reduce current trips, often undertaken by car, out of the local area to reach existing retail facilities. Reducing car journeys by existing residents is clearly an important sustainable objective.
4.11 The particular issues associated with retailing have been addressed in a Retail Assessment. The Retail Assessment is included in Appendix 1 of this report.
Transport
4.12 A key element of the development will be to improve public transport provision between the urban extensions and the main centres of Coventry. This will focus upon improved bus service provision from the whole site into the wider urban area of Coventry. In particular the proposal will deliver a new efficient and effective bus link between the wider site, Coventry City Centre and potentially a new railway station at Arena Park. The city centre is being envisaged as the focus for 50% of the new jobs created within the city as a whole and ensuring that residents of the urban extension have access to these employment
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opportunities will be a key factor. The improved bus service provision will be phased in association with the delivery of each of the new residential neighbourhoods. This will ensure that new residents have access to enhanced public transport provision and in particular are able to take advantage of increased job opportunities in the city centre, associated with the University and Teaching Hospital, as well as links into existing employment areas where the remainder of job creation will occur. Utilising the existing road infrastructure, particularly for high quality bus service provision, will have significant sustainability benefits.
4.13 A detailed supporting statement has been prepared by WSP Consultants and submitted to the Council identifying and specifying the range of transportation issues associated with the Keresley proposal. This report, in conjunction with the Development Framework, sets out in detail how improved public transport provision will be delivered in a holistic way as part of the Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension.
Residential Provision
4.14 Clearly the Keresley sustainable urban extension will significantly increase the range, type and availability of new housing in the north-west of Coventry. It will underpin the City Council’s vision for meeting housing demand and agenda for growth. It provides the opportunity to develop a mixed community meeting a wide range of housing needs including the need for affordable housing. In providing for a new residential area in such close proximity to the existing urban area has the significant spin off benefits for existing businesses who will benefit from a substantial increase in customers and trade.
4.15 The Council’s aspirations for housing choice is established in the Core Strategy submission document. The Keresley development will be a significant factor in providing a range of housing to meet with the disparate housing needs which must be addressed over the plan period. The Council have acknowledged that there is a need for higher value homes to attract and/or retain higher income workers, whilst the plan also seeks to provide for those who cannot access market housing. The Keresley development project is particularly well placed to provide for meeting the needs of retaining higher income workers in the City, as it can deliver new housing within a high quality environment, whilst still being
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well located relative to the existing and emerging employment opportunities in the City Centre and associated with the Hospital/University.
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5. SPECIFIC OUTPUTS
Headline Data – Population and Housing
• Holbrook (29.5%) and Radford (27.4%) have proportionately higher levels of younger people in the 0-19 years bracket than Coventry average.
• Bablake (21.4%) and Exhall (19.8%) has significantly greater numbers of elderly people than the Coventry average (15.2%).
• There is forecast to be a significant growth across the City in single person households.
• The Index of Deprivation identified Bablake as having significant barriers to housing and local services reflecting difficulties in obtaining affordable housing and the rural character of the area reducing service provision.
• Coventry City as a whole has a polarised housing stock with dominance of terraced format (47%) and lack of detached accommodation (9.4%) of the overall stock in comparison with the national picture.
• Housing in Holbrook and Radford is even more polarised in the terraced format (50.6% and 58.4%) and has less detached housing (8.35% and 3.14%).
• The Exhall ward is dominated by semi detached houses which provide 57% of overall provision.
• Tenure is biased towards owner occupation with all wards, with the exception of Radford, having a greater proportion of owner occupation than the average for Coventry or England.
5.1 The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension (K-SUE) will clearly provide for a substantial number of new dwellings. This will have a significant contribution in meeting the housing needs of the younger populations of Holbrook and Radford in particular and the more general city wide growth in single person households. In
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addition the extension can also provide for meeting the needs of Bablake and Exhall’s aging population by providing dwellings which are suitable for the elderly.
5.2 The under 19 proportion of the Holbrook and Radford ward identified at the time of the census is likely now to be reaching a point where they are looking to obtain their own accommodation. The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension is well placed to meet these needs and provide a housing mix able to accommodate, in particular, first time buyers who wish to live in close proximity to both Holbrook and Radford.
5.3 Whilst Bablake as a ward covers a substantial rural area and has a dispersed population in such settlements as Brownhills Green, Allesley and Hawkes End, it is an area which is shown to be deprived relative to housing and local services. This reflects the limited nature of affordable housing within the ward and its rural character which disperses service provision. The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension has the opportunity to significantly reduce these barriers by providing a mix and range of housing, including affordable housing, available to meet needs within the ward. New service provision will result via the community hubs identified, new schools and public transport provision. This should seek to significantly reduce the level of deprivation in the Bablake ward relative to this particular domain of the Index of Deprivation.
5.4 It is also evident that in terms of housing stock Coventry as a whole has a very polarised position with terraced housing dominating as a form of housing. This polarisation is even more marked within the Holbrook and Radford wards. Within Exhall housing stock is dominated by semi detached formats largely reflecting the nature of the development within Keresley Village, which was predominantly purpose built for workers associated with Coventry Colliery and as a consequence followed a single format.
5.5 The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension provides the opportunity to deliver a more diverse housing stock and wider mix of dwelling types. In particular it can seek to address the very significant shortfall in detached houses notable within both Coventry as a whole but particularly within Holbrook, Radford and Exhall. It is clear that Coventry as a city has a significant under provision of detached houses in comparison to the national picture and this is reflected in the Council’s aspiration to provide for executive homes in new developments as set out in its Core Strategy.
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5.6 The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension would result in a development of around 3500 dwellings. Based on a phased development of the site and reducing household size, the Keresley proposal would result in approximately 7600 new residents. This increase in population would clearly have an influence on existing businesses and will help to support new employment and services, particularly in a rural fringe location where services are already recognised within Bablake as being limited.
5.7 The Strategic Housing Market Assessment identified a need for executive and family housing and that in North Coventry owner occupation and the development of larger properties should be supported. The Keresley Urban Extension represents the most significant development in northern Coventry able to meet this identified need. By its nature of being located on the edge of a rural area it provides the opportunity for a high quality environment to be developed with links into its countryside surroundings.
5.8 There has been a recognition that the propensity for the more aspirant elements of the community to move away from the City into the more rural locations or suburban towns is not sustainable. This continued polarisation of the Major Urban Areas is a fundamental factor which regional planning policy by virtue of the key objective of urban renaissance is seeking to address. The City Council in its Core Strategy is specifically seeking to address this issue in the context of the sub regional Coventry/Solihull and Warwickshire forum. This sub regional strategy looks to maximise regeneration by focusing on the north south corridor and Rugby. In the terms of Coventry the Keresley Extension provides the greatest opportunity for addressing this particular key objective.
5.9 As stated above the emphasis on a single house type(terraced) within the study area and clearly very limited provision of detached accommodation means that the Keresley Extension has the opportunity to address this city wide deficiency. Its location makes it particularly appropriate to provide for meeting the needs of those aspiring families within the city who are seeking detached executive homes within a high quality mature landscaped environment. The Council have clearly recognised that if the city is to retain higher income/knowledge-economy workers, it will be necessary to develop higher value homes to create a better mix of accommodation.
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5.10 The Council’s Core Strategy recognises the importance of providing suitable housing to stop the drift of sections of the population away from the City to the provincial towns in Warwickshire. So significant is the need to provide for executive type housing the Core Strategy introduces a specific requirement for every site of a certain size to deliver a proportion of this type of housing.
5.11 However this ‘across the board’ approach is unlikely to provide for homes which will ultimately be attractive to those groups the Council wish to retain or even attract from elsewhere. A large executive home within a wider uninspiring environment will not produce a high value home nor is it likely to be attractive to the higher income family engaged in the knowledge economy. Such groups will require very high quality environments capable of competing with those environments found in rural villages or market towns such as Stratford on Avon or Leamington Spa. The Keresley urban extension does however provide the potential environment which will provide a high quality residential development with a mature landscaped setting, with good access to major open spaces and the countryside, whilst still being part of the city with good access to jobs and services.
Headline Data – Economy and Employment
• Significantly less people are employed in Coventry within managerial and senior positions (11.4%) than the English average (15.2%).
• Employment within managerial and senior positions in Holbrook, Radford and Exhall is below the Coventry average.
• There is a significantly greater proportion of people involved in plant and machinery operation and elementary occupations within Coventry than the national average and even greater proportions in such employment within the Holbrook, Radford and Exhall wards.
• A significantly greater proportion of the working population is involved in manufacturing within Coventry in comparison with the national average and even greater proportion within the study area in comparison with Coventry.
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• There are substantial areas of deprivation within the Radford and Holbrook wards with some areas being within the 10%most deprived within England.
• The study area has a greater proportion employed in skilled trades than national average.
• Coventry as a whole (5%) has a low level of self employed people compared with England (8.3%).
5.12 It is evident from the above that as a city Coventry has a reduced level of the population employed in the managerial and professional sectors in comparison with England as a whole. In addition it is also evident that this is even more polarised within the Holbrook, Radford and Exhall wards where around 16% of the population is employed in these sectors compared with 26% in England as a whole. The Keresley Urban Extension has the opportunity to provide a development able to provide accommodation suitable for those employed within managerial or professional roles. The provision of more balanced communities is a key aspect of national, regional and local planning policy. The provision of accommodation suitable to meet the needs of managerial and professional workers will go a long way towards providing a more balanced community within Northern Coventry and addressing current in-balances.
5.13 In addition to the above the Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension will in itself provide employment opportunities which can be focused towards providing employment in the service and professional sectors. It is evident that both Coventry as a whole and the study area in particular is biased towards manufacturing employment. This sector has been contracting throughout the last twenty year period. In recent times the main employer within the Bablake ward (Jaguar Motors) has closed and as a whole manufacturing is reducing as a proportion of the wider employment market. The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension has addressed this issue by focusing in on small scale employment opportunities by way of office and workshop type provision in small units. This accommodation is focused in the most accessible areas of the site allowing them to become easily accessed by the wider Coventry population particularly those inhabiting Holbrook, Radford and Exhall. The areas of potential employment
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development are set out in the accompanying Development Framework document.
5.14 In addition it is also evident that city wide there is below average numbers of the population who are self employed. The nature of the employment accommodation provided in the Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension will specifically provide for units suitable for those starting their own business. Such accommodation is aimed at bolstering small business and providing purpose built accommodation attractive to those first undertaking their own business enterprise. The locations of the employment elements are key in making them accessible to the widest possible workforce. Consequently the business elements are located in the most accessible parts of the development so as to be serviced by walking, cycling, public transport as well as vehicles. Again this is evidenced in the Development Framework.
5.15 The Keresley Urban Extension does not propose to provide for large scale employment activities. This reflects not only the reducing significance of the manufacturing sector but also the fact that ProLogis Park, a strategic employment location, is located immediately adjacent to the eastern boundary of the site. This large scale employment site provides for a significant number of jobs which take up a substantial proportion of the available employment market. It is not intended to try to compete with ProLogis Park in the employment market but rather to aim for a more specific and different type of employment more consistent with the overall aim of encouraging those employed in the profession sectors to locate themselves in the development. Providing small office space which is appropriate to such professional small businesses based in the service sector, will encourage residents to both live and work within the development. The provision of specific office space suitable for small businesses in the service sector is also complimentary with the housing objectives of providing executive homes suitable for those employed in professional and managerial occupations. Focusing on small business enterprises also reflects the nature of the Keresley proposal not to rely on major infrastructure works capable of accommodating substantial numbers of HGVs, but to provide an environment which is more reliant on walking, cycling and use of public transport. Allied to this the site is not well located relative to the major strategic highway network, unlike ProLogis Park to the west, from which it is entirely segregated, and consequently it does not lend itself to providing for the scale of industrial or distribution activity that is now the norm. To introduce major road infrastructure capable of accommodating
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substantial HGV movements would undermine the design approach being pursued and have significant consequences for the character of the area.
5.16 The type of employment development being proposed is important to sustaining the concept of the development as providing opportunities for those professionals and managers who potentially will also live in the development. It helps to deliver a genuine mixed use development with significant opportunities for residents to live and work on the site, minimising the number of trips necessary off the site and maximising the sustainability credentials of the proposal.
5.17 In addition to on site provision the site is well located relative to the existing and future employment areas in the city. It is adjacent to ProLogis Park and well located relative to the series of strategic employment sites in the Whitmore Park area of the city. It is also well located relative to major areas of the city centre identified for regeneration, where it is envisaged that many of the new employment opportunities will occur. Plan 39-1 in Appendix 7 identifies the strategic employment and regeneration sites located close to the site, as well as existing and proposed high quality public transport provision.
5.18 The site is also located in a position where new bus services can readily access the city centre and the Major District Centre at Arena Park. The linkage with Arena Park is particularly significant in it will allow for direct links with the new railway station being proposed there, which in turn can allow for further links into the city centre and beyond, including potentially the University.
5.19 The development of the Keresley urban extension will clearly have spin off economic benefits by virtue of the increase in population in the area. As set in the retailing appraisal (Appendix 1), the development will ultimately produce an increase in population of around 7600 people. The retailing appraisal has given an estimate as to how much expenditure that would add the local economy in terms of both convenience and comparison shopping. This would equate to a total level of expenditure of £34.6m (for 3500 dwellings). Whilst much of this retail expenditure would be retained within the wider City of Coventry it will clearly have knock on benefits for retailing activity in the locale.
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5.20 In addition the above only relates to retail expenditure and not other activities such as leisure, sport and recreation, entertainment or other services. In terms of overall wealth associated with the development a crude estimate can be based on assessing average household income and applying it to the development site. The average income for Bablake households in 2005 was £30,4635. If income was assumed to increase at 2% per annum, and full occupation of the development would not occur until 2026, this would give an average income of each household of £46,171. This would equate to an overall income of residents occupying the development of £161,598,500 based on 3500 dwellings.
5.21 Other employment opportunities can include targeting recruitment from the existing unemployed in the local area. This can have two particular strands. Firstly the significant number of construction jobs associated with a project the size of the Keresley sustainable urban extension can provide for a proportion of jobs which are targeted at certain elements of the existing population that do not have access to employment. It could also include significant training opportunities to learn new skills associated with the construction sector. The targeting of skills and training opportunities at local unemployed people can have a significant regenerative affect and allow for a marked change in economic opportunities.
5.22 The opportunities given to both local residents and the wider employment market through the substantial number of construction jobs associated with the project of the scale envisaged at Keresley is a significant factor. The construction process is likely to last for as long as 14 years and the provision of circ 3500 dwellings will clearly require a large and well trained work force.
5.23 The use of targeted recruitment and training initiatives as part of the planning process will ensure a proportion of the construction jobs are occupied by local residents thus contributing towards economic regeneration in particularly the Holbrook, Radford and Exhall wards. In addition it will help offset employment losses elsewhere in the vicinity of the city resulting from the economic slowdown and ongoing structural change to the economic base.
5 Based on CACI published by Coventry City Council
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Headline Data – Retailing
• The site will generate between £29.7m and £39.6m of retail expenditure.
• Retail expenditure will grow as the site is developed but around £20m, would be available by 2021.
• The development should be planned to accommodate a supermarket of at least 2000 sq.m gross.
• The major local centre should also accommodate around 6 units of between 100-200 sq.m each to accommodate comparison goods retailing, café/restaurant and service uses.
• A Local Centre located west of Bennetts Road and south of Fivefield Road would be convenient to both the Keresley site and areas like Holbrook servicing around 6000 people.
5.24 The retail assessment contained in Appendix 1 sets out in detail the likely level of expenditure available as a result of the development. It establishes that a local centre, including a supermarket of 2000 sq.m gross, would be accommodated without materially affecting any other existing town, district or local centres in the area. It would also bring a new facility to the area as well as jobs associated with the retail uses.
5.25 A separate smaller centre to the north adjacent to Keresley Newlands would provide further ‘top up’ shopping facilities, helping to augment existing facilities on Bennetts Road North.
5.26 The new local centre would be provided as early as possible in the development of the urban extension (2013). This will ensure facilities will be available to serve new residents as well as to provide additional facilities for the existing population.
5.27 The location, size and form of the retail provision and how it would integrate with the site and wider area is set out in the Development Framework document.
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Headline Data-Education
• The proportion of the population with no qualifications is greater in Coventry (31.4%) than in England (28.9%).
• The proportion of the community with no qualifications in the Holbrook, Radford and Exhall wards is significantly greater than either the Coventry or England position.
• The proportion of residents in the study area with qualification levels 3 and 4/5 is significantly below both the Coventry and England attainment.
• The Exhall ward attainment for qualification at levels 3 and 4/5 is only 14.8% in comparison with 27% for Coventry and 38.3% for England.
• Many areas of Holbrook and Radford have significant levels of deprivation relative to education, skills and training with many areas in the lowest 20% nationally.
• Two large secondary schools are located close to the site in Coventry with a further secondary school in Ash Green to the north east.
• Keresley Newland Primary Schools abuts the north-western site boundary with in all 12 primary schools being located within 2 kilometres of the site.
• Capacity exists at secondary level within the President Kennedy, Cardinal Newman and Ash Green Schools and at primary levels for the Keresley Newlands School but capacity at primary level within Coventry is limited.
5.28 The site is well served by a range of education facilities. Two large secondary schools within Coventry City Council’s administrative area are located immediately to the south and east of the site. Both these schools are subject to the BSF programme which will significantly improve the facilities on each site. Both developments should be complete by 2013, a point when the first phase of housing on the Keresley extension site should be completed.
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5.29 As things stand the President Kennedy School has spare capacity of in the region of 100 spaces but there is less than 10 spaces available at the Cardinal Newman Catholic School.
5.30 The most significant statistic relating to the study area is the clear deficiency in educational attainment apparent within the wards of Holbrook, Radford and Exhall. This is reflected in the Index of Deprivation where many areas of Holbrook and Radford are identified in the lowest 20% relative to education, skills and training. Whilst the proportion of residents with no qualification is high within the study area, also of concern is the low level of attainment of higher order qualification within levels 3 and 4/5. In Exhall only 14.8% of the population attains such educational levels compared with 38% for England as a whole.
5.31 Allied to the above it is also evident that those secondary schools closest to the site do not currently meet with national targets for GCSE passes. Whilst the Cardinal Newman School has 43% is relatively close to the national average of 47.6%, both Ash Green School and President Kennedy School deliver substantially below the national average (30% and 25% respectfully). The relatively poor level of education qualifications within the existing community in the study area is therefore compounded by secondary schools which are delivering results which again do not compare favourably with the national average. Such characteristics are unlikely to change the poor level of educational attainment evident in the study area.
5.32 The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension will provide two new primary schools on site. However it is not anticipated that a further secondary school will be delivered as part of the direct physical development of the site. Consequently new pupils at secondary level will need to be accommodated within existing secondary schools. This has potential for spin-off benefits if the development comes forward in the format envisaged, whereby a significant proportion of development is aimed at retaining/attracting those in the professional classes who may otherwise be leaving the city. The introduction of this more affluent component to the local area will alter the predominant intake of secondary school in the vicinity of the site. In particular by changing the make-up of school intakes there is likely to be an improvement in general attainment. This is turn makes the schools more attractive to those wishing to ensure the best education provision for their children. Such an approach could help to end the cycle of low attainment in education which is a characteristic currently of the sub-area,
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whereby the local population currently has limited education attainment, and that the secondary schools have similarly low academic success.
5.33 In terms of primary schools provision the two schools on site provide the opportunity to develop bespoke contemporary school buildings containing the most appropriate facilities for modern teaching methods. These new schools will provide an alterative to the exiting primary school provision in the area.
5.34 It is also evident that the nearest primary school to the site, Keresley Newlands, has significant amounts of existing capacity available. This is turn could be utilised by residents of the Keresley extension which would in turn have the potential to bolster existing education attainment. Currently the Keresley Newland School is ranked 103rd out of the 155 primary schools in Warwickshire. Consequently there is potential by virtue of changing the predominant school intake, to improve education provision at Keresley Newlands School which will be fostered as a result of the Keresley extension.
5.35 The development of the Keresley extension and its associated new intake of population represent an opportunity to break the on-going under achievement of residents within the study area in regard to education attainment. By supporting the development of the site for in particular occupiers engaged in the professional/managerial sector, will as a consequence alter the predominant social profile of the school intake at both secondary and primary level. This has the potential to improve attainment across the board with spin-off benefits to the existing population of the study area.
Headline Data – Open Space
5.36 The Coventry Green Space Strategy splits the study area between the north-east sector (Radford and Holbrook wards) and north-west sector (Bablake ward) and as a consequence is of little use when determining deficiencies across the wider area. A ward based assessment is therefore more appropriate.
• Holbrook ward identified in the Green Space Strategy as having under- provision of parks and open space and allotments with high provision of grass pitches.
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• Radford ward is identified as having a deficiency across all types of open space.
• Bablake ward is identified as below standard provision of parks and open space but high provision of natural green space, grass pitches and allotments.
• The Coundon Hall Park and sports pitch site abuts the south-western edge of the Keresley extension site.
• The ProLogis Country Park is located 800 metres to the east of the Keresley extension site.
• Numerous private sports ground are located within and immediately adjacent to the Keresley extension site.
5.37 From the above it is evident that the differing wards within the study area have differing requirements for open space. As may be expected the Bablake ward contains substantial amounts of natural green space as well as grass pitches. However there is a specific need for parks and open space in all parts of the study area. The Keresley extension provides the opportunity to address this in-balance by providing substantial new areas of public open space. The proposal retains existing John Healey Golf Centre and Coventry Colliery Sports and Social Club within the development. The Coventry Colliery site is to be integrated within a wider and much more substantial area of public open space incorporating existing woodlands with links into the adjacent rural area. The Keresley extension provides a very significant opportunity to provide not only for the needs of new residents within the residential environment but also to provide very substantial additional facilities for the existing population which borders the site. The design led approach of the Keresley extension ensures that green networks/corridors permeate throughout the development linking substantial open spaces. These provide not only wildlife corridors but physical linkages between major open spaces and links into the existing urban area.
5.38 The site also benefits from close proximity to Coundon Hall Park and associated sports pitches. It is already established that the Bablake ward, within which Coundon Hall Park is located, has substantial amounts of sports pitches. The existing Coundon Hall facility will also be of significance for residents of the new
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Keresley urban extension in that the topography of the development site means that large scale provision of sports pitches is likely to be problematic without substantial changes to ground levels which in turn would disrupt the existing character of the area. Consequently the existing sports pitches located at Coundon Hall Park and Coventry Colliery Sports Club will both be important in meeting with those specific sporting requirements associated with the new development.
5.39 Also of note is the proximity of the ProLogis Country Park. This significant facility is located within 800 metres of the Keresley extension site. It provides substantial areas of natural grassland in the form of a country park as well as substantial areas of water and areas of nature conservation interest. The Country Park is publicly accessible and provides a large area of natural environment within which a range of recreational activities can take place. It is directly accessible to the Keresley extension site.
5.40 It is also notable that within the vicinity of the site there are substantial areas of private sports pitches. In particular there is the Keresley Rugby Club located immediately north of the site whilst the Corley Cricket Ground is also within 200 metres of the north-westerly site boundary. Both these clubs provide sports pitches and in the case of Keresley Rugby Club floodlit areas for training.
5.41 Keresley Newlands itself contains a substantial recreation area 450 metres east of the Keresley extension which also sites a substantial community building.
5.42 The existing secondary schools which adjoin the site are also provided with substantial areas of playing fields. There is potential for the increased use of these areas which could be facilitated as a result of links with the Keresley extension proposal. The secondary schools also contain their own indoor sports facilities. Both schools have indoor swimming pools as well as sports halls and associated facilities.
5.43 The principle areas of open space are identified on plan 26-1. This establishes in particular the substantial areas of open space associated with Coundon Hall Park, the John Healey Golf Driving Range and playing field associated with the Cardinal Newman Secondary School which are concentrated towards the south-west of the site. The design of the Keresley extension allows for integration of these major recreational facilities into the wider landscape framework for the development. It
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also supports the contention that the major open spaces to be provided within the site should be located towards the northern portion of the Keresley extension site focused on Hounds Hill. Here the topography and existing substantial woodland lend themselves to a major open space which can provide for a wide range of recreational needs whilst maintaining the most valued characteristics of the rural area. It in turn links via the public footpath network into the wider rural area to the north and west. This major open space resource will provide a facility for much of the north west of Coventry and in particular the Keresley Newlands settlement.
5.44 The illustrative design emerging for the Keresley extension has the provision of open space as an integral strategic item which is informing the basis of the whole Masterplan. This will be subject to substantial consultation during the course of the LDF process and subsequent planning applications. The opportunity for all stakeholders and residents to input in to this process will be a fundamental element in coming up with the overall design. Consequently whilst the Masterplan associated with the development as it currently stands gives an indication of the likely provision of open space, this will be subject to amendment during the course of the development of the design and as a result of the consultation process.
Headline Data – Health
• A clinic and Doctors Surgery is located immediately adjacent to the north- eastern boundary of the site.
• A new build medical centre has been constructed at Keresley Green 550 metres to the south of the site providing two Doctors practices, minor operating suite and conference facilities.
• The proportion of the population reporting a limiting long term illness in Holbrook, Radford and Bablake are all in excess of the average for Coventry as a whole.
• There is greater mortality as a result of circulatory diseases for residents within Radford (133.9 per 100,000 population) and Holbrook (116.3 per 100,000 population) than either that for Coventry (103.5 per 100,000 population) or England and Wales (91.2 per 100,000 population).
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• Areas of Radford and Holbrook have been found to be in the 20% most deprived within England and Wales.
5.45 The Keresley extension provides an opportunity to address a range of health issues which have already been identified in the Coventry Health Impact Assessment6. The Health Impact Assessment identified nine characteristics which will be utilised in assessing City Council Development Plans and their implications for health. These nine issues are as follows:
1. Opportunities for daily physical activity 2. Adequate green space 3. Access to healthy food 4. Opportunity to be involved in decision making 5. A welcoming safe living environment 6. Employment and activity access to jobs 7. Opportunities to be social and to be alone when wanted 8. Warm safe homes 9. Easy access to key services including health services
5.46 The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension provides key links to each of the nine criteria identified above.
5.47 As stated in the previous chapter the development will be providing for substantial areas of open space which will be accessible to existing residents in the surrounding urban area. A key element of the design is to enhance linkages between existing open spaces and those now proposed to be created in the Keresley urban extension. This could include a range of recreational spaces as well as routes to encourage physical exercise including such items as trim trails. The proposal looks to provide an environment whereby all dwellings have ready access to services within walking distance. This would encourage physical activity and it would negate the need of use of a vehicle for many trips and will be a fundamental part of the Travel Plan set out in the WSP report.
5.48 As part of the open space provision it is intended to provide areas of allotments which will give residents access to their own food produce. The Bablake ward has
6 Produced by Coventry City Council December 2008.
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already been identified as being over provided for by way of allotments but both Holbrook and Radford have an under-provision. An integral part of the open space strategy for the Keresley extension will be the provision of areas of allotments suitable for residents.
5.49 As part of the Development Plan process and subsequent planning application a range of consultation events will be pursued. This will allow local residents to be directly involved in the development of the Keresley extension and thus involved in the decision making process. Ultimately any decision on a planning application will be made by Members of Coventry City Council’s Planning Committee.
5.50 An integral element of the new development is to provide a high quality environment well designed to minimise the threat of crime. As the scheme develops there is opportunities for ensuring that detailed design maximises such matters as passive surveillance and ensures that opportunities for crime are wherever possible designed out of the proposal.
5.51 The development will provide for direct employment via jobs in retailing, education, community and office uses. These will be located at the most accessible locations within the development thus ensuring their accessibility to residents in neighbouring existing settlements. In particular public transport linkages will ensure that residents in Radford, Holbrooks or Exhall wards can all gain access to these forthcoming opportunities. In addition due to the location of the site on the fringe of these areas access by walking and cycling is an integral element of the proposal. The site immediately abuts Keresley Newlands whilst to the south and east is in close proximity to existing residential development in Holbrook and Radford.
5.52 The Keresley urban extension will clearly be providing new homes in a range of designs, types, sizes and tenures. They will be built to the highest standard with a view to securing reduced energy use and maximising benefits of such matters as solar gain, advantageous orientation utilising the topology of the site and use of insulation to minimise energy use. This will ensure that the new residential development will provide warm, safe and efficient homes available in a range of tenures and meeting various needs.
5.53 The design approach has been to give easy access to the community hubs where there is potential to provide health services. Notwithstanding this it is clear that
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the site is already catered for by way of Doctors surgeries, clinics and other facilities. The new build medical centre at Keresley Green, which was completed in 2006, provides an up to date high quality health facility. It is not intended to compete with this existing facility but where necessary additional health provision could be made available via the community hubs.
5.54 The planning benefits associated with the Keresley extension will clearly be of importance in addressing many of the health issues identified in Holbrook and Radford in particular. The development of new public open space and recreational facilities will clearly be a significant factor in providing for opportunities for increased activity and exercise. In addition there are hopes that the aspirational nature of much of the residential development in the Keresley proposal will have benefits for those residents in surrounding communities making life style choices.
Headline Data – Crime
• The site falls in an area defined as the most 20% deprived relative to crime and disorder in England.
• Some areas of Holbrook and Radford are in the 10% most deprived areas relative to crime and disorder in England.
• The Keresley North and Newlands area in Exhall is in the 10% most deprived areas relative to crime and disorder.
• Five of local super output areas in Bablake show a fall of over 1000 ranks, between 2004-2007 relative to crime and disorder.
5.55 The Bablake ward shows a relatively higher level of crime and disorder when assessed against the key Index of Multiple Deprivation when considering its location on the fringe of the Coventry urban area. The design of the Keresley urban extension must ensure that opportunities for crime are minimised. This will need careful consideration from the initial analysis of the layout to ensure that at a basic layout level such things as escape routes for criminals, areas of unobserved open space, blind spots or poorly overlooked public routes do not feature as part of the design. Ensuring that the new residential development is a
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safe as possible as well as making anti social or criminal behaviour as difficult as possible will be a key objective of the design process.
Headline Data – Regeneration
• Areas of Radford and Holbrook are identified as being Priority Neighbourhoods and subject to regeneration funding.
• Most of the site and surrounding area is in the North Coventry and Nuneaton Regeneration Zone and therefore the wider area is recognised as requiring regeneration.
• Areas of Holbrook and Radford are in the 20% most deprived in England.
• Areas of Exhall are in the 30% most deprived in England.
• Holbrook North was subject to a Neighbourhood Plan and subject to Neighbourhood Renewal funding.
5.56 The preceding paragraphs have identified that there is a substantial need to regenerate areas of Holbrook, Radford and Exhall. Previously this had been subject to regeneration initiatives such as the North Holbrook Neighbourhood Plan. A plan of the Coventry Wards and Priority Neighbourhoods set out in Appendix 8 identifies the priority neighbourhoods.
5.57 Also of significance is the Coventry and Nuneaton Regeneration Zone. This regeneration project funded by Advantage West Midlands and looks to create conditions for vibrant and sustainable communities which embrace the technology, innovation and cluster agendas. The regeneration has funded such resources as the hub resource centre on Bayton Road Industrial Estate which provides a range of training particularly in ICT and environmental issues. In addition the Building Sustainable Neighbourhoods programme is a community regeneration initiative supporting disadvantaged communities within Nuneaton and Bedworth. This includes providing advice on environmentally related topics, funding, commissioning of works and project management of contracts Grants of up to £10,000 can be provided to deliver community based projects. In addition there are opportunities for local communities facilities to gain improved energy efficiency via grants from the BSN Carbon Footprint Fund.
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5.58 Notwithstanding these regeneration initiatives it is evident that much of the area surrounding the Keresley urban extension site has changed relatively little in recent times. Within Keresley Newlands development in the last twenty years has largely been associated with the former Colliery site, now developed for ProLogis Park and two areas of residential development to the south of Exhall Road. However in 2008 planning permission was granted for a residential development on land located between Bennetts Road and Exhall Road for a new residential development of 137 dwellings together with associated roads, landscaping and associated works. Whilst this development has yet to commence it does represent an opportunity for new residential development in the Keresley Newlands area which has been limited in the recent past.
5.59 Within the Coventry administrative area there are a number of regeneration programmes. Of those applicable to the Keresley extension site there is the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund which operates through the Coventry Partnership. This provides access to a number of regeneration funding regimes.
5.60 The Keresley urban extension has opportunities to feed into regeneration programmes. In particular as has already been identified the construction phase of the development will provide a significant number of opportunities in terms of providing the appropriate workforce and also link with training opportunities. It will be anticipated that the Section 106 Agreement associated with the development of the Keresley urban extension will deliver targeted recruitment and training initiatives focused of those areas of Coventry and Exhall which are in greatest need. The construction programme could last for up to 14 years. Opportunities will exist directly on site as well as linkages with local colleges and other regeneration training initiatives to allow for local people to gain the necessary skills to become part of the construction workforce.
5.61 In addition there may be opportunities to link employment opportunities on the site with existing back to work initiatives. This could help in ensuring employment opportunities coming forward as a result of the development will be targeted on the local area and deliver real employment opportunities for local people. Linkages with local Job Centre Plus initiatives and the Construction Employment Unit and the Local Jobs for Local People initiative will need to be forged as the project develops.
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6. CONCLUSIONS
6.1 The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension is located on the fringe of North West Coventry immediately adjacent to areas which have a number of social and economic problems. The Coventry wards of Holbrook and Radford and the Exhall ward within Nuneaton and Bedworth Council’s area all show characteristics of areas in need of transformation.
6.2 It is also evident that within the study area existing housing stock is polarised towards terraced and semi detached accommodation. There is an under provision of detached accommodation suitable for families, who may otherwise be leaving the city altogether in search of the accommodation they require. The Keresley urban extension has the opportunity to provide detached dwellings within a high quality mature landscaped setting which is likely to be more attractive to those more aspirational members of the community. In addition the range of house types, sizes and tenures which will be available within the circa 3500 dwellings at Keresley will also help meet existing need for younger people within the Radford and Holbrook ward and the aging population in Bablake.
6.3 It is also evident that both in Coventry as a whole but in the study area in particular there is a lack of representation from those people engaged in managerial or professional occupations and an over predominance of people employed in manufacturing, machine operation and elementary occupations. The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension provides the opportunity to address this shortfall by broadening the mix of the community, particularly those engaged in management and professions. This will be both via the type of accommodation provided within the residential environment and also the mixed use components which will provide for a range of employment activities in their own right.
6.4 The provision of executive and family housing within the Keresley urban extension meets the strategic housing need identified for the North Coventry Area.7 In addition it will be a key factor in developing the type of environments which will help reduce the polarisation of the Major Urban Areas resulting from out migration of the most affluent and footloose families. This is one of the
7 See the Coventry Strategic Housing Market Assessment.
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overarching objectives of Regional Planning Policy in the West Midlands and the urban renaissance agenda set out in the Regional Spatial Strategy.
6.5 The recognition that there is a need to provide for high value homes to retain such families within the city is set out in the Council’s Core Strategy. However the Keresley site provides the significant advantage compared with many other redevelopment sites within the city in that it can provide for a mature landscaped environment with major areas of open space and linked into the wider rural area, which many urban sites cannot. Consequently the Keresley site can help deliver a substantial proportion of the Council’s requirement for high value homes and so contribute towards retaining aspirational groups within the city.
6.6 The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension does not provide for large scale employment activities such as those already found on ProLogis Park or other strategic employment sites in the vicinity. Instead a specific employment niche has been targeted associated with the likely target population. Consequently the employment element within the Keresley extension is focused towards the likely occupiers of such accommodation so as to provide employment opportunities enabling people to live and work within the site. In addition there are opportunities to link employment provision within the Keresley urban extension with those existing regeneration activities taking place within the wider area. A range of jobs will come forward associated with the retailing, community and office floorspace which will be part of the mixed use proposal and measures need to be developed to ensure they will be available to the local community.
6.7 In addition the development of around 3500 dwellings in a new residential suburb will significantly increase the amount of income being brought to the area. This could be in the region of £161,600,000 once the development is complete.
6.8 It is clear that there are substantial parts of the existing community adjacent to the site who have limited educational attainment. In addition two of the three secondary schools located closest to the site are falling below the national average in terms of delivery of GCSE passes. The combination of a relatively poor attainment from exiting schools, as well as the existing low level of qualifications within the existing community, could represent a significant factor in the deterioration of the north-west part of Coventry and the adjacent area of Exhall. The new population that will result from the Keresley extension will be a significant factor in altering the predominant existing intake of the secondary
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schools in the vicinity of the site. This step change could be significant in helping to improve educational attainment in existing schools both by virtue of the new population and via increased aspirations of the existing population.
6.9 Whilst some capacity exists at the Keresley Newlands Primary School, which is located immediately adjacent to the site, the development will provide for two bespoke contemporary schools at primary level. These new schools will provide an alternative to the existing primary school provision in the area.
6.10 The wider area surrounding the site lacks public park provision. However it is evident that a number of sports pitches in particular are provided both via private clubs and the Coundon Hall Sport Pitch site which abuts the south-western edge of the Keresley extension. Consequently the Keresley urban extension concentrates on delivering substantial areas of new public open space linked via a strategic landscaped network permeating through the site and into the wider rural area. Opportunities exist to open up the playing fields associated with the existing secondary schools which adjoin the site, as well the wider sports facilities available therein.
6.11 The Development Framework supporting the sustainable urban extension has identified various substantial areas of open space on the northern portion of the site focused on Hounds Hill. Linkages between existing areas of substantial woodland are integrated within the design and will provide for major public open spaces capable of accommodating a wide range of recreational needs, whilst maintaining the most valued characteristics of the area.
6.12 The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension addresses a range of health issues which have been identified by Coventry City Council in its Health Impact Assessment. These include the provision of open space, opportunities for daily physical exercise, new employment and access to jobs, as well as opportunities to be involved in the decision making process. The existing area of north-west Coventry is already served by good health facilities including a Clinic and Doctors Surgery immediately adjacent to the site and modern purpose built facility at Keresley Green. There may be other opportunities to provide for health care within the community hubs emerging in the Development Framework.
6.13 The area adjoining the site is identified as being impacted upon as a result of crime. The development of the Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension will ensure
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that opportunities for crime are minimised. The careful consideration of the Development Framework will ensure that new residential and mixed use layouts inhibit opportunities for criminals and restrict the likelihood of anti-social behaviour. These elements will continue as fundamental elements of the design progresses.
6.14 Much of the area surrounding the site is identified in the North Coventry and Nuneaton Regeneration Zone. In addition other areas of the city have been identified as requiring regeneration including the Holbrook North and the Radford areas of the city. There is an opportunity to tie in the Keresley extension into regeneration initiatives currently taking place. The development itself will deliver substantial numbers of new jobs both in terms of the employment areas within the site, but also in the substantial construction programme that would last for in excess of 15 years. Appropriate linkages must be made between the various services associated with regeneration and the development of the site itself, and these links will ultimately be secured by the Section 106 Agreement.
6.15 The Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension provides the opportunity to address one of the key aspects of regional policy, namely Urban Renaissance. It has the potential to address many of the key concerns resulting from the polarisation of many urban areas by providing a mix of accommodation able to meet the needs of the city but also likely to prove attractive to those families who may otherwise relocate outside the city. It also has the opportunity to contribute towards the regeneration of adjoining communities, providing new jobs, open space, education and retailing facilities.
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