Coventry City Council has backed down and scrapped controversial plans to devastate a local park in Allesley Green. They were expected to lodge a planning application to build a two-lane bus link across Juniper Park to connect into the new Eastern Green development site. However, in an email to ward councillors, officials today confirmed that the plan had been dropped.
The decision follows a backlash from Woodlands Ward Councillors, residents and other key stakeholders. The plans were driven by the Council’s transport team who envisaged a bus link with the possibility ‘Very light Rail’ being installed in future years. But it is understood that bus operators didn’t want it, developers didn’t want to build it, and planners were indifferent.
The ‘Section 106’ financial contribution originally earmarked for the bus link, will now be invested in active and public transport measures. This will include more modest walking and cycling connections across the park. The existing bus stop and turning loop at Parkhill Drive/Woodridge Avenue will also remain in place, maintaining convenience for current public transport users.
Despite enormous opposition, residents in Allesley Green have watched as huge swathes of greenbelt land around them have been declassified. Woodlands Ward Councillors argued that leaving the area with a park was the least the Council could do.
Over the last year, the park has also been decimated by Severn Trent Water who have installed a new sewer to support the new greenbelt development. However, with a remediation plan in place, there is now hope that those scars will heal, and the park will return to its rightful status within the community.
Commenting on the announcement Cllr Julia Lepoidevin said: “This bus lane would have destroyed Juniper Park, so I’m glad the Council has backed down. But the question remains how much time and taxpayer money has been wasted chasing an idea that even bus operators didn’t support? And why did they grant planning permission for a connecting stretch in the new Eastern Green development before this was approved? The Council will need to work very hard to restore trust.”
Fellow Woodlands Ward Councillor Peter Male said: "This is a victory for common sense and for the residents who campaigned tirelessly to protect Juniper Park. However, the Council must reflect on how this situation arose. Why was so much effort spent pursuing a scheme with no community backing and no clear benefit? Moving forward, we need greater transparency and better engagement to ensure that residents’ voices are heard from the outset."
Conservative Group Leader and local Councillor Gary Ridley added: "This was the bus lane nobody asked for and nobody wanted. It would have been an act of vandalism against one of our most cherished local green spaces, with no real benefit to residents. Local residents will be breathing a huge sigh of relief tonight. But it begs the question why were they put through this horror in the first place?”
