Council snub to city homes; OVERSPILL: Letter to Government on Keresley green belt idea.

Byline: Mary Griffin

NUNEATON and Bedworth Borough Council is refusing to build 'overspill' housing from Coventry on Keresley green belt.

In a new twist to the housing saga that demands 82,000 new homes across Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull by 2026, defiant borough councillors say they will not accommodate 3,500 homes planned for the northern side of Keresley.

Instead, they are writing to the government opposing the development - an overspill of the 33,500 homes earmarked in and around Coventry - and challenging the further 10,800 homes allocated across the borough.

Cllr Andrew Burtenshaw, Nuneaton and Bedworth's portfolio holder for planning, said: "We do not accept that taking housing from Coventry will be a good thing for the residents of Nuneaton and Bedworth.

We were told initially it would be a last resort if it wasn't possible to accommodate Coventry's housing requirements within the Coventry boundaries. But that has now changed."

A new report from the West Midlands Regional Assembly states the 3,500 Keresley homes should be accommodated within the "early part" of the house-building plan.

He added: "That number of homes would destroy the character of Keresley as a village and the green belt."

Other local councils claim their hands are tied, saying that if they don't choose sites for new homes the government will intervene and choose the sites for them. But Cllr Burtenshaw says the government should stop dictating and allow local councils and residents to decide on housing numbers and locations.

He said: "This policy is too dictatorial.

People in Keresley know a lot more about their area than the secretary of state does.

"I wouldn't want to comment on what Coventry should do. But we would hope Coventry City Council go through the same processes as us to protect the green belt and the interests of their residents."

Coventry City Council cabinet member for city development Gary Ridley, who is proposing a 3,500-home 'eco suburb' within the Coventry boundary of Keresley green belt, said: "I'm very surprised because Nuneaton and Bedworth has been on board with the strategy that's been agreed for some time.

"The choice is whether we keep some of our destiny in our own hands or say 'no' to the lot and lose the land we are losing anyway and a lot more besides."

Cllr Ridley said the city council will investigate how Nuneaton and Bedworth's refusal will affect Coventry's plans.