Five households in the residential area below St Barbara’s Church received an unwelcome Christmas letter informing them of a planning application which if approved would significantly change the nature of that local community.

The application is to change a residential elderly care home to a house of multiple occupation for 21 students.  Conversation between neighbours has shown a groundswell of opinion concerned about the impact on the local community caused by a significant, concentrated number of short-term residents in an area of family homes, these two communities naturally having differing interests. Again, there is little vehicle traffic, parking problems or noise associated with the care home at present; these aspects will inevitably increase substantially.

The wider concern is seeing a slow but sure change to the Earlsdon community. If every larger residential dwelling in our area goes this way, the community of Earlsdon will suffer loss in its character. This ambition to protect the community resonates with the SENA news article in the latest issue of ECHO (p10), seeking ‘to make Earlsdon a Conservation Area.’

Residents of this part of Earlsdon are looking for support from others who care about this change in the character of local neighbourhoods. Response may be via your local councillors, or by commenting on planning application number FUL/2016/2994 for 71-73 Rochester Road: http://planning.coventry.gov.uk/portal/servlets/PlanningComments?REFNO=FUL/2016/2994

While the deadline for public consultation on this plan is 11 January it is possible this may be extended in view of controversial nature of the application and the level of local opposition.