Coventry City Council has
rejected claims that a High Court ruling against a planning
decision over Arena 2001 is a setback for the scheme.
And it is adamant that the
revised scheme including a Tesco and several other shops at the
site of the Foleshill gasworks will go ahead.
The original plan approved
in July 1999 allowed for a two superstores. At the time it was
expected to be an Asda and Marks and Spencer.
But then the plans changed
and Tesco became involved as the sole large store. The plans for
the other shopping units were altered to allow the Tesco store to
become bigger.
Last week in the High
Court the city council was told that the process its planning
committee used to change the planning permission for the scheme
was illegal.
But Cllr Dave Batten,
acting cabinet member (Development and Renewal) said:
“This has been an
argument about procedure and not the real merits of the Arena
2001 scheme.
“The judge has cleared
up a piece of law on which exerts took different views and given
helpful guidance to help the Planning Committee bring their
decision into line with his ruling.
“The way is now open
for the Committee to approve the changes needed for a Tesco
Extra and that would mean full steam ahead for the arena scheme.
“The judge made it
clear that the Council had looked at the revised scheme as
thoroughly as if a fresh application had been made and he did
not criticise the conclusion of the planning committee that
splitting the non-food superstore was acceptable.
“However he declared
that technically the wrong process had been followed and for
that reason alone that part of the decision could not stand.
“Friday’s
ruling was a bit like a score draw really, the most important
part of what we had approved was upheld and the other part of it
was not.“
