Full support for enterprise zone

The council discussed an emergency motion brought so Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s bid for an enterprise zone could be submitted to meet the Government’s deadline yesterday (Thursday).

The zone would be one of 21 around the country with relaxed planning rules, business rate discounts and the promise to spend extra business rates raised in the areas where they were created. Eleven have already been announced, with bid among those for the remaining ten.

The bid had cross-party support, despite misgivings about wording suggesting the zone was part of the airport and that it automatically justified using green belt land.

Council leader Cllr Michael Doody (Con, Radford Semele) urged the members to support it, saying concerns could be dealt with later. He said: “We have to remember this will bring 14,000 jobs to this site. It will bring prosperity to people who are still waiting to find jobs.”

If approved, a first phase would be built around Jaguar Land Rover’s site at Whitley, a second on airport land and the Stonebridge trading estate, and a third around the Middlemarch business park, with a new junction on the A45 west of Tollbar End.

There was cross party support, but some concerns. Cllr George Illingworth (Con, Kenilworth Abbey) asked to change the wording so the enterprize zone and local development order demonstrate special circumstances that justify changing green belt land to employment land.

Cllr Bertie Mackay (Ind, Stoneleigh) warned against the “misleading” impression that the site, and the second phase, was at Coventry Airport.

Labour group leader Cllr John Barrott (Willes) said it would be “absurd” not to support the scheme, but said it would affect the council’s forthcoming local plan, possibly creating a need for housing and.

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Alan Boad said: “We should go for this as hard as we can.”