Plans to build 350 new homes in Keresley have been refused, following objections by the Coventry Society and local people.
The applicant, Richborough, submitted outline plans for the development of 350 homes on farming fields off Fivefield Road, Keresley.
The land is within the boundary of the Keresley Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE), but in the masterplan for the SUE the land is protected as open space and not to be built on.
The proposal said it would also include vehicle, cycle and pedestrian access and other highway improvements, parking and landscaping.
But Coventry City Council officers said the scheme went against planning guidelines because it would result in a loss of land in a protected area of countryside.
Planning officer Emma Spandley said introducing the proposed development to what was described as a “strategically important open space” would cause “unacceptable harm to the landscape character and appearance of the area”.
She added the protected area reflected the area’s landscape sensitivity, its contribution to local character, and the heritage significance of the Scheduled Ancient Monument at Burrow Hill Fort.
Burrow Hill Fort, also known as Corley Camp, is the remains of a rectangular hillfort from the Iron Age, which was used by the Celtic people of Britain as an elevated settlement where villagers could easily see rival tribes approaching.
“The designated Green and Blue Infrastructure Corridor is required to remain open and free from built development,” Spandley added.
“This corridor provides an essential landscape, ecological and heritage function, linking Burrow Hill Fort in the north through Hounds Hill and along the Hall Brook toward the Jubilee Woodland.”
Planners also said the developers had not provided enough information to show the houses would not have a “severe impact” on the road network or on the supply of natural groundwater that feeds ancient woodlands.
In addition, they added the scheme did not include enough open space for the estimated population of 840 residents.
The refusal of planning permission demonstrates the importance of developers complying with the Coventry Local Plan and its associated documents. The council had prepared a Supplementary Planning Document for the Sustainable Urban Extensions. This designated a Green and Blue Infrastructure Corridor which was to be kept free of development.