Coventry Society is involved in responding to a planning application for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) at 27A Westwood Heath Road – the site of County Scaffolding Ltd. As well as being an issue in its own right, it demonstrates the complexity of getting involved with planning proposals.
An outline planning application was submitted by a developer in September 2025. Although the applicant indicated that the proposal was for up to 400 PBSA units in blocks (some of which might be four or five storeys), the only approval that was being sought was for access onto Westwood Heath Road.
The application comprised no less than 50 documents, and this is an outline application with no details of design, landscaping etc. These documents have to be downloaded to be looked at! Who has the time to do that?
The application was eventually considered by the Council’s Planning Committee at the beginning of April 2026. Note that it took nearly six months for a decision to be reached – government guidance is that decisions should normally be made within 13 weeks!
Most decisions these days are delegated to council officers (and government proposals are for this to be increased). In this case, because of objections and observations by local people and organisations, including Coventry Society, local council rules require it to be determined by Planning Committee.
Our chairperson attended Planning Committee in April and was allowed three minutes to speak about the application after a council officer had presented details of the scheme and recommended that the outline application for road access should be approved with conditions. After our chairperson had spoken, the agent for the applicant was given five minutes to speak. This was followed by a long debate among the councillors. This was far from an edifying spectacle. For example, many points raised related to the oversupply of PBSA in the city centre which was not directly relevant for the application. Moreover, a number of councillors had given their apologies and so did not even attend the meeting. Yet Planning Committee ought to be a vital part of local representative democracy.
Unsurprisingly, Planning Committee eventually approved the access point with conditions.
So what happens next?
- The outline application also has to be considered by Warwick District Council as a small part of the site is outside the city boundary.
- The applicant will presumably come forward later this year with the detailed proposals (known in the jargon as ‘reserved matters’) covering the number and type of PBSA units, design / layout, landscaping etc
- Planning Committee, which is often criticised, has made it clear that the applicant must consult with local residents and organisations on these matters before a further application is submitted
- It also requires that the detailed application be brought back to Planning Committee for a decision rather than delegating it to officers.
So, this note has focussed on planning procedures and not the issue of PBSA itself! Unfortunately, this is often the case with planning applications because of the complexity of the system. Governments of all descriptions over the last few decades have promised to streamline and speed up planning decision making. But despite many changes in legislation little of substance has happened. In some respects, this is not necessarily a bad thing as the system has to balance speed with public involvement. However, in our opinion, we currently have the worst of both worlds! It is not quick but neither is it open and transparent.