Plans for a controversial new business park at the Jaguar Whitley site have been given the thumbs up by the Secretary of State.

Coventry City Council has received news from the Secretary of State, that the proposals for the hi-tech park adjacent to Jaguar's Engineering Centre will receive planning permission.

All that remains is for the applicants Jaguar Cars and the City Council as Planning Authority, to sign an agreement of terms and conditions.

Councillor Dave Batten, Cabinet Member (Development and Renewal) said:

"This news is excellent, it is just the sort of good news that we need to hear. This development will help bring business to our City and create local jobs for local people. I know that both the City Council and Jaguar who were joint applicants in these proposals, worked very hard together to bring all the pieces of the jigsaw into one development proposal. I believe that this working together in partnership, has enabled us to convince the Secretary of State that Coventry should have this important business park development."

Jonathan Browning, Managing Director at Jaguar Cars, commented:

"We are delighted that the Secretary of State is happy with the principle of the Business Park. Clearly, we are still in the early stages of an ongoing process that will necessitate further consultation and investigation with the Council, our employees and the local community."

He added:

"At Jaguar we are committed to our ongoing environmental responsibilities and will maintain and develop our plans to safeguard wildlife and enhance the ecology of sensitive areas."

The news has come following many months of consideration. The outline planning application was called in by the Secretary of State, which led to a Public Inquiry which started back in February last year.

The Secretary of State has since been considering further evidence for and against the development proposals, including the request for increased funding to be available for the co-ordination of employment and training along with additional Green Travel arrangements which offer a realistic choice of access to the site. The final agreement takes all of these factors into account.

The final proposal excluded the initially planned hotel and conference centre which the Planning Inspector considered to be unnecessary.

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, who have opposed the proposal, were still considering their response when contacted by CWN. Andrew Thompson, Conservation Manager at the Trust, told CWN that he hoped that as the hotel and conference centre had been dropped there would be more land available for conservation purposes.

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