Coventry Society is increasingly concerned about the future of Westwood Business Park. It was developed from the late 1980s onwards as an iconic location, near to Warwick University, for office-type uses including training and conference facilities, consultancy services and product development in a landscaped park setting. A diverse range of accommodation was provided including serviced small office suites through to buildings for national organisations such as the RICS and E.O.N.
However, in recent years, there have been three redevelopment schemes for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) approved. In total, this amounts to over 3,000 units (and over 2,000 of these are already in use). There is now a further planning application for the redevelopment of Mercia Business Village for over 1,000 units. So, by 2027/28, there could be over 4,000 units of student accommodation.
There are also rumours that other sites could be the subject of redevelopment proposals for student use and / or general residential schemes such as the E.O.N. premises.
It appears that the Council is supportive of this trend. But there have been no transparent discussions with nearby residents and other stakeholders on the future of the Business Park. Indeed, the draft revised local plan for Coventry has not proposed that the area is reallocated for residential use.
Our view is that Westwood Business Park should be protected for its original use, and we recognise that office redevelopment may be required where premises built in the 1980s no longer meet the needs of companies today.
Furthermore, the Council’s draft local plan highlights that there is a shortage of employment land in the city. Westwood Business Park can, therefore, make an important contribution. It is a better option than the Council’s reliance on sites becoming available in South Warwickshire to meet employment land requirements. In fact, there is little evidence in the current draft of the South Warwickshire Local Plan that this will be forthcoming.
Lastly, there is the oversupply of purpose-built student accommodation. Surely, there is a consensus on this? The Higher Education Policy Institute identified in August 2023 that “in Coventry there will be an extra 1,136 beds in 2023/24 in a market that already has a surplus estimated at 6,000”. An independent study commissioned by the City Council in 2024 found that there will still be oversupply by 2030/31. It did, however, conclude that there is a case for more provision for the University of Warwick.
But the University of Warwick Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which was recently approved, states that there are a “number of locations within the SPD boundary (ie the university campus) where student residences could be considered”.
So, ‘long live Westwood Business Park’ and a big ‘no’ to more PBSA!