Plans to turn a derelict site in Coventry to an electric vehicle charging hub have stalled after the city council deferred a decision on selling the property to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
It follows an intervention by the leaseholder which claims that it has a plan to build an equivalent scheme without the need to spend public money.
Local developer Redleaf maintains that it bought a 65-year lease to the site, which includes a former working men’s club in Burbages Lane, in 2013, and had been working with the city council to deliver a similar scheme.
Redleaf says it had been in the process of submitting plans for a development that included 20 EV charging bays alongside a drive-thru coffee shop and restaurant, and that it has “internationally recognised operators waiting in the wings” as partners in the project.
Coventry City Council says it put on hold the sale “following last-minute correspondence” from Redleaf.
Last month, a city council cabinet meeting recommended selling the site to WMCA. Redleaf says it was not consulted.
Paul Bishton, founder of Redleaf, says: “I am shocked and deeply saddened that Coventry City Council has not consulted with us. For the last 12 months we’ve been actively engaged in delivering a design that meets the declared needs for the combined authority for 20 EV charging spaces. We have detailed designs and operators ready to commit to the resultant scheme proposals.
“Now we find that the council and combined authority have privately hatched a deal for the site’s sale, which is baffling, especially as our long leasehold interest was originally purchased at the behest of the council and in good faith of both parties’ mutual interest. We have invested huge amounts of time and costs into regeneration plans.
“All our work has been geared to deliver the scheme without spending any public money, without the need for the council to necessarily sell their freehold interest, all the while delivering on the declared strategic aims of the combined authority.”
