Coventry Housing built since 1980

Last week my wife and I went to have a look at the Jaguar motor museum in Browns Lane. Very surprised to find the building closed up and empty. A bigger surprise was to find the number of houses they were building. This in turn led to a discussion regarding the number of houses that have been built in Coventry on ex-factory sites etc. I live in Tile Hill Village and around here are the Wickman and Massey sites, a sizeable plot on the corner of Tile Hill Lane/Banner Lane, the Disabled Sports Centre by the station, Tile Hill College, and of course my old employer The Renold & Coventry Chain. My knowledge extends to the old Daimler site and the goods yard near Sandy Lane. This is of course only small part of Coventry that is within my ken. What I would really like to know is the number of houses that have been built since 1980. I have used this date due to the number of factories that were closing, or relocating.

I remember the new owners of Alvis threatening to leave Coventry unless they were given planning permission for new flats on the former sports ground. Once granted permission they sold the rest of the site and quit Holyhead Road in any case! Coventry must have the most gullible councillors in the entire country. Incidentally the flats were built on one of the most flood-prone sites in the city, but that's a different subject.

Former Canley Clinic Site, Kele Road, Westwood, Coventry: Construction of dwellings with parking and associated landscaping. Oi! That site was where Charter Primary School used to be. It was my introduction to edification.

To get a rough idea you could compare the housing figures in the 1981 census with the 2011. The Office of National Statistics has a website at www.ons.gov.uk but the data tables are not easy to locate or navigate. The history centre probably have the census statistics too.

The council were pretty gullible with The Jag too. Let us build an access road across Coundon Wedge or we'll close the plant. They build road - and they closed it anyway.

Mmmm I am not so sure about being "gullible" when I was told a long while ago the fields at Penny Park Lane running through to Keresley village were bought by a group of councillors for later to sell for redevelopment. Has anyone done their homework on the above comments. It may be certain powers to be sold off the land these houses/flats sit on now were making money on the housing market which our economy is mainly built on now. As the land Jag Browns Lane was not owned by Jag but was leased I just wonder who bought that lease - link. Dunlop where houses are being built now in Holbrooks was leased back to the company.

I have an old pamphlet dating back to 1957 which shows the plans they had for those fields then. There was to be a sports field, a school, a municipal centre and housing. I will try and find it and scan it in.