Campaigners take cycle route battle to High Court
BBCCampaigners will take their battle to stop 26 trees from being cut down for a cycle route to the High Court this week.
Coventry City Council approved the final section of the 6km (3.7-mile) Binley Cycleway in December, but residents have opposed a planned stretch on Clifford Bridge Road for years.
The campaigners have now worked with a law firm to apply for an injunction against the work and they have a hearing in London on Thursday, they said in a statement.
The council said it could not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.
Residents who oppose the route on Clifford Bridge Road have raised concerns about protecting trees, safety for cyclists and drivers, and parking.
"We were forced into trying to take legal action against the council because they wouldn't listen," Dawn McCann, one of the campaigners, told BBC Radio CWR.
Ms McCann added that the planned cycle route was "unsafe" and residents had been campaigning against it since 2020.
Petitions and tree-hugging
The campaigners' statement said their case had been "officially accepted and sealed by the court", with a hearing scheduled for Thursday.
It added that tree-felling had been paused last week and Thursday's hearing "could lead to a full judicial review" if they were successful.
Martina Irwin, one of the campaigners, told BBC Radio CWR that "the sheer number of people" who had opposed the plans showed residents' strong feelings on the issue.
More than 900 people took part in a tree-hugging protest against the council's plans last November, and more than 4,200 people signed a council e-petition earlier in the year.
When Coventry City Council approved the route in December, councillor Patricia Hetherton said the authority had listened to residents and made changes based on their feedback.
The Clifford Bridge Road section of the route has been redesigned multiple times.
The council has also previously said that the felled trees would be replaced by 32 saplings, which would provide "greater long-term benefits".
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