Bars, restaurants and student housing could replace old Telegraph offices in the city centre

The proposals have been re-submitted after the previous planning permission expired



Plans to redevelop the former home of the Telegraph have been submitted to Coventry Council after previous planning permission granted for the site expired.

The former Coventry Telegraph offices in Corporation Street have sat empty ever since the newspaper relocated to the Canal Basin in 2012.

In 2011 outline planning permission was granted by Coventry City Council for demolition of the existing buildings and the development of a mixed use site including office space, a 250-bedroom hotel, 385 bedroom student accommodation and up to 84 residential dwellings. But that permission expired in August this year.

Now site owner Trinity Mirror has lodged an almost identical application - which also features space for retail, bars and restaurants - with the council in a bid to get the outline planning permission renewed.

The Corporation Street building was built in the 1950s and was the home of the newspaper until the editorial staff relocated four years ago.

Plans submitted to the council suggest the scheme could create almost 250 jobs if it can be delivered.

The proposals are now subject to a period of public consultation which will end on September 30.

Once the consultation period has ended the plans will be considered by the council.

The full planning application can be viewed here on the council’s online planning portal.

"Public consultation"

I knew I had a picture of the old offices being built somewhere but it took me ages to find:

Hotel and student flats plan approved for former Coventry Telegraph offices



Approval has been given for the Coventry Telegraph’s former home in the city centre to be demolished and replaced with a hotel and student accommodation.

Councillors on Coventry City Council’s planning committee voted unanimously in favour of the outline application to replace the office in Corporation Street with a mixed-use scheme which would also include flats and office space.

A planning officers’ report to members stated: “The proposal is high quality design improving the character of the area and will contribute positively to the visual amenities of the area whilst representing an efficient use of a highly accessible brownfield site.”

The 1.65-acre site is one of two sites covered by a masterplan submitted with the application.

The masterplan would also cover the ‘eastern site’ which is located between Chapel Street, Lamb Street and Bishop Street.

A planning application is currently under consideration for a mixed use development on that site comprising up to 61 residential apartments and office space.

Indicative plans highlight the development would be within four to 14 storeys in height, with the highest part being located to the south-western part of the site on the corner of Corporation Street/Upper Well Street.

The buildings would be arranged around courtyards, with underground car parks, providing around 156 parking spaces.

It is envisaged car parking will be available for both residents and visitors.

The plans suggest vehicular access would be from Chapel Street, with a number of pedestrian entrances to the site.

The search for a developer to buy the site is now likely to commence after councillors gave the scheme the green light.

Developer buys Coventry Telegraph offices and reveals amazing plan to revitalise building



The Coventry Telegraph’s former headquarters is set to be saved and turned into a boutique hotel, it has been revealed.

The Corporation Street offices, widely considered to be one of the most iconic post-war buildings in the city centre, have been bought by Complex Development Projects (CDP) .

CDP, which has been responsible for a host of innovative city centre regeneration and development projects - including the recent restoration of medieval houses in Far Gosford Street - has acquired the site from the Telegraph’s owners Trinity Mirror.

Ian Harrabin, managing director of CDP, stressed the company’s commitment to preserving aspects of Coventry city centre’s post-war architectural heritage, something which prompted the decision to breathe new life into the former newspaper office and turn it into an upmarket hotel.

He said: “There is growing recognition of the importance of the city’s post-war redevelopment, when Coventry led the world in the planning of its ‘new’ city centre.

“It is an important part of the city’s history and a potential attraction for visitors.

“The minimalist design of the 1950s was a major change from what had gone before and is becoming fashionable again today.

“The Telegraph building is a local landmark and was at the centre of community life for almost 50 years.”

Now CDP plans to retain many of the original period features within the building as a central part of its pioneering hotel project.

Mr Harrabin added: “Planning consent had already been given for its demolition, but we decided to see whether we could save it as an important piece of our more recent heritage.

“The most surprising thing is the interior – it’s like a time capsule of the 1950s, with the reception area, boardroom and Lord Iliffe’s flat still intact.

“Our plans are only at an early stage but the idea is to create a hotel that celebrates the 1950s and Coventry’s story of resurrection.

“We hope to use the Telegraph’s archives to tell the news stories of the day in a creative way.

“It is especially important in the run-up to the City of Culture bid that we celebrate things that are uniquely Coventry.

“All of the hotels in the city centre are national brands - what we plan is something very different, a one-off and a special Coventry place to stay.”

Some one with brains at last thank goodness it will not be another eye sore hopefully.

Former Coventry Telegraph building becomes pop-up gallery before hotel transformation



The Coventry Telegraph’s former office in the centre of Coventry is getting a new lease of life ahead of its transformation into a hotel.

The iconic building in Corporation Street is being turned into a pop-up gallery and art space before work starts next summer on converting it into a boutique hotel.

Called the CET Building, it will also be opened up for guided tours.

The building, widely considered to be one of the most iconic post-war buildings in the city centre, has stood empty since July 2012, when the Telegraph moved just outside the ring road to Coventry’s Canal Basin.

It had been the Telegraph’s purpose-built headquarters since 1959 and now its new owner Complex Development Projects (CDP) plans to turn it into a hotel.

But building work is unlikely to get underway for another 12 months or more, so the developers have allowed the venue to be used as a creative art space until July next year.

The pop-up gallery has won the financial backing of Historic England/Coventry Heritage Action Zone and has been created entirely by local volunteers, who have partly restored the front entrance, lobby and atrium garden.

Telegraph editor Keith Perry will officially open the space and introduce the ‘CET Memories’ display at a private event on Thursday evening. Following that, the site will be open to the public.

‘CET Memories’ includes more than 70 black and white photos from our archives which trace the history of the building which housed hundreds of staff, enormous printing presses, an impressive wood-panelled boardroom and the apartment which former owner Lord Illiffe used.

Other highlights include work by Coventry University architecture students, a Medieval Watchtower project by Luke Bryant, a display looking at the legacy of Coventry’s post-war re-building and a 3D computer montage of the city.

The CET Building will be opening to the public from Saturday, with 30-minute guided tours of the offices and print rooms available only on Saturdays.

Alan Denyer, the lead volunteer, said: “I was only going to spend two days in here doing a quick clear up but when you get to look around, it suddenly dawns on you what a great building this is and why it’s worth the effort to create something that tells its story.

“Yes, we had big factories elsewhere in Coventry - but nothing quite touched everyone in the city like the local newspaper did. In it’s heyday, there were 600 people employed here, with a circulation figure of 360,000 - that’s basically everyone.’

“My day job is property restoration but when I heard about the ‘pop-up’ artspace idea and that Historic England had donated £2,000 for materials and printing to help make it happen, I thought I’d clear my diary, get volunteering and give the project three months of my time free of charge as it’s a great thing for Coventry to have - right in the heart of the city.

“I’ve had super fun uncovering the fantastic quality of the original (1959) building - and been completely overwhelmed by the response from people who’ve seen, and commented on the pics I’ve been posting on Facebook (@cetpopup) as work progresses.

“The last job might have rolled off the press here 13 years ago - but that’s over 60 million newspapers produced since the facility opened. Everyone I’ve spoken to seems to remember their time like it was just yesterday; great camaraderie, with a sense of pride in the service they were providing and it’s been fascinating to uncover some of the stories.

“And, with the ‘CET Memories’ display, we’re hoping to show something of what went on - the building and processes, changing as technology and time moved on.”

Arthouse cinema plans revealed for former Coventry Telegraph building



The former Coventry Telegraph building will be home to a five-screen cinema complex, it has been revealed.

Plans for the redevelopment have been unveiled by Ian Harribin, managing director of Complex Development Projects, which is overseeing the overhaul of the Corporation Street building.

The site has remained empty since the Telegraph relocated to its present Canal Basin headquarters, in Coventry, during 2012.

The former newspaper office is set to become a 1950s style hotel, in keeping with the building’s history.

The boutique 100-bedroom hotel will also house a five-screen arthouse cinema, which will be available for use as a break out conference facility for the Belgrade Theatre.

To cross-subsidise the hotel and cinema, Mr Harrabin said that he was planning to demolish a set of neighbouring industrial buildings and build 100 units of student housing on the site.

Mr Harrabin believes the refurbishment of the Telegraph building reflected a growing appreciation of Coventry’s post-war heritage.

He said: “They recognise that its post-war redevelopment is worthy of retention and is becoming the heritage of tomorrow.

“We are working with Heritage England to look at which buildings should be retained and the future uses we can bring to them.

“This is about recognising that some of it is pretty good.”

He added that the arts and heritage schemes in Coventry had been “galvanised” by its bid to become the UK’s 2021 city of culture.

He said: “Even if we don’t win, the impact of that has been huge.

“A huge element of what is planned for city of culture bid will happen anyway.”

The building, widely considered to be one of the most iconic post-war buildings in the city centre, has stood empty since July 2012, when the Telegraph moved just outside the ring road to Coventry’s Canal Basin.

It had been the Telegraph’s purpose-built headquarters since 1959.

The building is currently being used as a creative art space until July next year, when building work is expected to progress.

Big plans for boutique hotel in former Coventry Evening Telegraph building move forward



Plans have moved forward for a 1950s-style boutique hotel in the former Coventry Evening Telegraph building.

Around 100 bedrooms, a ground floor restaurant and bar, meeting rooms, penthouse suites and a rooftop bar have been approved by Coventry City Council planning department.

Complex Development Projects (CDP) plans to start construction work later this year to create a themed hotel which celebrates the city’s famous Mid-Century architecture with the restoration of the building in Corporation Street in the city centre.

CDP, which has been responsible for a host of innovative city centre regeneration and development projects - including the recent restoration of medieval houses in Far Gosford Street - acquired the site from the Telegraph’s owners Reach PLC.

The hotel proposals involve retaining original features of the building including the panelled Board Room and the Lord Iliffe Suite – the restored top floor apartment of the former owner of the newspaper.

Ian Harrabin, of CDP, said this would be a totally different hotel to the current offering in the region.

“The planning approval is a major step forward for the hotel proposals. We are in advanced discussions with the council as freeholder and are hoping to have their permission to proceed as we need to push on so we can complete in time for 2021,” he said.

“The building is located in a prime spot in the city centre and this is a great opportunity to save an iconic piece of 1950s architecture because we will be preserving many of its original features and artefacts.

“Many notable events in the city’s history have been told from the Coventry Telegraph’s offices and there will be individually themed bedrooms which will replicate significant stories from its newspapers."

NB: Trinity-Mirror Newspapers is now known as Reach PLC

Multi-million pound city taxpayer bailout for 'boutique' hotel plan at ex-Coventry Evening Telegraph building

MILLIONS of pounds worth of city taxpayers’ assets are set to be used to bail out otherwise ‘unviable’ plans to transform the former Coventry Evening Telegraph offices into a flagship ’boutique’ hotel, we can reveal.

Construction of the ‘high-end’ 1950s-style hotel at the landmark Corporation Street building had been set to start last month.

But Coventry city councillors on its ruling cabinet will next week discuss controversial proposals to sell more council land and buildings nearby, some derelict, on massive 250-year leases.

The proceeds would be gifted to the hotel’s developers rather than returning the money to council coffers.

Existing rental income would also be written off at those buildings which have remaining lease terms of between 38 and 89 years, potentially resulting in a further hit to taxpayers. Leases across the development site will be extended to 250 years.

Yet details of the financial implications for Coventry taxpayers will be discussed behind closed doors in a private session of next Tuesday’s cabinet meeting of ruling Labour councillors, after an initial public discussion.

The meeting’s agenda report states: “Details of the revenue implications to the council are set out in the private report.”

It says: “Due to the significant costs involved in refurbishing such an iconic set of buildings and the relatively unproven market for higher end hotels within Coventry, the development of a hotel on its own is not financially viable.

“In order to facilitate the delivery of the hotel, there is an opportunity to cross-subsidise its development through the disposal of adjacent sites at Chapel Street, Lamb Street and Bishop Street to deliver two residential blocks, possibly including student accommodation.

“The land receipt the council would ordinarily receive for these sites will then be used to contribute towards the capital cost of funding the hotel element of the wider scheme.”

It adds: “Whilst analysis has shown that there is a shortfall of high quality bed space in the city centre, the market for this type of hotel development is currently relatively unproven so there is uncertainty around the strength of demand that would secure the necessary investment to bring the scheme forward.

“This coupled with the costs and risk of redeveloping existing buildings (including high abnormal costs relating to asbestos and the capping of the basement) means that the overall scheme requires a partnership approach between FGDL and public bodies to bring a viable scheme forward.”

The report also states: “An independent red book valuation undertaken by Cushman and Wakefield has demonstrated that the overall development faces significant viability pressures due to the costs of delivering the hotel element of the scheme.”

If it can't stand on it's own two feet it shouldn't happen!