Coventry city centre backwater to get Carnaby Street-style makeover

Lightbulb bunting and outdoor seating areas will form part of the facelift in Greyfriars Lane



A city centre backwater will be transformed into a ‘Carnaby Street style’ scene with colourful lights displays and outdoor seating for restaurants and cafes.

Greyfriars Lane, alongside Natwest Bank, and Pepper Lane, behind Cathedral Lanes, will be transformed into a “vibrant walkway” leading to the Cathedral Quarter, said council bosses.

A new entrance will also be created at the back of Cathedral Lanes and there are plans for more outdoor seating at ground and first floor level for proposed restaurants behind the shopping centre.

The Coventry Cross near The Establishment could also be moved back to its original position in Cross Cheaping to open up more outdoor space overlooking the cathedral.

The improvements will also include bringing back ‘Trigger’ - the cast iron black horse which took pride of place at junction six of the ring road - and the 1960s ‘Family’ sculpture, plus widening the pavement and planting trees in Fairfax Street.

They are part of a larger programme of works to improve the city centre using £2m Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Local Growth Deal funding.

Announcing the project, a Coventry City Council press release said: "Wider pavements, Carnaby Street style lighting, new planting and the restoration of some well-loved public art will soon start as part of the next phase of city centre improvements."

Commenting further, Coun Jayne Innes, cabinet member for city services, said: “This work will provide an attractive route to one of our city’s most-loved attractions and will expand the cafe culture we already have in Broadgate and Cathedral Lanes.

“The designs include the same type of high quality materials we have used in Broadgate and High Street and we hope to start work at the beginning of October.”

Cabinet member for regeneration, Coun Jim O’Boyle, added: “By creating a more attractive route to the Cathedral Quarter and opening up the space where the Coventry Cross currently is will encourage more development in this historic area.

“I would hope the planned works will also encourage people to sit out at businesses next to Priory Place at the foot of the historic ‘Hill Top’, which is also an important gateway to the cathedral and nearby transport museum.”

During the works in Greyfriars Lane, the taxi rank will be relocated to Pepper Lane and moved back to Greyfriars Lane as work progresses.

Work is expected to take about 20 weeks. The works in Fairfax Street will take place next summer.

Yet more waste from a profligate council that haven't got a joined up idea of what to do with the city centre.

[Melisandre]

A city centre backwater will be transformed into a ‘Carnaby Street style’ scene with colourful lights displays and outdoor seating for restaurants and cafes.

Told you so they are copying London as congestion charge they want like London then licence charge of £700 for private land lords all past on to the people then we have London Wasps here . Are they preparing for their previous plan on bringing parliment back here to Coventry to centralise for power of money especially now now they have ruined London with the banks moving over to the EU if we leave the EU what a better time than now to centralise.

To me the lights sound a tackie idea .

Last edited by Melisandre on Wed Sep 21, 2016 4:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Actually, on that idea Melisandre, I'd like to know just how good the quality of the air is in the city centre. I'd not fancy sitting outside nearby some road that has Taxis and Buses belching out cancer causing particulates.

I would nt either Rebbonk want to sit amongst Taxis bus s or unleaded petrol vehicle's either all cancer causing . I try not to visit the City at all if I can help it as said in ww2 the Germans won't find us as Coventry is in a dip and if there is no wind thats where all the polution sits especially by the Burges Bishop St and Hales St in the dip also Trinity St are listed for worse polution in the city.

Cllr Jayne Innes has given us an update on the metal horse structure



A much-loved work of art which stood proudly on a Coventry roundabout is set to ride back into town.

The cast iron scuplture of a black horse rearing on its hind legs was taken away from the island at Greyfriars Green when work began on reconfiguring the roads around Friargate in 2014.

Known as Trigger, the sculpture - made by Coventry University student Simon Evans in the 1980s using scrap materials - has since been restored and is now set to make his comeback.

Cllr Jayne Innes, Coventry City Council’s cabinet member for public services, said: “It is really exciting that we will have Trigger back on full display soon.

“He used to be on the roundabout which made way for the bridge deck.

“The work around that area has changed the way people come into the city, but now we will be restoring Trigger near to his original home.

“One of the good things about it being on Greyfriars Green is that people are going to be able to walk up to Trigger, which people have always wanted to do.

“It is going to be a much better location.”

There has been no definitive date set for the unveiling - or what exactly is going to be involved in the event - but it is going to be early February.

Two years ago, Cllr Rachel Lancaster, former cabinet member for public services, said Trigger would stay indoors due to his poor state of repair.

But Cllr Innes told us that the restoration has gone well, and Trigger - real name Bucephalus - is looking as good as new and will be able to go back into the outdoors for people to enjoy.

She added: “It is a permanent thing now, and he should be okay now for the future.

“Nothing lasts forever, but we hope to get decades out of him.

“When we took him down, we realised he needed a lot of work, but now he is as good as new.

“People will be able to touch him, and take pictures with him.

“We just ask they don’t climb on him - although considering his size, it could be quite difficult anyway.”