Plans for Coventry city centre £300m revamp

[dutchman]

The scrapping of radical aspects of a £1billion plan to redevelop Coventry city centre has been described as “disappointing” by a former council leader.

Comments by Conservative councillor Kevin Foster – whose party was in power when the Jerde plan was agreed – came as Coventry’s Turner Prize-nominated artist George Shaw described new plans as “deeply uninteresting”.

The new £300million plan for the southern half of the city centre ditch some key features drawn up by Los Angeles architects Jerde.

It had included roof-top gardens, a river, and iconic modern architecture symbolised by a futuristic egg-shaped library building.

Coventry City Council opposition leader Coun Foster said: “We were looking at iconic buildings like replacing the library, greening the city centre and water features.

“We felt the Jerde masterplan gave a goal to aim for and could genuinely inspire investors.

“These new proposals are clearly different. It’s a pity to see some of the aspiration lost, particularly given that cities developed by Jerde have been successful. Part of that is because they are different and inspiring.

“But we accept that it will have to be dictated by what we can get the private sector to sign up to.”

Martin Yardley, the council’s city development director, told the Telegraph the economic downturn since 2009 had meant the council had not sought a preferred developer to invest in the scheme – which is now a year behind schedule and will not start until late 2015.

But Coun Foster said: “I’d be stunned if we haven’t been out actively speaking to other people. If that’s the case, you would have to question what we have been doing with ourselves.”

He added: “In 2009, we would have wanted to have made more progress by now. But, given the economic downturn globally, it’s no surprise.

“We will look at the details to see what is behind this new announcement, and look at what likely private investors there are. Unless there is clear interest from investors, we would have some reticence about such a large pubic sector commitment.”

The new plan includes a cinema, restaurant and shopping complex; keeping the now-listed Coventry Market on its current site but adding a glass frontage opposite a new three-storey department store; a new Shelton Square, and demolishing the Coventry Point tower block in Market Way.

Labour council leaders say it is truer to the post-war Gibson redevelopment, but retains “Jerde principles”.

Artist George Shaw said: “It looks like a copy of any other town. It could be anywhere. It looks unthought of, weak, just deeply uninteresting.”

[Spuffler]

I think the council just don't get it! The Coventry Theatre attracted top acts and had good plays, operas, ballets. There was always something good on there. When we went to the Belgrade, we found it disappointing in comparison.

More importantly, though, as you say, a city centre needs a variety of things, and needs to ATTRACT people. If the shops are the same multiples, same corporate logos, same plastic/glass/steel frontages as anywhere else, you need a very good reason to go into any of them! It's the small unique shops, nice restaurants - some for family, some nice and quiet for older people, some cheap and cheerful - and not bars and even student venues. And you certainly DON'T need bare, wide-open squares and plazas; shoppers like an intimate shopping experience. You only need to look at cities that attract tourists in droves to see what's needed, like Chester, Cambridge, etc; Coventry was well on the way to losing what those have 30 years ago.

Although I haven't lived in Coventry for 30 years, I still have friends there, and in Nuneaton, also relatives close by. None want to go into Coventry city centre. A friend of my wife's said that her husband bought some expensive trainers, and now he's afraid to wear them to town in case he gets mugged for them. Why on earth is it like that? Coventry was never the best for criminal activities, but it never used to be like that. When I was a kid in the 50s, I cycled all over the place in safety. We lived in Whoberley district; we never feared burglary or anything like that; we could go out day or night without fear. It was a lovely area to live. The last thing I heard from the street where we lived drug dealers had moved in next door to my parents' old house. A lot of these things stem from low pay and unemployment, though. 40 or 50 years ago, everyone in the street, even those in relatively menial jobs, were well enough paid, and I guess that's no longer the case. Of course most worked in the car firms - notably Standard Triumph - and there's nothing equivalent, today, is there?

Coventry isn't unique in this, though; most cities in the UK are going the same way to a lesser or greater extent, and I fear for the future as things stand now.

[dutchman]

£300m Coventry redevelopment plans welcomed by local businesses



Plan for a new-look Coventry city centre have been welcomed by local business leaders, who say the development will give the area a huge confidence boost.

Building work will now start in winter 2015/16 – at least a year later than originally hoped. However business leaders from Coventry believe the plans represent positive news for the city and the sooner work begins, the better for everyone.

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The images really whet the appetite for what the city centre could become.

“At so many events we hold for business, the city centre is held up as needing development and investment. I know from meetings that the city council are very keen to press ahead and have been for some time but their hands have been tied by the economic climate.

“What we see before us is a viable plan and is one that has been devised to attract developers and investors wanting to partner in the scheme.

“We all know the capabilities of Coventry city centre. There is massive potential and businesses in the city will certainly want to see this taking shape as soon as possible.”

The blueprints cover Bull Yard, Shelton Square, City Arcade, the Barracks car park and Hertford Street. The scale and viability of the scheme has been planned to attract the right developer and range of retailers.

Dhiran Vagdia, Coventry branch chairman of the Chamber, added: “With all the other good news stories in Coventry, such as KNUCKLE, our Local Enterprise Partnership and the Tollbar improvement works, this is more welcome positive news.

“While we want to be comparable to other cities, we also want a city that is far better and matches our aspirations.

“The sooner we can see this work starting the better for everyone.

“It will give the city another huge confidence boost.”

[Spuffler]

So they want to attract developers. Why? A scheme like this will simply eliminate more and more small shops, won't it? The premises built will be cripplingly expensive in rent and/or rates, and only major national or multinational corporate enterprises will be able to afford them. Cities that are doing well are those that have kept their traditional city centres, a mix of modern, old, and ancient, with lots of small shops and diverse products on offer.

You can see centres like this in many cities and towns - Plymouth, Basingstoke, Leatherhead, Harlow... All the same chain shops. All much the same architecture. BOR-ING! When you look at a city centre that has developed organically over centuries it has a character that is uniquely its own, and something for everyone - including tourists. When you consider the cities of the North with their Victorian Gothic architecture, they exude pride and self-esteem; modern architecture just doesn't do that, generally. Certainly there are some very good modern buildings, but the typical corporate 'box' is a building put up as cheaply as possible to a corporate "style" that usually has nothing of empathy with its situation nor pride in the city hosting it; it is nothing more than a temple to greedy consumerism.

As William Morris (not Lord Nuffield!) so aptly put it "Consumerism will come to oppress those who do the consuming"; and that our nation would drown in a sea of cheap tat and clutter from its own acquisitiveness. I feel that these plans demonstrate very well what Morris forecast.

[dutchman]

Plans submitted for £300million redevelopment of Coventry city centre



Outline plans for the £300million redevelopment of Coventry city centre will be submitted on Tuesday.

A 1,000-page document, including an environmental statement, will be presented to the planning department.

Leaders say this is another step towards the transformation of the city centre south area - which covers Bull Yard, Shelton Square, City Arcade, Barracks Car Park and Hertford Street.

The plans, seeking outline approval, include a new anchor store, a 1,200 space car park, cinema complex, hotel, apartments, new and retail units to attract new shops and the reintegration of the market.

Coun Linda Bigham, cabinet member for city development, said: “This is the beginning of one of the most exciting transformations our city has seen in 50 years - it is what people have been asking for and importantly it is a deliverable plan.”

The plan will be a joint submission by Coventry City Council and Aviva Investors – the two major landowners.

[dutchman]

City Centre South: Secret deal to bring major department store edges closer



Coventry is close to naming a developer and anchor store for the long awaited £150million City Centre South development, it is understood.

Coventry City Council bosses are keeping the details firmly under wraps for now, but the Telegraph has learned that talks to recruit a developer for the scheme are nearing completion with key meetings scheduled for this week.

Any developer would be required to bring a major anchor store to the table as part of the deal for being granted exclusivity to deliver the project which was first discussed in 2011 with completion initially targeted for 2020.

It is understood the anchor tenant currently being pursued is among the top 10 department stores in the UK and attracting them to Coventry would be considered a ‘game changer’ for the city.

The council was previously in talks with four major retail outlets - Debenhams, Marks and Spencer, John Lewis and House of Fraser.

But the Telegraph understands none of these outlets is currently the frontrunner.

A meeting with the ‘top ten’ retail giant is scheduled for this week.

It is understood there are two front-runners to secure the rights to redevelop the area.

Sources suggest they are both firms which have delivered projects elsewhere in the city previously.

But no details have been released with sensitive commercial negotiations still ongoing.

Coun Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, told the Telegraph: “Very soon we are hoping to make an announcement on the redevelopment of City Centre South.”

Asked if an anchor tenant had been secured, he added: “I’ll let you know as soon as we have something we are able to announce.”

"A meeting with the ‘top ten’ retail giant is scheduled for this week."

Of course it has, will it be Aldi or Lidl?

[dutchman]

Coventry given '£100m' for City Centre South scheme



A cash boost of almost £100m has paved the way for the redevelopment of Coventry city centre.

The sum - £98.8m in total - is the biggest slice of devolution funding yet approved by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

The move, Coventry City Council said, effectively gave the go-ahead for a major overhaul under a planned £360m scheme.

Dubbed City Centre South, the project includes new homes and shops.

An "anchor store" and cinema are also planned for a complex set to transform the area around Bull Yard, Shelton Square and Market Way.

The concept was first discussed in 2011 and branding it "ambitious and exciting", council leader George Duggins said Coventry residents had "waited too long for improvements to the city centre".

He said: "It's no less than Coventry people deserve and a wonderful early Christmas present for the city."

WMCA chair Cllr Bob Sleigh said the funding was a "great example of how our devolution deal is beginning to have a real impact".

The City Centre South site, bordered by Upper Precinct, Greyfriars Road and Warwick Road, connects to Bull Yard, where it picks up the new boulevard connection to the railway station.

A developer is yet to be selected.

So there's still no developer, no department store and probably no cinema either. The council is living in a fantasy world.

[rebbonk]

The council is living in a fantasy world.

Nowt new there, and as usual the electorate are paying for their dreaming.

[dutchman]

When they had better shops they didn't use them, they preferred to go to Birmingham or Leamington and pay a lot more more for the same item than they would do in Coventry.

And why would anyone open a cinema complex in the Bull Yard when there's another one just a short walk away, and that only opened as an excuse to get a drinking and gambling licence.

[dutchman]

Town hall bosses reveal plan to create 'second largest shopping destination in the Midlands'



A £300m plan to put Coventry on the map as a shopping and leisure destination today moved a step closer.

Council House bosses announced that the Bull Yard, Shelton Square, City Arcade and Hertford Street will be transformed in a multi-million project to create the “second largest shopping destination in the West Midlands”.

A developer was announced to bring the massive project to life by 2022, with work set to start in 2020.

The development proposals, which have been compared to the Touchwood centre in Solihull, include:

• A major department store;

• Three major flagship stores;

• Up to 50 new retail units;

• Top name restaurants;

• A multi-storey car park;

• A cinema and other leisure uses, possibly including a bowling alley;

• A new hotel.

Private accommodation and student accommodation will also be built as part of the scheme to connect the circular market with the rest of the city.

The City Centre South scheme will create 1,500 permanent jobs in the city, with 2,000 more being created during the construction stage.

he cost of the scheme will mostly be met by the developer, the Shearer Property Group, however funding of up to £98.8m for the scheme has been approved by the West Midlands Combined Authority.

The Shearer Property Group is behind schemes such as Parkway in Newbury, Grand Arcade in Cambridge as well as the new restaurant quarter at Cathedral Lanes.

Councillors have also given permission for officers to enter into talks with property owners and tenants in buildings needed as part of the regeneration scheme.

The development is the next step in the new look city centre, following work at Broadgate and the rail station, as well as key sites around the city such as Coventry University and the Council House. And it comes as old buildings are being demolished in New Union Street to create a new water park and leisure centre.

The fantasists have now gone from promising one new flagship store they can't name to three new flagship stores they can't name!