Disruption around Gosford Street begins today...

[dutchman]

As part of a £7 million pound project, Gosford Street will be opened up and the number of lanes of traffic reduced to make it more attractive for visitors and university students.



From today Gosford Street, Cox Street, Whitefriars Street and Jordan Well will be closed for 7 weeks so the work can take place.

Signs, traffic lights and road markings will be removed to make it the city’s first ‘shared space.’

Councillor Lindsley Harvard, Cabinet Member for City Services said: “The eyes of the world will be on us in 2012 when we have more Olympic activity in Coventry than in any other city outside London.

“This is very exciting by itself – but I am just as excited about the improvements we are making in the city centre because they will be the real, lasting legacy for local people.”

How the same area looked in 1963:

[dutchman]

Dutchy, that looks like a commercial area and a street lined with what looks like a good mix of old buildings.

Yes it was Flapdoodle, second only in variety of shops to Far Gosford Street.

How many places like this were demolished?

There were 17 buildings in that row alone Nos 1-17 Gosford Street, of which 16 were family owned businesses.

There were similar rows of commercial buildings between the Herbert and the traffic lights, between Much Park Street and the Gaumont (Odeon), between Whitefriars Ale House and the flyover, and at sporadic intervals all the way down to the bottom of the hill on the left hand side.

This is the view from opposite the Herbert looking down the street towards the crossroads prior to 1963:


Our teacher at St Mary's primary school was lecturing us on the importance of Tudor buildings at the same time the education department was pulling them down to build extensions to the college!

That street is now absolutely ghastly, with a big blank wall along one side!

I have felt physically sick when looking at it ever since I was forced to leave (along with many others) in 1967.