COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

The first granite slabs have been laid as part of a £7m project which will transform a square in Coventry ahead of the 2012 Olympics.



The plans are for Broadgate to have more trees, a traffic-free zone and subways to be altered.

Rising bollards will be provided at each end of Broadgate to ensure the safety of pedestrians while allowing access for emergency vehicles.

The project has been expected to be completed by spring next year.

The new square was being part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, the city council said.

Councillor Linda Bigham, cabinet member for city development, said: "An event space in the centre of the city has been lacking and is just what we need.

"We will now be able to offer the events and entertainment that the people of Coventry have been wanting."

WORKERS have begun to lay the first slabs in the new look £7 million Broadgate - but opinion is divided.



The pink granite slabs are being placed along Trinity Street, to finish off the work for the new pedestrianised square.

Councillors say the "high quality" slabs were chosen to reflect the local materials used in the nearby roads and in the Coventry Cathedral quarter.

But the slabs have brought a mixed reaction from Coventry residents.

Some residents said the work outside Cathedral Lanes Shopping Centre would be a vast improvement – while another likened it to ‘a fairground’.

"It will be an improvement once the work is finished but right now it looks quite intrusive. There is nowhere to sit while the work is being done and it is not a nice place to be right now.

"I’m sure the pink slabs will look nice but they will only stay like that if they are kept clean. They just need to be maintained."