New green spaces to break up Coventry's 'concrete jungle'.

[dutchman]

Coventry City Council says new grassy areas are being introduced in the city centre after local residents called for more green space.


The grass outside Holy Trinity Church and Greyfriars Green which is to be extended

The first area of grass has been laid outside Holy Trinity Church, opposite Primark, while an extension of Greyfriars Green, between the Bull Yard and the Railway Station, is also planned.

Telegraph readers have complained Broadgate looks “sparse and bare” after its facelift, with calls from the public for more greenery.

But Coun John Mutton, leader of the council reckons lawn in Trinity Street will complement the “openness” of Broadgate, while trees will create a “boulevard feel”.

Coun Mutton said: “People were clear form the start that they wanted more greenery in the city centre – so we have made sure that two big ‘city centre’ lawns were added into our bigger plans to transform Broadgate, the route to the station and the setting of some of our finest buildings.

“The new lawn outside Holy Trinity Church really transforms the look and feel of the area.

“The church looks fantastic now all the bus stops that were in front of it have been removed and now there is a large grassed area for people to enjoy.

“Once the trees are in it will look different again. They will help to create a green boulevard feel and I hope everyone will be as impressed as me with how it looks.

“The lawn will beautifully complement the openness of Broadgate, our fantastic new events space in the heart of the city centre, which we are already bringing to life with a packed calendar of events.

“I hope people will be as pleased as me with how it looks. Of course it is just the start - now we need to secure planning permission for the city centre south plan and secure a developer to turn the plan into a reality.”

The original city centre blueprint had to be redrawn after hundreds complained the plans were too grey, with some joking that the council must have shares in a paving slab company. But planners have resisted calls to reinstate grass in Broadgate, saying it would become muddy and unused.

[dutchman]

The original city centre blueprint had to be redrawn after hundreds complained the plans were too grey, with some joking that the council must have shares in a paving slab company.

[Spuffler]

I haven't been in the city centre for about 30 years, but I have looked on Google Streetview, and what I saw shocked me - it just didn't look like the Coventry I knew and loved. The great mistake was pulling down what was left of the old city centre after the War, and turning it into a brick and concrete pedestrian nightmare. To give a city centre life requires close interaction between shops, roads, and people, and Coventry's city centre simply doesn't do that. The pedestrians are just an add-on to the architects' dream (brainstorm?) and cars, buses, roads? They don't figure at all, do they? I can just see the model in my mind's eye: a few plastic people dotted about in a grand scheme, so as to try to make it look inviting. Every architect's scheme that I have seen for decades now for revamping a town or city centre followed the same hackneyed dreariness; bland boxes surrounding bland, lifeless, soulless squares. A monument to the architect, but a mausoleum to the life of the city or town centre. There is only one solution - bulldoze it and start again, with a plan where people are central to the scheme, instead of incidental to it.

[dutchman]

I like the new green space in Hales Street (viewable on Google Street View). It finally opens up Palmer Lane which has been hidden from view for centuries: