COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

It says it had 'no choice' but to leave the town centre



A huge firm is to leave its headquarters in Nuneaton after decades.

It has been revealed that the Heart of England Co-operative is to move its head office from within the arcade off Abbey Street.

The firm says it has had ‘no choice’ but to move its whole HQ and has found a new home eight miles away in Coventry .

The move comes just two years after the flagship Co-op store, based just yards from the HQ, was closed.

In the firm’s annual report, it states: “For the past six years, the society has been in regular discussions with Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council about their plan to re-develop the town centre.

"The society are currently in negotiations for the sale of our head office site.

"It is with great reluctance that the society had no choice but to move out to new premises.

“We have been searching for some time for a new head office building in the Nuneaton area.

"However, despite our concerted efforts to find a suitable site and premises in Nuneaton , we have not been successful.

“Consequently we have had no choice but to relocate to the nearest available location which meets our requirements.

"We have recently identified a site which meets our requirements just north of Coventry at Whittle House, Courtaulds Way, Coventry, on the former Courtaulds site.”

Coventry Live contacted the Co-op for a comment but the firm chose not to take the opportunity to provide one.

Co-op to make a comeback to Nuneaton town centre



The Co-op could be making a comeback to Nuneaton town centre just over two years after the firm shut up shop.

The business could be taking over the former Caves fruit and veg shop in Queens Road and opening a new food store.

The firm has applied for permission from Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council to be able to sell alcohol from the former well-known grocers from 7am until 10pm, Mondays to Saturdays, and Sundays between 8am and 8pm.

In a statement, the firm said: "The Heart of England Co-operative Society has been exploring various opportunities with a view to once again opening a food store in the town centre and has identified the former Caves Fruit & Vegetable store as a potential site.

"Negotiations are still continuing however we can confirm that, in accordance with standard practice, we have submitted an Application for Provisional Statement under the Licensing Act 2003."

In the meantime, Coventry Live probed for further news on the future of the huge empty former Co-op department store building, just up the road from the potential new store.

Back in May, it was revealed that ‘negotiations’ were ongoing into the sale of the building .

Generations of families shopped at the store, which had a presence in the town for more than 130 years, but its last day of trading was on Saturday, June 18 2016.

But there is no further news as yet according to the statement, which read: “In terms of the Co-op building in Abbey Street, there is nothing further to report at this stage.”

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has bought the iconic former Co-op store in Nuneaton town centre



It has been announced that the council has purchased the former department store in Abbey Street from The Heart of England Co-operative Society.

It was put on the market back in 2016 with a price tag of more than £6million but the council has not yet revealed how much it paid for the building.

A Town Hall spokesperson said the information is confidential due to "commercial sensitivity".

According to the council, there are no firm plans for the landmark town centre property, other than for 'future development as part of the Transforming Nuneaton Programme'.

Ali Kurji, chief executive of the Heart of England Co-operative Society, said: “Our former Nuneaton department store has always played an important role in our own 180-year history and indeed has served as our head office for the past 90 years.

“We are delighted that an agreement has now been reached with the borough council and particularly pleased that the site will continue to play an important part in the town’s future.”

Generations of families shopped at the store, which had a presence in the town for more than 130 years, but its last day of trading was on Saturday, June 18 2016.

Efforts were also made by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, as well as the town’s MP, Marcus Jones, to persuade bosses to retain some of the store’s more popular departments, such as sofas and toys.

But their pleas fell on deaf ears and the Art Deco building, which housed everything from a food hall to electrics and the famed Santa's Grotto at Christmas, was closed.

County council asked to fork out £1.5m towards iconic Co-op store



County council bosses are being asked to fork out £1.5million towards the cost of the former Co-op building in Nuneaton town centre.

It has emerged in a report to Warwickshire County Council's cabinet members that Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has requested that Shire Hall contribute towards the price paid for the building in Abbey Street and future works.

Back in January, the borough council announced that it had bought the building, which has stood empty since the Co-op closed in June 2016.

Now, in a report to members of the county council's cabinet, it says that the Town Hall has asked for a contribution of £1.5m towards the cost.

According to the Land Registry, the building was sold for £2.6m. More costs will be involved for the planed demolition works, which are set to safeguard the Art Deco features within the building.

There will be two reports to go before the county council's cabinet on Thursday (April 11) - a public report and an exempt report.

No details about the long-term plans have been revealed but in the county council public report it eludes [sic] to a 'leisure' use but adds no further detail.

"Financial support has been requested from WCC by NBBC to support the initial costs associated with the purchase of the former Co-op Department Store (and associated properties), demolition and remediation of the site within a relatively short timescale," the report states.

"The Co-op building forms a key part of the site for the leisure scheme, alongside the Abbey Street car park which is in NBBC’s full ownership, and it is therefore essential that the site was secured and demolition / remediation works now progress.

"The request to WCC for support with the purchase is ahead of NBBC completing their full business case for the wider development scheme."

Members of the county council's cabinet will discuss both reports on Thursday.

Nuneaton: Wall collapses at former Co-op



Part of a former Co-op building has collapsed.

The building on Abbey Street in Nuneaton was bought by the borough council earlier this year and was in the process of being demolished.

Some debris from the building fell on to the scaffolding, causing it to collapse against the building, within the safety exclusion zone, the authority said.

Nobody was injured when the brickwork came down at about 10:55 BST.

Eyewitness Paul Hancock, who was in a nearby coffee shop at the time, said part of the roof at the rear of the building was being removed by workers when a section at the front collapsed on to the scaffolding at the front.

He said he watched as the front of the building came "tumbling down".

The company that was demolishing the building said it appeared there was a failure in the roof, which caused brickwork to fall on to scaffolding.

Cawarden managing director William Crooks said the firm would be investigating the cause, but explained the roof was "not in that good condition".

The company was five weeks into a 10-week demolition of the building and had been hoping to pull down more of it on Wednesday, but had stopped to make it safe, Mr Crooks said.

He added there had been safety barriers around the site at the time, to prevent anyone getting too close.

Residents in Nuneaton told the BBC children's rides had been set up close to the former Co-op store for an event a day earlier.

They had been cleared away by Wednesday morning and Cawarden said safety barriers surrounded the building before work started on Wednesday.

An area has been cordoned off and Warwickshire Police has asked people to avoid Abbey Street.

£900k plans for landmark building in Nuneaton town centre revealed



The old art deco part of Nuneaton's former Co-op store will be transformed into a hub to house innovative new businesses in the town centre.

CoventryLive can reveal that plans are in the pipeline to refurbish the upper floors of the former Co-op art deco building.

It will then be used to provide office/workshop space to accommodate and support new, creative and innovative businesses in the town centre.

Similar places for start-up businesses in neighbouring Birmingham, including the Custard Factory in Digbeth, have been a huge success at attracting start-up businesses.

A bid is being made to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for the funding to pay for the works by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council with the help of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

A CWELP spokesman explained the bid is for £895,630 and, if successful, the work could start and be completed by 2022.