Tower block in Wyken to be demolished to make way for new homes

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The Vincent Wyles House tower block, which is made up of 144 flats, will be demolished



A tower block in Wyken is to be demolished and replaced by new homes as part of a £21m regeneration project which aims to transform the area over the next five years

The Vincent Wyles House tower block, which is made up of 144 flats, will be demolished and 93 new homes will be built in its place.

It is the first part of a project by Citizen, the new name for WM Housing Group and Whitefriars Housing, and follows a consultation with residents living in two tower blocks - Vincent Wyles House and William Malcolm House in Atoxhall Road.

Citizen said the consultation revealed “low satisfaction from residents living in the blocks”.

Fifteen-storey William Malcolm House, made up of 112 flats, will not be demolished but refurbished.

The five year project will be completed in 2024.

A survey of residents who live in the blocks revealed only one in five said it was a good place to live and 40 per cent said the area needed to be improved with crime and anti-social behaviour topping the list.

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A survey of residents who live in the blocks revealed only one in five said it was a good place to live

And yet they are planning to build several replicas of it in Spon End!

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Coventry block of flats dating back to 1960s will be demolished this autumn



A Coventry block of flats dating back to the 1960s will be demolished this autumn. Vincent Wyles House on Attoxhall Road in Wyken has been housing Coventry residents for almost 60 years.

But the block now sits entirely empty, with one time residents rehomed by Citizen Housing, the group that own the building. The housing association has confirmed plans are in place to have the ten-storey building demolished this October, though an exact date is yet to be confirmed.

As reported back in 2019, the erection of a number of houses is planned to replace the flats. Planning permission is not expected to be submitted until next year.

A spokesman for Citizen said: "We’re about to appoint a contractor and expect demolition work to start in October. All the residents have been rehoused. We’re still working on plans for the houses and hope to submit a planning application in spring of next year."

The plans are part of the association's regeneration plans for this section of Wyken. It involved the complete refurbishment of William Malcolm House - a block built at the same time as Vincent Wyles.

A statement on Citizen's website reads: "The regeneration of an area of Wyken will be our first major regeneration project as Citizen, alongside our regeneration of Spon End. Our Vincent Wyles House tower block which is made up of 144 flats will be demolished and 93 new homes will be built in its place.

"Meanwhile, our 15-storey William Malcolm House, made up of 112 flats, will be refurbished. The five year project will be completed in 2024."

Interestingly both blocks were named after former city mayors. Vincent Wyles was mayor in 1931, while William Malcolm held the same position in 1948.

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"Meanwhile, our 15-storey William Malcolm House, made up of 112 flats, will be refurbished."

Apparently not!

Citizen Housing will be bulldozing Vincent Wyles House and William Malcolm House

Two neighbouring high-rise tower blocks will be demolished in Coventry. Vincent Wyles House and William Malcolm House are set to be bulldozed in Wyken. Citizen Housing says the demolition is part of a wider regeneration project for Wyken.

Contracts are currently being finalised for the demolition of Vincent Wyles House to start at the beginning of May. A number of residents have already started to be rehoused ahead of the demolition of William Malcolm House. It is hoped this will be completed by mid-2024.

Around 120 new homes will be built on the land, the housing company said. Consultations with the local community will be taking place later this year.

Director of Regeneration at Citizen Housing Kevin Roach said: “We are just finalising contracts and aim to commence the demolition of Vincent Wyles House at the beginning of May. This forms part of a wider regeneration project for Wyken that we announced in 2019, which will see the neighbouring block, William Malcolm House, also demolished.

“We are currently in the process of rehousing the residents in William Malcolm House and we hope to have this completed by summer 2024. Over the next few months, we will be developing our plans for around 120 new homes that will be built on the site and will consult with the local community during the summer.”