Former city centre restaurant set to be demolished

[dutchman]

The restaurant had been serving pizza and pasta classics to the city for over three decades



A former city centre restaurant which served the people of Coventry for over three decades is going to be demolished.

Ristorante Etna shut its doors after serving up Italian classics for more than 35 years.

The restaurant, on Hertford Street, is set for demolition after a planning application was approved.

The former Italian will make way for a four to five storey building containing 18 one-bedroom serviced apartments.

Also included in the plans is the possibility for a shop, or office space.

Members of the Coventry Society, which aims to promote the environmental, social, economic and cultural improvement of Coventry for the benefit of its residents, asked if Ristorante Etna should be saved as it was was part of Coventry's "collective history".

"A plan to demolish and replace a modest Victorian building with a modern block of little or no architectural value is clearly a controversial one," a newsletter from the Coventry Society last year said.

"The conundrum arises with a recent planning application to demolish the Ristorante Etna in Hertford Street.

"The building appears to have lost an upper storey, perhaps in the last war, so what is left is something of a mish-mash; the rear facing Methodist Hall is unsightly and needs attention.

"However the building planned has no architectural merit and appears to be a poor fit with neighbouring properties.

"However the developers know that this is a shopping street and to ensure that they get planning permission they have included a small shop unit downstairs facing Hertford Street. However the shop unit is tiny and is unlikely to attract a retailer, particularly as it can't be served from the rear because of the flats.

"Etna restaurant will be very familiar to many Coventry people and will hold a small, warm place in their hearts.

"It's part of Coventry's collective history. Is this important enough to argue for its retention?"

[dutchman]

It's one of the last original buildings in Hertford Street: