COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

"I have no choice but to close down"



Shop owners have been left 'heartbroken' over a redevelopment scheme, with many forced to relocate to other areas in the city - and some are even shutting down their business for good. The City Centre South development is a major £450m regeneration project in the city centre.

The 12-year long project will see hundreds of new flats, affordable homes and retail space replace buildings at the City Arcade, Bull Yard, Market Way, Shelton Square and Hertford Street. Demolition is expected to begin next autumn.

This means dozens of shop owners in the area will have to leave the area. However, some independent retailers in the area say they are facing crisis.

CoventryLive has spoken to businesses affected by the City Centre South development.

Donna, owner of the Tomlinson Flower Company, is worried about losing her customer base when she leaves the area. Rent elsewhere is also much more expensive, she said.

The retail space on offer after the City Centre South scheme is also too costly for her - along with what she says is a waiting time of five years to apply. She is unsure where her business will end up, and said she has not been offered any help.

Donna told CoventryLive: "It would be a minimum of five years before there is an available space in a new development for the City Centre South scheme. So where are we supposed to go between that time to continue trading?

"And the available units are just way out of price range. No one has ever been in here to talk to us and offer help.

"It is worrying. It's been ongoing for 10 years and it's been in the making.

"We knew eventually it would happen. There's not that much help or anywhere else that is available.

"Where do we go to? There are units available outside of town, but we have a good client base in the city centre.

"They're coming in asking us where we are going, and hope that we stay in town. Once you move and start somewhere else, you're really starting again from scratch."

Many businesses were struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic due to the lockdown - and some had to even eat into their savings. James Coote, one of the Managing Directors of Escape Games, said his shop suffered when Covid-19 hit.

And now, they are facing another hurdle with the project and will have to relocate. However, James said the rent they have been offered elsewhere is nearly double what they are paying now.

Without higher expenses and less revenue coming in, James said they may have no choice but to close down the shop for good. He told CoventryLive: "We're going to have to find somewhere to move to. Before the pandemic would not be a considerable issue as we had a reasonable amount in our bank.

"We were quite comfortable. If we had to move at any point before the pandemic we would have had the funds to do so.

"The government paid for two-thirds of our rent over two years, but we had to find a third of our rent with no revenue. So we had to close for two years which meant we had to empty our savings to stay open.

"We come back from the pandemic and they announced they're going to be destroying a third of the city centre. If they provided like-for-like, a place with equivalent rent and size, that wouldn't have been a major issue.

"The places they're offering to us are twice our current rent. Which means we have to find a significantly more rent deposit and three months' rent upfront. We're looking at a shortfall of £10,000, which is not easy to manufacture when we're suffering through one of the worst hits to our economy that we've seen in our lifetime."

Some retailers are worried about the uncertainty ahead because they have not been given a set date to pack up and relocate. They worry this could affect their stock and customers as they are unable to plan for the future - if for example, they decide to close down the business.

Ahmed, who works for his aunt's shop Skud Clothing, is urging the council not to leave shop owners in the dark and give them more clarity on when they can vacate the area. The shop has been running at Coventry's City Arcade for 22 years.

Ahmed told CoventryLive: "No one has come to talk to us and speak about opportunities to move to other locations. Christmas is coming up, how much stock do we buy? How do we run the business?

"There is no clarity on when we can leave. If there's clarity on when we can start clearing our stock and putting sales on. It's very disheartening because you can't run the business like that. When customers are coming in and asking where we're relocating, we can't tell them anything.

"When you're on a contract, you can't even move out the area so we'll just be waiting without knowing anything. We just want more clarity. We've been here 22 years.

"If I can't find a unit with similar rent, I'm going to have to close down. So what am I going to do with my stock?"

Nemat, owner of Tailor Quick Stitch, said he will be closing down his shop. He told CoventryLive: "It's very stressful. I was trying to look for somewhere else to rent and I couldn't find anywhere with the rent price I'm paying now.

"You can see this area is empty, there is no one. Since your business is down, you don't have enough money to go somewhere else.

"We don't have a lot of benefits from this property to find the money and get another place. The other place is a lot more expensive so we have to close down.

"We don't have a choice, there is nowhere we can go. The other shops who had the money found somewhere else, but we didn't have any choice so we stayed."

New fire safety rules delay city redevelopment



Plans to redevelop Coventry city centre have been delayed due to new fire safety rules.

Regulations introduced in July now require all new buildings more than 18m (59ft) high to have at least two stairwells.

Some buildings involved in the £450m project will have to be redesigned to fit the regulations.

Applications for the project were going to be submitted in summer 2023 but will now be sent off at the end of the year.

The scheme had also been affected by "inflation challenges", but was "still on track", Coventry City Council said.

Developers were making changes which would lead to a "reserved matters planning application early next year", the authority added.

Around 1,500 homes will be created by the project along with new shops, leisure and public spaces.

It will replace buildings at the City Arcade, Bull Yard, Hertford Street and Shelton Square.

The delay means that the buildings can stay open until next year, including the LTB showrooms which runs within the old Litten Tree pub.

Funding for City Centre South project

A huge part of Coventry City Centre is one step closer to regeneration after an additional £12.24 million has been approved by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

The money will be used to unlock the Coventry City Centre South scheme, and help transform outdated areas of the city, including Bull Yard, Shelton Square, City Arcade, and Hertford Street.

It brings the WMCA’s total funding for City Centre South to £113 million. Coventry City Council is contributing £32 million.

The additional £12.24 million is needed due to increased costs resulting from the revised Government Building Regulations and Building Safety Act.

The project has previously benefited from a commitment to provide £98.75 million from the WMCA, with £21 million drawn to date which has been used to acquire existing properties, undertake initial demolition work, and fund planning costs.

The WMCA has already invested £39.4 million in the regeneration of Coventry railway station and £51.2 million into Friargate, one of the largest mixed-use developments in the Midlands.

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change for Coventry City Council, said: “This is great news and the additional funding means that the developer can now get on site and get cracking.

“City centres are changing – and Coventry is no exception - so this investment will help to ensure our city centre can continue to prosper. It will create a thriving, bustling new community that can help to support shops and restaurants and leisure attractions. It will also create jobs and apprenticeships which is good news too.”

Andy Hill, Group Chief Executive of The Hill Group, said: “I’m delighted the additional funding has been approved by the WMCA for this exciting development. City Centre South is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to deliver a game-changing project that will rejuvenate the city centre and spearhead the long-anticipated regeneration of this quarter of Coventry.”

Cllr Ian Courts, leader of Solihull Council and portfolio holder for housing and land for the WMCA, said: “This significant investment in Coventry will I’m sure help the city centre thrive and it’s great to see WMCA being able to support the City Council with their vision for the town.

“We want our investments to provide the best quality of life for residents, creating homes and communities that are safe and affordable. This additional money will ensure both, and I am sure this project will bring about a new decade of opportunity for Coventry.”

Shop owner 'in the dark' amid city centre revamp



A businessman has said he has been left in the dark about when he will have to leave his premises amid a multimillion-pound redevelopment of Coventry city centre.

Sabur Kirimi runs a tailor shop in the City Arcade but fears he may lose custom once he has to relocate.

Shoppers have also told the BBC they are in favour of the Coventry City Centre South £450m makeover but wish they had a better idea of how and when the plans will unfold.

The city council has declined the chance to comment.

The redevelopment sees areas including City Arcade, Bull Yard, Market Way, Shelton Square and Hertford Street being transformed.

It makes way for 1,000 homes along with shops, bars and restaurants to create a "thriving" new neighbourhood, but some shop owners fear the impact it could have on their livelihood.

Just a handful of businesses remain in the area to be redeveloped, waiting until they are told they will have to leave, BBC CWR reported.

Mr Kirimi, who moved to the UK from Afghanistan in 2015, said: "From 2018, it was good I had no problems but now that has changed.

"They [the council] haven't helped me find anything else. I've waited, I've asked, I've sent emails, but I’ve heard nothing at the moment.

"I have a wife and two kids, I'm worried about how I will provide for them."

Regular shoppers Charlie Rowan-Lancaster and Casey Leaver from Earlsdon said the area did not feel as busy as it could be.

"It might be helpful to have some indication of the timescale in some of these boarded up shops. Something visual to manage expectations, that would make a difference to help you to see what is coming rather than what is not here," they said.

Demolition for the first phase of the project is due to commence in early 2025, subject to approval by the council.

Closure date for Coventry's City Arcade announced by council



The City Arcade has been languishing empty for weeks now but a recent update from Coventry City Council has confirmed when it is set to fully close to the public. The old shopping centre has been vacated by every business that used to call it home and today, it’s only purposes are as a public walkway and as a home to hordes of pigeons.

However, the state of the City Arcade is due to the upcoming City Centre South development that is set to rejuvenate this part of the city centre with new shops, homes, and entertainment venues. The development will also include a hotel, cinema, and new open spaces for the public to enjoy.

In a statement, a Coventry City Council spokesperson said that “the Council has worked with the local traders to vacate the City Arcade area. We anticipate that the area will be closed to public access during November 2024 and diversion signage will be put up.”

This aligns with what Coventry Live witnessed when we went to the City Arcade in mid October, as we saw staff from the council tending to some of the vacant units. The next step, once closed off, will be for the contractors to start work on the site.

It’s not just the City Arcade either. Hertford House, Barracks multi-storey car park, and commercial buildings around Shelton Square and the Bull Yard are all set to undergo the same process of vacating, closing, and demolishing.

What is does mean for Coventry’s more central inhabitants and businesses is that work on the City Arcade is on the horizon. You’ll just have to find a different way to cut through from Queen Victoria Rd to Market Way.