Coventry's 'lost' river 'could be worth £1.5bn if restored'

[dutchman]

Riverside regeneration plans in Coventry set for extra £300k council funding as costs soar



Coventry council is set to give an extra £300,000 to a riverside regeneration scheme in the centre after costs soared over two years. Senior councillors will be asked to give the nod to a £318,000 boost that could see the project finally go ahead this summer.

Plans for a new public space on Palmer Lane by the hidden River Sherbourne were put forward by the council and Historic Coventry Trust in 2021.

Designs got the green light and the council agreed to give the scheme almost £1 million from reserves - matched by a similar amount from outside bodies.

But final designs and legal land agreements are only finished two years on and the cost of the project is almost half a million pounds more than it was. There is now a funding gap of £473,000 which will be filled by both the council and the historic trust, which will give an extra £155,000.

The council's report blames the rise in costs on high inflation and a spike in labour and material costs.

"The Palmer Lane project has continued to detailed design level throughout the year of 2021 and 2022 to a point where final designs are in place and legal land agreements are concluded," it states.

"Following early contractor engagement with a framework construction company the project will need further funding in order to deliver the overall Palmer Lane scheme This increase in cost is a consequence of high inflation over the last 12 months and increases in labour and material costs that we have seen during 2022/2023."

Asked why the scheme was delayed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration Cllr Jim O'Boyle said there were several reasons, including time taken to get funding in place.

"There was obviously lockdown which knocked everything back quite substantially," he added. "There has been a long, protracted legal discussion with various landowners in the area to procure land needed in order to access the site itself. That has taken much longer than any of us would have liked."

He said the rising costs of construction and inflation were out of the council's control - and stressed that if the money isn't agreed, the scheme and funding for it will be lost.

"We promised to do it and we are going to do it," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Palmer Lane is the only place the River Sherbourne can be seen in Coventry city centre. The idea of opening more of the river up to public view was agreed by the council back in 2018.

In 2021, the council agreed to pump £950,000 from corporate capital receipts into the project which included turning the area into a new "visitor experience" for the city, with landscaping, lighting and sustainability improvements.

The decision to give the extra £318,000 to the scheme, also from the council's corporate reserves, will go to members of the Cabinet next week. If it's approved, the council will get a contractor in place and aim to start work on the site in summer 2023.

[rebbonk]

Complete waste of money.

[dutchman]

Changes agreed to £2.4 million Coventry riverside scheme



Changes to a £2.4 million riverside scheme in Coventry city centre have been agreed. A planned balcony and some seating at the site in Palmer Lane have been scrapped under new council plans.

The project to create a space for the public by the River Sherbourne started earlier this year and is due to be done by December. But in June the Coventry City Council applied to amend the scheme's layout including landscaping and a pub garden wall.

Reports reveal a council officer had "concerns" about the new arrangement and how it may "devalue" the original plan. They pointed to limited space for wheelchair users without the metal deck above the culvert entrance, with seating now "dominating" the area.

However, the council said an area of smooth cobbles would be put in place to make the site more accessible. A planned bench will also be removed so people using wheelchairs can overlook the river.

Officers concluded the designs are acceptable and the overall plan will still improve a neglected area of the city. Planning documents also reveal that a key feature of the area - turning the Illingworth Building into a cafe/restaurant with outdoor seating - has not come forward.

An officer said the lack of progress on this part of the scheme was "notable" and stressed that it is an important part of "natural surveillance" for the area. New landscaping also means there will not be a space for people to look out over the river from the garden of neighbouring pub the Coventry Cross, the report added.

But according to the council the pub does not want to explore adding the outdoor space to the scheme. Officers concluded the scheme will still have "significant" benefits for an "underappreciated" area and approved the change last week, 4 October.