'Forgotten' statue to get more prominent home...

[dutchman]

The iconic Phoenix statue will be relocated as part of a regeneration project



A statue left forgotten amid extensive city centre demolition work will get new pride of place as part of the regeneration project.

The work at Bull Yard and Warwick Row has left the Phoenix statue in a secluded corner, tucked away next to a fast-food stand.

The statue was created by Coventry artist George Wagstaffe to represent the people of the city rising like a phoenix after the devastating damage of the Blitz.

A council spokesperson said there were plans for the statue to be relocated, once work was finished, at one of the entrances to the City Centre South development.

They added the statue was "an important piece of Coventry's history".

It was unveiled in May 1962 by Princess Margaret and then recast in bronze in 1983 and given a second unveiling in June 1984 by the then Lord Mayor.

The statue was originally displayed on its brickwork plinth on Market Way, between the former Woolworth store (later Poundland and now Boots) and BHS (now Sports Direct) in the city centre pedestrian precinct, near where the fountain stands today.

A few years after the new bronze cast was finished, the piece was relocated to the bottom of Hertford Street when the precinct was redesigned.

The new development, expected to take nine years to fully realise, will see more than 1,000 new apartments built alongside shops, food and entertainment outlets.