The move will kick-start a five-year £30million restoration and regeneration programme
Coventry City Council will hand over the ownership of more than 25 historic buildings and sites in a deal believed to be one of the largest transfers of such assets ever in the UK.
The move to transfer 22 properties and five adjoining sites - ranging from two Grade I listed 14th-century monasteries to a row of 19th-century shops - has been sanctioned by the city council’s cabinet.
The properties, which include the Charterhouse Heritage Park, Whitefriars Monastery and a row of shops in the Burges, have been transferred to community heritage organisation the Historic Coventry Trust.
While the move raises concerns over the council giving up some of the jewels in the city’s crown, the move has been welcomed by Historic England, which said it will kick-start a five-year £30m restoration and regeneration programme.
That will see the buildings repaired and found new, sustainable re-uses - with many of them receiving funding from Historic England through the Coventry Heritage Action Zone project.
The council says the transfer will not take place until funding for restoration has been secured.
The 27 historic buildings and sites, which cover 500 years of Coventry’s history, are:* 13 properties, mostly shops, in The Burges conservation area
* The Charterhouse Heritage Park, Coach House and Charterhouse Fields
* Drapers Hall
* The Anglican Chapel in London Road Cemetery
* The Non-Conformist Chapel in London Road Cemetery
* 3 to 5 Priory Row (three properties known as the Lychgate Cottages)
* Swanswell Gatehouse
* Cooks Street Gatehouse
* Whitefriars Gatehouse and adjoining land (comprising three properties
* Whitefriars Monastery and adjoining land
More smoke and mirrors, it's the council housing transfer fiasco all over again.
