George Eliot's Coventry home being converted to Arabic school
Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 6:22 pm
The world-acclaimed novelist George Eliot’s listed Coventry home is being quietly converted to an Arabic school – despite a highly supported campaign for it to become a global asset for the city
Builders are on site at the Grade II* listed Bird Grove house in George Eliot Road, Foleshill, where a sign explains its planned future use.
There is no evidence that planning or any other permission, if needed, has been sought to change the use of the building, which had been closed and forlorn, guarded by an imposing steel fence.
According to Land Registry documents, Bird Grove’s four named current owners include Labour city councillor Rois Ali. It was latterly used as a Bangladesh Centre and has been advertised as ‘to let’.
Several restaurant and takeaway premises owned by Coun Ali have operated by tenants without planning permission or been served enforcement notices, this newspaper has revealed.
Coun Ali has not declared he owns Bird Grove in the council’s Register of Members’ Interests, which only states he is a director of the Bangladesh Centre Limited at the address.
Since October, we have tried to contact Coun Ali and the centre to learn more about their intentions for the large nineteenth-century detached house.
There is no longer even a plaque at Bird Grove, where the Fellowship used to offer tours inside to international visitors.
Following our further approaches to council figures, Coun Ali responded, saying he was unaware of the building’s listed status and had believed, without checking, that no planning or other consent would be needed, given the building’s previous community and educational use, which had fallen on hard times.
He added the Arabic school had a short-term tenancy rather than a long lease.
Asked about the campaign, he said: “It’s a good idea. It’s clearly a good asset and the directors need to have discussions about the potential uses for the building.”
He said that would have to wait until the return from Bangladesh next month of the Bangladesh Centre chairman Motasem Ali, another of the building’s four registered owners (the others are Azir Uddin and Abdul Hasnat).
We are seeking a response from the council.