Huge £120 million plan to transform Spon End in Coventry

[dutchman]

Blocks of flats will be demolished and hundreds of new homes built



Plans have been announced to transform Spon End in Coventry with a £120 million investment to create new homes and rejuvenate existing ones. The investment in the area - and the Spon End estate specifically - is being made by social housing provider Citizen.

The redevelopment will see the demolition of three existing blocks and 750 new homes built over the next ten years. Proposed plans are subject to consultation with the Spon End estate community and today’s announcement follows the first phase of plans outlined for Spon End in 2020 which will see Kerry House, Milestone House and Trafalgar House demolished and replaced by a mix of new homes.

The announcement follows a consultation event where residents told Citizen they want Spon End to be a safe place to live. Feedback from residents also asked for homes that are more modern with improved energy efficiency.

There were also calls from the community for a pleasant environment with more quality green space and improved car parking.

The proposed plans would see the redevelopment of the below areas:

• Kerry House, Milestone House and Trafalgar House
  
• Spon Gate House
  
• Grindlay House, Drinkwater House and George Poole House
  
• Gardner House, Fennel House, Winslow House, Corrie House and Givens House
  
• Wellington Gardens, Sherbourne Street and Upper Spon Street (85-99).

Citizen say the huge redevelopment proposals for Spon End will deliver new, modern, safer homes which are energy efficient. It will also create a central green space in the middle of the estate.

Other benefits include improving and opening up the River Sherbourne, better connectivity across the estate and more car parking. The project will also see the creation of a community fund to deliver local projects, along with employment and training opportunities for local people.

Kevin Rodgers, chief executive at Citizen, said: “I’m delighted to announce our ambitious proposed plans for Spon End today. Alongside working on the rehousing of residents in Kerry House, Milestone House, and Trafalgar House over the last two years, we have been developing a masterplan for the rest of Spon End to ensure we deliver what members of the community have told us is important to them and what they think we need to do to improve the area.

“After careful consideration of all the options available, we believe undertaking extensive redevelopment of Spon End will enable us to deliver the transformation our customers have told us they want to see. I look forward to hearing feedback on our proposed plans from the community and I really hope our proposed £120 million redevelopment of Spon End is well received.”

Councillor David Welsh, cabinet member for housing and communities at Coventry City Council, said: “We have a real opportunity to transform Spon End, providing good quality affordable housing we really need in Coventry. The views of residents in Spon End are key in shaping this work and driving it forward.”

The demolition of Kerry House, Milestone House and Trafalgar House is set to start in spring 2023. If the proposed plans are approved the construction of the first homes will begin in 2024.

[dutchman]

In case of any confusion the view in the post above is (roughly) from the junction of Upper Spon Street and The Butts (bottom dead-centre) looking towards the Skydome (top dead-centre).

It's noticeable that the former pub and shops in Upper Spon Street (left-centre) and Meadow House tower block (top-left) have not been included in the scheme.

[dutchman]

Why are they doing a building repairs survey of the remaining low-rise flats if they are planning to knock them down in the near future?