Another Nuneaton town centre shop set to close ahead of bulldozing for regeneration plan

It is due to continue on the market



Another shop in Nuneaton town centre shop is preparing to close ahead of bulldozing for regeneration plan. As we reported in our newsletter, a number of businesses in parts of Bridge Street and Church Street last year received letters telling them that they will soon have to move and find new homes.

Their units are set to be bulldozed as part of the 'Bridge to Living' project. This forms part of the huge Transforming Nuneaton scheme.

Some shops in Bridge Street have already closed and are boarded up. Following on from Complete Home Furnishing, which moved to the Abbeygate Shopping Centre, Keri-Anns beauty shop has announced it is to close its doors too.

Two signs have appeared at the front of the shop, one which says 'half price sale, everything must go'. Another larger, more prominent sign, reads: "This store is closing.

We have a market stall on Wednesday and Saturday. We would like to thank you for all of your custom."

The 'Bridge to Living' scheme will bring new riverside apartments to the area as well as new green space and shops. But it will mean the demolition of some shops on Bridge Street and onto Church Street so that the area towards the River Anker can be opened up.

A planning application has been submitted seeking permission for the scheme but this has yet to be decided. Shops in the demolition area still have until November to move, according to a borough council spokesman.

While this part of the plan is going ahead, there is a sticking point -Mill Walk. The Job Centre in Mill Walk is set to be bulldozed but there is currently a wrangle between the council and DWP over this.

In a statement, council leader, councillor Kris Wilson previously said: "We are in ongoing discussions with the Department of Work and Pensions about the future for the Mill Walk building and the future of that site. However, we are pressing on with the work required to progress the rest of the Bridge to Living project so the overall development doesn’t need to wait for the future of Mill House to be resolved."

Nuneaton town centre shop to shut its doors for good this weekend

A Nuneaton town centre shop will shut its doors forever this weekend. Tomorrow (Saturday, October 8) will be the last day that Keri-Anns beauty shop opens its doors in Bridge Street.

The local business announced it is to close its doors last month and tomorrow will be its last ever day of trade. Staff thanked customers on the firm's page on Facebook, saying: "Saturday 8th October we will be closing our shop doors for the final time.

"We would like to thank all our lovely customers for their support and custom over the years." But while the shop is closing, Kerri-Anns will remain trading on Nuneaton's market.

"We hope that you will continue to support us on Nuneaton market on a Wednesday and Saturday," the Facebook post concluded. The store is the latest in Bridge Street to close ahead of what will be a huge regeneration project in the area.

As we reported in our newsletter, a number of businesses in parts of Bridge Street and Church Street last year received letters telling them that they will soon have to move and find new homes. Their units are set to be bulldozed as part of the 'Bridge to Living' project which will see the area opened-up and bring new riverside apartments to the area as well as new green space and shops.

A planning application has been submitted seeking permission for the scheme but this has yet to be decided.

Major Nuneaton riverside apartments and shops plan hit by delay



Huge plans for riverside apartments and new shops in Nuneaton town centre have been hit by delays. The 'Bridge to Living' project, which encompasses parts of Bridge Street, Church Street and George Eliot memorial garden, will pave the way for new riverside apartments as well as new green space and shops in the area.

But CoventryLive can confirm that this plan has been delayed despite some businesses in parts of Bridge Street and Church moving out after being told to find new homes to pave the way for the regeneration programme. It is no secret that there has been a wrangle between the DWP and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council over its home in Mill Walk, which will need to be demolished as part of the plan to create the apartments near to the River Anker.

On top of this are rising costs associated with the project, part of which was being funded through the £23m given to the council through the government's 'Town Deal' Fund. Town Hall leader, councillor Kris Wilson, said that they have had to 're-programme' some of the Bridge to Living plan as a result.

What elements are being 're-programmed' is not yet publicly known but the leader said that more details will be revealed soon. "Regenerating Nuneaton Town Centre remains a key priority for this administration. Bridge to Living has an important part to play in helping open up the Bridge Street area for residential development, which will complement the Abbey Street development on the other side of the town centre," he said.

“As everyone knows, there has been a global inflationary crisis and as a council we are not immune. This means that we have to re-programme some of this work so it is affordable and deliverable within the budget we have available.

"We are hoping to confirm details of this scheme very soon alongside the rest of the programme of work for Nuneaton town centre. However, it is clear this will begin slightly later than originally planned, and will start later this year."

It is not the only council project delayed due to rising costs. The plan to replace Bedworth's Leisure Centre with a new Physical Activity Hub and new park features has had to be put on hold after it was revealed it will cost almost another £7m - money the council does not currently have.

Nuneaton town centre regeneration project scrapped



A Nuneaton town centre regeneration project has been scrapped. It was revealed by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council leader that the planned flood alleviation project in the town centre has been abandoned.

Earlier this year, Coventry Live reported that the project, which focused in and around the George Eliot Memorial Garden, had stalled but now it has been revealed that it has been ditched altogether. It throws another question mark over the future of the 'Bridge to Living' scheme - which planned to bring riverside apartments and shops to the area.

The £1 million cash for the flood alleviation plan was due to be paid for through the £23m given via the government's 'Town Deal' Fund. Town Hall leader councillor Kris Wilson said that this slice of money will now be given to another regeneration project - but could not say which one.

Conservative councillor Wilson explained that investigation works following new flood mapping being drawn up revealed that the work needed would have cost ten times the amount of funding they had - and would have included the council building its own reservoir. The spot identified for this would have been in Whittleford Park and the Town Hall leader said they did not have the £10m needed nor would want to get rid of the cherished park.

"The solution that came back from the experts is to build a new reservoir, and the site was Whittleford Park, so we face, even if we could find the funding, which would be in excess of £10m... we would lose one of our new destination parks in Whittleford Park and a service that a lot of residents in Stockingford, Galley Common and Camp Hill rely on as a vital local service," Cllr Wilson said.

"So that is a non-starter. Even if you build the thing (reservoir) then you then have to run the thing and that would put an intolerable pressure on the general fund to run a reservoir as it would be needed to be run. We have to prioritise way we do.

"We can't just throw money at a situation. £1m would be a drop in the ocean for what we need and we can direct that money to things which have tangible benefit to residents of Nuneaton and Bedworth in the other regeneration projects."

This was met with opposition by Green Party councillor Keith Kondakor, who said that the council could look at other alternatives. "We do need to take flooding seriously and that £1m may have been targeted to a bad project but we should be looking into detail about a good project. We have a ginormous quarry down Midland Road.

"There are lots of places where we could put water if we think about how do we defend our town centre from flooding. We have fields in Eastboro Way. There are places to spend that £1m if we spend that £1m sensibiy."

His idea to put water 'up hill' in Midland Road was the subject of jibes as well as suggestions that the flooding that hit the town centre in the 1950s would happen again. Cllr Wilson added: "Quite frankly, it is a pipe dream in terms of delivering flood alleviation that is going to cost £10m plus and a reservoir on top of a park that we can't deliver.

"We wouldn't be able to afford to keep it going. Even if we could afford it, where are we going to funnel this water to? He has none of the answers.

"He has all of these ideas and he knows that that they are all undeliverable. I am not a university graduate but even I am intelligent enough to know that trying to pay £10m with £1m ain't going to happen."

Major part of Nuneaton town centre regeneration at risk as funding set to be pulled



A major part of the huge regeneration of Nuneaton town centre is at risk as its funding could be pulled. The 'Bridge to Living' project, which takes in part of Bridge Street, Church Street and George Eliot Memorial Gardens has hit yet another stumbling block.

The original vision was to create new riverside apartments as well as new green spaces and shops. Back in 2021, a number of businesses in parts of Bridge Street and Church Street received letters telling them that they will soon have to move and find new homes.

Many of them either moved or closed, leaving the units standing empty. But then the original project was 're-phased' last year as the planned new retail space was shelved due to costs.

However, at the time, the borough council said that new riverside apartments would still be built. But the project is now at risk again.

According to a cabinet agenda, £3.53m from the Bridge to Living project is set to be re-diverted to Phase 2 of the Grayson Place regeneration project in Abbey Street. Phase 2 of the project includes a new cinema and car park on the former Co-op car park alongside a glass-fronted food hall on land where the old Co-op store stood.

CoventryLive asked the borough council about the future of the Bridge to Living project if the funding was taken away. We also asked what impact this would have on the empty shops in Bridge Street.

In a statement,a spokesman for Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council said: “We are reviewing potential options for the site at the moment.’’

Cabinet members will meet on Wednesday (September 11) to discuss whether to approve the re-allocation of the Bridge to Living funding to Grayson Place Phase 2.