Coventry's 'lost' river 'could be worth £1.5bn if restored'

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A "lost" river in Coventry could be worth £1.5bn to the city if it were brought back above ground, according to a report.



The River Sherbourne ran through the city centre until the 1960s, when it was channelled into a concrete culvert.

The Environment Agency said the watercourse was now of "poor" quality.

A Defra-funded report by Aecom, the company that designed the Olympics site, said restoring the Sherbourne would have financial benefits.

The report, named The Ripple Effect, was commissioned by Defra's Technology Strategy Board in 2013 to look at the benefits of environmental regeneration of Coventry.

"By allowing green infrastructure to do a proper job in a city, you make it a nice place and create value for that settlement," said Michael Henderson, an associate director with Aecom.

"People like spending time in green spaces and next to rivers and the buildings around rivers enjoy higher property values."

The report suggested better management of Coventry's water cycle and said opening up the river could be worth about £1.5bn over 40 years.

The figure included the benefits of improved water quality, reduced flood risk, water treatment and drainage costs and property values.

The report estimated it would cost about £3.3m to open up the river around the Transport Museum.

Aecom said it was still working on a business case for the project.

Anna Squires from Warwickshire Wildlife Trust said different groups in the city, including Coventry and Warwick Universities and the city council, were discussing the plans.

"It is an exciting time to see a document like this being produced, looking at sustainable urban development in cities," she said.

"For Coventry, the particularly exciting element about the river has sparked a few people's interest. It's a big and ambitious project."

Historian David McGrory said: "In the past, we have always had water running through Coventry.

"Water can make a big difference to a place. It gives heart to a city."

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"Water can make a big difference to a place. It gives heart to a city."

Oh yes, the morons that inhabit this city would love that. Soap suds every other night just like with the fountains in the past.

A non starter from my point of view.

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River Sherbourne plan to create the ‘Godiva Riviera’


Artist's impression of the Godiva Riviera

The ‘‘heritage park’’ would create a green oasis leading in to the city, making the most of some the Coventry’s hidden treasures.

The vision would see two new scenic routes into the city centre from Whitley for walkers and cyclists.

It includes a ‘Godiva Riviera’ plan which would make the most of the River Sherbourne and also make the most of the city’s heritage.

The idea is the vision of Ian Harrabin, the developer of FarGo Village and the chairman of Charterhouse Coventry Presentation Trust.

He said: “Coventry isn’t a great place to walk around, there are just cars and roads everywhere.

“I want to link the city to the surrounding countryside and create a natural corridor into Coventry.”

The park plan involves the ongoing restoration work at the city’s medieval Charterhouse and coincides with a plan to uncover the River Sherbourne, which was revealed by the Telegraph last month.

The first stage of the project involves restoration work to Coventry’s medieval Charterhouse.

A monastic wall - which dates from around 1385 - is already being repaired, but Mr Harrabin wants to bring the whole area back to life.

A sympathetically-designed extension may be built onto the Charterhouse to create a space for a new fine-dining restaurant and cafe.

Mr Harrabin said: “The Charterhouse is right next to London Road Cemetery, which was designed by Joseph Paxton who designed Chatsworth Gardens and the Crystal Palace. I’d always known it was there, but I’d never been inside.

“There are beautiful Grade-1 listed churches, even a non-comformist chapel and a Jewish chapel. Nobody even knows it’s there, because nobody goes in.”

Mr Harrabin wants to restore the chapels and open an old gateway into the cemetery, so that visitors can access it from the Charterhouse.

To make the Charterhouse area more attractive to visitors, a ‘Godiva Riviera’ would be created around a cleaned-up stretch of the River Sherbourne. The plan includes seating alongside the river, stepping stones and a huge wooden walkway.

Mr Harrabin said: “The river is home to an enormous amount of wildlife, but the water needs managing and cleaning. There are buzzards, woodpeckers, kestrels, water voles, even little muntjac deer. All that nature is right next to the city centre, too, which makes Coventry really unusual.”

From the Godiva Riviera, a riverside walk would allow pedestrians and cyclists to walk along the banks of the Sherbourne into the city centre, emerging into the city at Far Gosford Street.

Mr Harrabin also hopes to restore a viaduct, designed by Robert Stephenson.

Mr Harrabin said: “It’s absolutely magnificent but it needs repair.

“Mind you, Virgin Trains go over it every twenty minutes at the moment.

“So already we’ve got Stephenson, Paxton and Thomas Telford, the ‘colossus of roads’ who built London Road – three of the great engineer designers of the Victorian era.

“I just think it’s all been totally forgotten, so we need to pull it together.”

The Heritage Park project would also see a Richard II loop line, a nature walkway through woodland that leads to Gosford Green from the Charterhouse grounds.

It is named after the famous Coventry joust at Gosford Green between the Earl of Derby and the Duke of Norfolk which was halted by an anxious King Richard II, who promptly exiled the competitors.

Mr Harrabin said: “This is dependent on funding from different sources, but the project already has a great deal of support.

“I am hoping the Heritage Park could be completed by Easter 2018.

“We need to make this city a place where big businesses want to set up and invest, and this project would transform Coventry.”

[rebbonk]

Do these people live in the real world?

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Coventry developer unveils first look at plans for new-look waterway



Computer images of how Coventry’s ‘lost river’ could look once it is restored have been released by developers.

The River Sherbourne, which begins in Allesley and flows into the River Sowe in Baginton, is mainly covered by buildings and roads in the city.

But Ian Harrabin, of Complex Development Projects – the developer behind the regeneration of Far Gosford Street – is working up ideas to present to Coventry City Council to open up the river.

The proposals include redeveloping the area bordered by Hales Street and The Burgess with the city’s river at its heart.

Mr Harrabin, who is also the chairman of The Charterhouse Coventry Preservation Trust – which last month secured £4.7million from the Heritage Lottery for the first phase of the Charterhouse Heritage Park – says he wants to allow people to get close to the water with outdoor seating terraces.

He added that the time is right to start work on the regeneration of the Conservation Area as a follow on from Far Gosford Street, and will be taking the plans to the MIPIM property show next month.

“This is one of the most historic areas of the city but is in a very run down state,” he said.

"The Burges is the medieval street to the north and there are still remnants of the original medieval buildings remaining.

"The river already makes a very brief appearance and we want to extend the area of open river and allow people to get close to the water with outdoor seating terraces.

“The Far Gosford Street Partnership has built up an excellent track record in delivering wholesale regeneration of this historic street, working with building owners to improve their properties with grants from Heritage Lottery and ERDF.

“This would be the perfect approach for the regeneration of The Burges area and there is a danger that if we don’t start working on a follow on project now, the expertise will be lost.

“The river was once the life blood of this city, its reason for being, and to understand the city’s history you need to be able to see the river.

"Very few opportunities exist to bring it back to the surface in the city centre and this location with an historic building adjoining it is a unique asset that’s currently being wasted.”

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Opening that river up would be the worst thing they could do.

Not only do we have a city full of morons who would put God knows what into it, rivers smell and overflow when it rains.

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Revealed: £2million plan to showcase River Sherbourne in city centre



Further details have been revealed about plans to regenerate an unfashionable shopping street in Coventry - including opening up the River Sherbourne.

Coventry City Council is aiming to secure £192,000 to improve the Burges with a view to opening the door to a further £2m of funding.

The council is set to sign off an application for £172,000 of Heritage Lottery Fund money during a cabinet member meeting on Monday and, if successful, will commit an additional £20,000 of funding to the project.

Officials hope improvements in the area would then lead to a successful bid for a further £2m of lottery funding, opening the door for major improvements in the area. That bid would be submitted in January 2017.

One of the key features of the plans is the desire to open up a culverted section of the River Sherbourne which flows under the street.

Coun Kevin Maton, council cabinet member for business, said the Burges was unpopular at the moment and the project could draw on the street’s history to improve the area.

He said: “The idea is similar to what we have achieved in Far Gosford Street which was previously filled with unattractive shops and wasn’t particularly nice to look at.

“But we used the history of the street and the existing buildings to create a more attractive area.

“Some of the buildings on the Burges are an insight into what Coventry used to look like.”

He added: “By having this sort of investment we can attract different types of business to the area.

“At the moment, it’s barely a secondary retail area, which means grant aid is the only way to deliver these changes.

“Drawing in new businesses will, over a period of time, improve the nature of the area.”

Coun Maton also suggested the council could look to encourage more student accommodation in the area in a bid to increase footfall.

He said: “It’s important that we find a way of driving visitors and shoppers to the area.

“Many people don’t feel safe walking down the Burges at the moment, I know it is intimidating.

“All of this can be improved by lighting. It’s an area that needs to improve and people need to feel safe walking there.”

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I really think Maton is an idiot!

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Revealed: £25m plans to regenerate The Burges and uncover River Sherbourne



New £25million plans have been submitted which would uncover the River Sherbourne in the city centre and create new restaurants, cafes and student accommodation.

The proposals cover the area behind The Burges, next to Hales Street and aim to create a new square which will open up the river next to Palmer Lane in a bid to create a visitor attraction.

Developers Complex Development Projects (CDP) and student housing provider Unite Group have submitted the plans to Coventry City Council.

The site is council-owned and forms the last remaining part of the Phoenix Initiative, Coventry’s Millennium project that saw the development of Millennium Place, Priory Place and the Transport Museum as well as the uncovering of the Priory Ruins.

Several previous attempts to secure a landmark development to complete the Millennium Place frontage have faltered, with the site remaining empty for more than a decade.

The plans follow on from the £20m Far Gosford Street development by the two firms and tie in with long term aspirations to redevelop The Burges.

The street is currently the subject of an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £2m which is due to be decided at the end of this month.

The project will be managed by the council and Historic Coventry Trust.

Ian Harrabin, managing director of CDP and chairman of Historic Coventry, said plans for the area could finally be delivered due to the recent increase in demand for student accommodation.

He said: “These exciting proposals provide a landmark building of innovative design to finally finish off the Phoenix Initiative but, more importantly, kick start the regeneration of The Burges quarter, providing the financial driver for the opening up of the river and the restoration of one of the city’s most historic areas.

“The project takes advantage of the growth in student numbers resulting from Coventry University’s continued expansion as a centre of excellence.

“This boom in student housing demand has enabled us to secure development of one of the city’s more intractable key sites, driving the regeneration of the surrounding conservation area.

“Far Gosford Street has been a success and now that its regeneration is almost complete, there is an opportunity to retain the staff and their expertise and to roll this into the delivery of another major initiative.

“The Burges is ideal for this approach as, like Far Gosford, it has been in decline for decades and is one of the last untouched parts of the pre-war city. It is an historical gem and an asset that we can’t afford to overlook, especially now with the bid for City of Culture.”

Coun Kevin Maton, the council’s cabinet member for business , said the plans would help Coventry achieve its ambition of being considered a top ten city.

He said: “I am delighted that the plan for this part of the city centre is taking shape. The site has been vacant for many years now but this proposal will totally transform this area and will complement the work at the Transport Museum and Grammar School.

“Opening up the river will create a new public space with waterside cafés and I’m sure it will be a major draw for local people and visitors. The development of waterside areas has been a big success in other cities and although the Sherbourne is small, it is the only river in the centre we’ve got.”

Since when did Hales Street become "The Burges"?

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I wish Maton would extract his head from his a**e!