Down but not out in Coventry

The collapse of Manchester-based construction firm Modus Ventures in May 2009 was nothing short of a disaster for some towns and cities across the UK. As the coalition of over 40 companies fell to pieces, so did the hopes of the places awaiting for the group to perform new building and regeneration works.

Among them was the city of Coventry; the West Midlands city long suffering in development terms. The levelling of the city during World War Two resulted in its current, dated 1950s concrete facade. Meanwhile, more recent financial disasters have hit local car production plants, costing jobs and creating swathes of empty, ugly industrial space. Coventry is thus a city desperately in need of a revamp.

In 2009 the northern part of the city had been due for a more than £1bn regeneration, centred around the formerly Modus Ventures-owned West Orchards shopping centre. The collapse of the company put a swift end to this and hopes of much needed city regeneration.

Now Coventry City Council are picking up the pieces. As a change of pace, the council has redirected its attention to the south of the city. Out of the ashes of the Modus’ scheme, new plans are being formulated to work with landowners and investors to improve the city: “Cabinet has backed plans to go south and we will now get on with getting a collaboration agreement together with landowners in the area including Aviva investors and Scottish Life,” announced David Cockcroft, city centre director at the council, in October.

The new plans are likely to focus on Coventry’s South Precinct, including the area around Coventry market and Barracks Way. Heavily built-up and hemmed in by the city’s ring road, this part of Coventry is arguably in greater need of a boost than the retail sector to the north.

While this change of direction has garnered publicity for the improvement of the city, other less publicised plans – both ongoing and completed – have the potential to significantly change the reputation of Coventry, from a ‘concrete jungle’ to a desirable place to live.

A proposed £23m scheme by European developer and investor Cannon Kirk through its Friargate Coventry development arm, is one such plan. Targeting a 37 acre site opposite the city’s station, the project would replace unattractive, half-occupied 50 year-old commercial properties with a brand new development comprising of 14
new offices offering Grade A office space, as well as two hotels and new residential space.

In addition, the city’s infrastructure will be reworked to remove the anti-social subways currently running in directions from the station, to be replaced by a more attractive green link-way. In all, the scheme will entail the construction of 26 new buildings and take between 10 and 15 years to complete – meaning that focus will remain on improving the city and its future.

Rodney Pilcher, who is overseeing the development proposals for Friargate Coventry LLP, commented that the development would prove a major asset to the city: “Friargate will inject millions of pounds into the local economy during the development stages and, once the buildings are ready for occupation, up to 15,000 new permanent jobs could be created for the city. The development is specifically designed to appeal to corporate and government relocation enquiries.”

Mr Pilcher went on to point out the benefits of the planned development’s location: “While Coventry is already benefitting from a number of successful new office developments, Friargate presents the opportunity for a major regeneration project of the highest quality right next to the train station that will create clear pedestrian links into the city’s retail core. Our proposed masterplan will completely transform the area and create a ripple effect for further development across the city.”

While submission to the city council has so far been for outline planning only, designers are already working on trying to gain individual building ‘excellent’ BREEM ratings in terms of their sustainability and environmental credentials.

With these plus points, there is a strong likelihood that planning permission will be granted for the scheme. Plans also enjoy healthy support from both the public and the city council. “I am delighted that the outline planning application for this impressive and important development is in,” announced Councillor Gary Ridley on the day of submission. “It is another major step in the development of our great city and it will create thousands of new jobs for local people. It is also tangible proof that the developers believe in our city, even in these difficult economic times.”

Successful redevelopment projects have already taken place in Coventry. Electric Wharf, to the north of the city, was a brownfield site consisting of former industrial buildings and a small power station. Redeveloped into a mixed-usage scheme, the history of the site has been kept by reusing as many of the buildings as possible in the new development – raising the sustainability status of the project as well as saving costs.

The Electric Wharf project is a triumph of old design meeting new. Recovered railway sleepers, for example, have been embedded with LED lights and now line the edge of the canal. Meanwhile, recycled aluminium has been used for roofing, blending in with the remaining corrugated ironwork on the site.

With a large take-up, Electric Wharf is a case study for success. The clever mixed-use approach to the scheme allowed for maximum external funding for the project, as well as to preserve the working life of this site. Over 20 companies, predominantly from the ICT industry, now inhabit the development, while residential properties mean that other people now call the development home.

Millennium Place provides another example of a successful transformation of Coventry into a desirable place to live. Opened in 2003 at the cost of £50m, the redeveloped public plaza is dominated by two visually-striking giant metal sculptures, known as the Whittle arches. This scheme has provided not only new retail opportunities but a more sedate pedestrian access between Coventry Cathedral and Coventry Transport Museum. To top it off, a glass bridge has been designed to give a panoramic view of this part of the city, before leading off to Lady Herbert’s Garden – a city garden which is one of the few surviving parts of the old city, thus again embracing both Coventry’s past and present.

The city thus has much to fall back on in terms of inspiration for its future projects. One can only hope that the city has as much success with their new developments as it has had with the ones that have occurred so far.

For information on the Friargate Coventry project vist: friargatecoventry.co.uk. To view more about Electric Wharf
visit: electricwharf.com