Central City #2

Issue 02 2008 www.centralcitymagazine.com

Coventry Central City

heart of the matter

The city centre’s transformation into a 21st century shopping, leisure and working hub

boom time

Coventry is poised for growth: how can it preserve both character and the environment?

healthy figures

The vital statistics about Coventry’s markets

The regeneration of Coventry

It all points to the

place connect to

Birmingham International Airport, Solihull

The UK’s West Midlands Region

The central location of the UK’s West Midlands Region gives business more of that most precious of commodities. Additional time. Situated at the heart of the UK, we put businesses closer to so much more. Often hours closer.

Closer to customers, suppliers and new markets.

The West Midlands Region is one of the leading communications centres in the UK, positioned within a 150 mile drive of 82% of the total UK population. 170 direct rail services operate every weekday between Birmingham and London. Two airports with 100 daily direct scheduled flights connect the West Midlands to the wider world.

Add to this the region’s extensive business networks, alongside specialist industry support, and it’s easy to see why the West Midlands Region is Europe’s best-connected business location.

Discover more. Visit www.thewestmidlandsregion.co.uk

Coventry Central City

contents

Issue 02 2008 www.centralcitymagazine.com Editor: Sarah Herbert sarah@3foxinternational.com

05 Growth

Deputy editor: Kirsty MacAulay kirsty@3foxinternational.com

Its location, high-quality workforce and untapped city centre residential resource mean that Coventry is ideally placed to take advantage of planned growth for the region, and the country.

Art editor: Terry Hawes terry@3foxinternational.com Designer: Andy Ritchie

11 City centre

Advertisement sales: Paul Gussar paul@3foxinternational.com

With a new £1 billion masterplan in the pipeline, and others already taking shape, the city’s heart is being reborn.

Production: Rachael Schofield rachael@3foxinternational.com

18 Urban design

Office manager: Sue Mapara sue@3foxinternational.com

Masterplans aside, what really matters is creating a sense of place, knitting old and new together, and retaining character to give Coventry a new lease of life.

Managing director: Toby Fox toby@3foxinternational.com Printed by Wyndeham Grange

26 Projects

Images: Advent Communications, Terry Farrell, MCD Developments, Pixeltrix, City College Coventry, Coventry City Council

A reminder of which schemes are happening where, when, who’s involved, and why they matter to the regeneration of Coventry.

38 Sustainability

Published by

Keeping it green is not just a vague ambition for Coventry – with sustainable projects coming out of the ground now.

Lower Ground Floor 189 Lavender Hill London SW11 5TB T: 020 7978 6840 For Coventry City Council City Development Directorate, Regeneration Services, West Orchard House, Corporation Street, Coventry CV1 1GF Principal inward investment officer: Rachel Baker rachel.baker@coventry.gov.uk Copyright 3Fox International Ltd 2008 All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of 3Fox International Ltd is strictly forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information at time of going to press, but we accept no responsibility for omissions or errors. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of 3Fox International Limited or Coventry City Council.

top: Belgrade Theatre. middle: Old Bond Street. bottom: Millennium Place.

42 Markets

A round up of the residential, commercial and leisure markets in the city, plus facts and figures about employment.

cover image: Electric Wharf.

coventry central city_issue 2 0

GROWTH

plenty of room for growth The country’s population is undergoing huge change, through both inward migration and indigenous growth, affecting all areas, and economies, of the UK. Coventry, at the heart of the country, is perfectly placed to take advantage.

Adam Dent explains

D

espite its, mostly, modern appearance, Coventry is an old city with a long economic history.

Thriving throughout the Middle Ages, when it rivalled London, Bristol and York, it was even home to the UK parliament in 1404 and 1456. At the heart of the country geographically, it was also a powerhouse of manufacturing, moving from cloth in medieval times to become a vehicle specialist in the 1800s: the first bicycle, tank and dumper truck were all made here, culminating in the car manufacturing-fuelled industrial boom of the 1950s and 60s. With so much invested in the industry its decline hit the city very hard.

But Coventry’s time is coming again. Its growth has been under way for over a decade, with the city gaining 22,000 new jobs between 1995 and 2005, giving the local economy’s revival strong foundations.

And this is only the start. Coventry is the UK’s 11th ➜ coventry central city_issue 2 0

growth

BELOW: The refurbished Generator Hall, at Electric Wharf.

largest city, with a population in 2006 of 307,000. And this is forecast to grow to 370,000 by 2026, partly as a result of the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (WMRSS).

The strategy, as part of the government’s Growth Agenda – which sets targets for housing, economic development, the built environment, energy and transport – currently requires 82,200 new homes to be created in Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire by 2026. This number could rise if a revised draft proposing a minimum of 365,000 new homes for the whole of the West Midlands is accepted.

But Councillor Ken Taylor, leader of Coventry City Council, is not daunted. In fact, he feels the city is in the perfect position to benefit. “We believe, for many reasons, that Coventry is a city that needs to grow both in terms of size and economy, and that we are very well placed to do so,” he says. “There is a tremendous amount of investment – £9.4 billion of it in fact – and development both under way and in the immediate pipeline. In fact, our map of developments that we present to potential investors is getting so crowded now that people struggle to read it.

“High-profile city centre developments such as Friargate, Earlsdon Park, Belgrade Plaza, IKEA and the new Severn Trent centre are all under way. There is also a great deal of work going on in neighbourhoods across the city, to improve the environment and housing.

“Employment is at its highest level for a whole generation in the city, and we are fielding unprecedented levels of interest from potential inward investors. In fact, we are set to create more than 70,000 jobs in the coming years.

“The Growth Agenda may be the government looking at the needs of the country and its population as a whole, but we feel it sits very well with the current position of the city and the ambition we have for Coventry to thrive.”

One of the many foundations to support this growth is its location, which has long been a big selling point for the city, and is now more relevant than ever. Improvements to the West Coast mainline mean that London is within an hour’s journey, while the city has a travel-to-work population of 1.8 million by train and six million by car.

And there will be plenty for these commuters to do.

Twenty thousand more jobs are expected by 2015, to add to the current total of 155,000.

While the numbers employed in manufacturing have dropped significantly, the sector remains important, accounting for 14.3% of employment, compared to 10% nationally. Almost 20% of the workforce are in finance, IT and business services. Higher education is a significant employment driver, doubling in size since the early 1990s (35,000 students in Coventry’s two universities in 2007) and providing an increasingly qualified labour market.

Distribution is another growth sector, and the new 0 coventry central city_issue 2

BELOW: The dome of West Orchard shopping centre.

Above: Model of the revamped and extended Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.

LEFT: The water nymph in Lady Herbert’s garden.

ProLogis Park contains 140,000sq m (1.5 million sq ft) of warehouse space. The city’s location also helps the development of conference trade.

As well as being home to many specialist engineering firms, Coventry also boasts several major research centres, including the highly rated University of Warwick.

Both the city’s well-respected universities are planning further major developments. At the moment, there are 500,000 undergraduates within a 50-mile radius of the city and that, combined with developments at City College, means the city is producing an impressive future workforce.

Such potential as a location hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Coventry has already attracted the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, bringing 500 jobs out of London as part of government relocations. It falls into two sectors recommended in the Lyons Report on public sector relocations – technology and policy making.

But Coventry recognises that possible expansion, outlined by the government, hinges on more than just economic success and potential. Quality of life issues are essential. Key to that is the city centre, where the plans are to double the amount of retail space while developing more than 140,000sq m (2.5 million sq ft) of office accommodation.

IKEA opening its first city centre store here last year was the sign of things to come. Manchester-based Modus Properties recently purchased the 19,000sq m (210,000sq ft) West Orchards shopping centre in a £65 million deal and is planning to expand the complex as part of a 10-year project. Modus is working in partnership with Morley Fund Management and Coventry City Council to masterplan the whole of the retail quarter of the city. (For more on the city centre, and its developments, see pages 11 to 17).

Taylor is well aware that the success of the city centre is, however, down to far more than simple infrastructure.

“We want the city centre to appeal to people 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We want it to reflect the cosmopolitan nature of the city and to be a real sub-regional capital where people come and spend time and money,” he says.

“We have worked hard in recent years to improve the environment of the city centre through public art, lighting, events and maintenance. The fully refurbished and extended Herbert Art Gallery and Museum is due to come on stream this year, following hot on the heels of the Belgrade Theatre which has won widespread acclaim since its rebirth in 2007. Not forgetting the hugely extended Coventry Transport Museum.

“A vibrant, attractive city centre is only achieved by the correct mix of elements and we believe we are making great strides towards that aim.”

Growth is not all about the city centre. Coventry has a ➜

“We want the city centre to appeal to people 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We want it to reflect the cosmopolitan nature of the city and to be a real subregional capital where people come and spend time and money”

coventry central city_issue 2 0

growth

Growth is not all about the city centre. Coventry has a number of key gateway sites which are being redeveloped that will play an important part in the growth of the city

number of key gateway sites which are being redeveloped or have development potential that will play an important part in the growth of the city.

For example, St Modwen is developing high-tech Whitley Business Park which will run to 900,000sq m (1 million sq ft), aimed at both growing local companies and inward investors. Detailed plans are being drawn up by the company and work, which will include new exits and access on to the A46, will start in summer 2008.

The former Jaguar Cars production and head office complex at Browns Lane is now owned by international property company Goodman, which will soon reveal detailed plans for the site.

Ansty, a 40ha site, close to the M6 and M69, will be the future home of communications giant Ericsson, as well as other international R&D, ICT and medical technology companies. Another ex-motor industry plot, the former Peugot site at Ryton, is also being redeveloped to provide up to 3,000 new jobs over the next three years, more than replacing the 2,150 lost when the company ceased production in the UK. The 50ha site was snapped up by London-based developer Trenport Investment in 2007, which has now submitted two applications to Rugby Borough Council to accommodate the relocated distribution and warehouse operation it owns in Droitwich.

The business would be located at the Coventry end of 0 coventry central city_issue 2

Far LEFT: University Square.

LEFT: Coventry University, at the heart of plans for growth.

Left: The Swanswell Initiative, an area of growth, to enlarge the city centre.

the site, and accessed through what used to be the Peugeot main gates. This first phase will create 450 jobs plus 50 office staff in its first year of operation, rising to a total of 650 after three years. In addition, the complex will be serviced by around 150 drivers, some of whom would be based locally.

The company has also submitted an application for outline planning permission for the middle section of the site to create a manufacturing and warehousing hub which, if successful, could employ more than 2,000 staff.

But this massive growth cannot be achieved in isolation, so Coventry is working with neighbouring authorities which have also been set government growth targets.

For example, both Ansty and Ryton actually lie in Rugby but have a greater influence on the city of Coventry. “We have worked very closely with Rugby Borough Council,” says Councillor Taylor. “The Ryton site, for example, lies outside, yet extremely close to, the city boundary. Certainly, when Peugeot was in production it was regarded by many as a Coventry employer.

“A close working relationship and a high level of cooperation is essential if both Coventry and Warwickshire are to move forward successfully and I am glad to say that is happening at all levels.”

This approach is also going to be necessary when planning the extra housing needed. “Our target is to deliver 33,500 new homes by 2026 and we have been identifying

suitable areas,” says Taylor. “There is a desire to bring vibrancy to the north of the city and a great deal has already been achieved in the regeneration area.

“Areas in Eastern Green and Keresley have been identified as possible sites for new homes which could be used alongside regeneration and development sites already under way.

“But there are heavy demands on our neighbours.

We have been asked to plan for 33,500 new homes, 40% of the sub-regional total, with a further 32,400 in the three shire authorities directly connected to the city. This means that 65,900 homes, 80% of the sub-regional total, are planned in the city, or within 10 to 12 miles of it.

“While that reinforces the sub-regional capital role being asked of Coventry, it also means that we can all work together to achieve the targets in sensible ways that can benefit all areas and support the level of physical and economic development that we are seeing in the city.” ❑

coventry central city_issue 2 0

#ONTACT $AVID (OLT

#ONTACT #HARLES 4OOGOOD

CITY CENTRE

Coventry’s city centre is on the verge of its biggest change since the war, transforming its shopping, leisure and working life.

John Windell reports

Centre of attention T

he modern city centre cannot afford to make too many apologies for itself. As a fulcrum that defines a city, and the focus of a city’s social and economic life, it has to be confident and it has to deliver what people demand from it. The shops, restaurants, offices, cultural attractions and public spaces of a city centre all feed into its character and vitality. They also feed off each other in an economic sense, and if one area is lacking, the others feel it too. ➜

coventry central city_issue 2 11

CITY CENTRE

BELOW, from top: Part of the ring road; shopping in Coventry; and Belgrade Plaza.

“This is the beginning of one of the most exciting transformations our city has seen in 50 years”

This delicate balancing act is very much on the minds of those charged with rejuvenating Coventry city centre, in a radical £1 billion masterplan by leading Los Angeles-based architects Jerde. The wholesale redevelopment, which could double the number of shops, will look at ways of linking currently disparate areas together, creating a sense of place the city will be proud of. Quite possibly involving wholesale demolition, it will be the biggest change for the centre since it was rebuilt in the 1950s. This is a key part of the £5 billion of development planned and happening in the city centre.

Leader of Coventry City Council, Ken Taylor said: “This is the beginning of one of the most exciting transformations our city has seen in 50 years. We’re not known as the Phoenix city for nothing: over many years we’ve transformed ourselves to keep up with local and world change.

But the city centre has remained relatively untouched since it was rebuilt after the war. ➜ 12 coventry central city_issue 2

Zfd`e^ jffe

Friargate is Coventry’s new business quarter. It will deliver three million sq.ft of high quality offices, residential apartments, retail and leisure space over the next few years as part of the city’s £8 billion regeneration programme. Conveniently located less than one hour from London by train, Coventry will become one of the UK’s most desirable business locations.

Property developer Cannon Kirk is working with Coventry City Council and worldrenowned urban design practice Sir Terry Farrell to deliver one of the biggest urban regeneration projects in the UK. For more information about Friargate please visit www.friargatecoventry.co.uk

AT FRIARGATE COVENTRY CAN

coventry central city_issue 2 13

CITY CENTRE

BELOW: The newly refurbished Belgrade Theatre, at the heart of city culture.

top: The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.

AbOVE: Greyfriars Green, a city centre oasis.

14 coventry central city_issue 2

It was pioneering but now it’s dated, tired and in need of a complete rethink. The statistics are stark – we are not providing the shopping experience local people want and we’ve got to do something about it.”

Consultation on the shape of the masterplan is a vital part of the process, and is currently under way. Residents and businesses are being asked what in the centre they’d like to keep, or get rid of; how open space could be used; the kind of shops they want; and the products that they currently travel outside the city to buy.

Away from retail, but still at the heart of the city centre, change is already going on. For example, phase two of Belgrade Plaza is now on site, with the hotel, the bars, the restaurant, the casino, and the residential schemes all due to emerge over the next year. This comes on the back of the refit of Belgrade Theatre itself, which now has two auditoriums. A short distance away, the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum is also in the midst of a major expansion, which is part of a significant investment programme in Coventry’s theatres, art galleries and museums.

Coventry’s office provision is also getting a massive makeover. It received a huge boost recently with water company Severn Trent’s announcement to relocate its operations centre to a bespoke 16,000sq m (170,000sq ft) development, accommodating 1,700 employees in the city centre, and becoming one of the top five employers in the city. This has been a real coup for the city – an affirmation of all the hard work that has been done in recent years, and a beacon for what is to come.

“It sets the tone for what will be a significant increase in the office space available in Coventry,” says Paul Beesley, project development manager for the council. “We have already had three or four large, and I mean large, office enquiries that have come on the back of Severn Trent, which shows that the city centre is now a credible location. They will also be producing a benchmark for office development in the city, which will sit well with our plans for further office development.”

Duncan Elliott, project champion at the council, confirms the extent of the plans. “Our ambition is for 300,000sq m (3 million sq ft) of office space, two thirds of which as part of the Friargate railway station development.” ➜

power behind the throne Martin Yardley is the deputy city development director for Coventry. A town planner by profession, he has been working for the council for six months now and has been closely involved in drawing up the new vision for the city centre.

“One of the things I’ve been asked to do is coordinate the masterplan for the city centre,” he

BELOW: Priory Place Water Window by Susannah Heron.

Consultation on the shape of the masterplan is a vital part of the process, and is currently under way

says. “This takes in a large defined area and the sections that make up that area – a retail section, a university section, and Friargate. We are laying down the framework for developers to work within.

“I’m a great believer in making ourselves as approachable as possible in order to encourage developers to come here.

It’s a global economy and they can go where they like, so we have to

be as open as we can.

This means streamlining systems and making sure that if a developer puts in a planning application, we don’t tie them up for 18 months.

“The message is that if you build what we’re looking for, we’ll get you through those systems rapidly. Severn Trent went through in less than 13 weeks – demonstrating clearly what we are prepared to

ABOVE: Martin Yardley, deputy city development director for Coventry

do to help people invest in the city.

“One of the things that attracted me to work at the council was its readiness to accept that the city centre does not perform at the level it should do – and its willingness to do whatever is needed to get things moving.

“We have to completely change the city centre offer, in size and quality. In five years, certainly in ten, it has got to be at a level where

it can compete with comparable cites. And there’s no reason why we can’t do that. The desire is there and so are the opportunities.

“The opportunities are there because we haven’t had a large amount of growth in the past decade, and this is attracting an amazing amount of developer interest.“

coventry central city_issue 2 15

St Modwen, the UK’s leading regeneration company, are delighted to be bringing forward this extremely well located development opportunity.

Set in 93 acres of mature landscaped environment with excellent transport links, Whitley Business Park presents a new era of business park for the city of Coventry and beyond.

Phase One 41,000 sq ft of offices under construction with completion due November 2008.

of growth for Co n o i t a vent r e n ry ge t x ne e Th

1.1 million sq ft of office and employment opportunity

For more information visit:

whitleybusinesspark.co.uk

0121 222 9400

0121 633 3733

CITY CENTRE

LEFt, from top: Two of Coventry’s historic three spires; Belgrade Plaza; Priory Gardens.

A key factor in these plans is the aim to significantly increase the number of people who come into the city centre to work – the very people who support the economy, feeding the shops, the restaurants and bars during the day and in the early evening, and which Coventry has traditionally lacked.

“Until a year or two ago we were not an office location of choice, so didn’t have an office population,” says Elliott. “But we’re turning it around, and this is where we will experience a real sea-change. A sizeable day-time population with money to spend is crucial for us.”

This throws up another issue: where are they going to spend that money? This is the question at the heart of the Jerde masterplan, which will add a massive 140,000sq m (1.5 million sq ft) of retail space, almost doubling the current provision.

While the recent arrival of IKEA’s first city centre store has certainly added to Coventry’s profile as a retail centre, pulling in people from the surrounding region who would previously have never considered the city as a shopping destination, the aim, though, has to be to get them and the office workers to use all the other parts of the city centre’s retail facilities. “This is something we really need to crack,” says Elliott.

“We’ll do it by bringing in the sort of highvalue and speciality shopping we haven’t got at the moment. Our location means we have the ability to draw on a potential retail population of between 1.5 and 5 million.”

With all this development, the city centre, geographically restricted by the elevated ring road, is bound to feel the pressure. Where will it all go? The answer, according to Duncan Elliott, lies both inside and outside this concrete belt.

“The footprint of our city centre will eventually be about 30% to 40% bigger than it is at the moment,” he says.

Paul Beesley echoes this: “We are no longer thinking of the city centre as just inside the ring road. It’s much bigger than that.”

As the cultural, entertainment and leisure provision has improved, so the working and shopping population has been attracted back into the city. And as that population has increased, so has the demand for office and retail space.

This, in turn, will bring even more people into a rapidly expanding city centre.

connecting the city

A further important aspect of this is that Coventry is doing it in its own way. “We could look at other cities, at their successes and mistakes,” says Elliott. “But I believe that whatever we do, the trick is to make it unique to us here in Coventry.

“We’re not in it just to copy someone else – and I think that most of the cities that have genuinely reinvented themselves have done it on their own terms.” ❑

When a city centre is expanding as rapidly as Coventry’s, with new shops, offices and homes, the rest of the infrastructure has to keep up. To this end, Coventry City Council is injecting £10 million into an upgraded ICT network, known as the Wide Area Network, or WAN, a two-year project to deliver better services, keep people moving around the city, and improve educational opportunities.

One key benefit will be a much-improved transport information system. For example, bus passengers on the new PrimeLines routes will see ‘real time’ journey information, and variable message signs on the main routes into the city centre will direct motorists to car parks with spaces.

WAN will also connect all council buildings, and local schools, to give them faster internet services.

Local specialist Optilan was chosen for the massive job of laying miles of fibre-optic cables.

Large-scale roadworks will be kept to a minimum by installing cables in footpaths and grass verges wherever possible.

Ken Taylor, leader of Coventry City Council said: “To be a city where businesses choose to invest we need to be at the forefront of new technology. We’ll have one of the best IT networks in the country, improving connections for schools, providing a more resilient network and a traffic management system to keep everyone moving.”

coventry central city_issue 2 17

URBAN DESIGN

part of the master plan As Adrienne Margolis explains, the next phase in Coventry’s design will be all about what the city will be like down on the streets

C

oventry is more often associated with the post-war redevelopment that produced the new cathedral, ring road, concrete shopping centres and residential tower blocks than high-quality urban design. But a step-change in council, and UK-wide, thinking has meant that in the latest phase of regeneration, more attention is being paid to blending the old with the new, and to the quality of public space.

“At national and local level there is more emphasis on the role of urban design in city development,” according to Andy Telford, urban and landscape design team leader at Coventry City Council. “The concept of design-led 18 coventry central city_issue 2

regeneration has definitely percolated through to local level.”

This is evident in the city’s Urban Design Guidance, published in 2004.

It not only emphasises creating a sense of place, but also stresses the need to retain local character in areas undergoing redevelopment.

“The city is continually evolving; each phase building on the last,” Telford says. “A key part of our image is the three historic spires. The city centre framework is designed to make sure that key views are not lost, and that new tall buildings take the spires into consideration.” For example, although Sir Terry Farrell’s masterplan for the Friargate development, around Coventry’s main railway station,

BELOW: Swanswell Park and Pool.

BELOW LEFT: The Old Fire Station.

A step change in thinking has meant that in the latest phase of regeneration, more attention is being paid to blending the old with the new, and to the quality of public space

encourages taller buildings, the new towers (of office, leisure, restaurant and residential space) respect existing views of the spires, and create new views out of the city centre.

The masterplan also links old and new through its building materials.

“Farrell is proposing baseline material references such as stone cladding that picks up on local themes, but with contemporary architecture,” Telford explains. It also connects areas of the city centre currently separated by the ring road. “A key part of the masterplan is to grow the city beyond the ring road. This has prompted a proposal for a green bridge and the removal of subways at junction six of the ring road,” he adds. ➜ coventry central city_issue 2 19

URBAN DESIGN

BELOW: The canal basin in the heart of Coventry.

“The challenge is to make the city centre attractive in accessibility, public transport and walkability”

20 coventry central city_issue 2

Coventry’s urban designers also want to make it easier for people to find their way around. “We are working on a new city centre urban design framework to identify key routes. The challenge is to make the city centre attractive in accessibility, public transport and walkability,” Telford says. This involves updating and replacing signage and street maps and integrating them with the new signs in the latest schemes like the Phoenix Initiative, University Square and the Belgrade Theatre.

Finger posts, streetlights and signage are all being co-ordinated

to help reduce clutter. The approach has been well received in all the new schemes. “Architects are keen to have a modern feel and like strong, simple guidance. For historic areas, though, we may need a slightly different way of thinking,” Telford comments.

A hugely successful scheme that has blended the old with the new in the city centre is the Phoenix Initiative. It was designed to connect the cathedral quarter to the Transport Museum, linking the city’s past with its recent history. “It was a special project. Often architects and urban designers try to generalise and idealise situations. We had to work with the particular historic and cultural setting,” recalls Richard MacCormac of architects MacCormac Jamieson Pritchard.

“When we started on this project we were much more old fashioned,” he admits. “We had ambitious ideas for a grand avenue and lottery funding for the Transport Museum. We originally considered a lot of demolition, which, with hindsight, was perhaps insensitive.”

After planning complications meant that the site became “strangely shaped plots of land joined together”, according to MacCormac, it required a very different, site-specific approach.

“It meant that we created a series of distinct urban spaces, in a way we’d never worked before. Over the seven years of development, the scheme took on the characteristics of an evolving city.”

One of the most significant discoveries on the site was the remains of the city’s first cathedral, the Priory Cathedral. This resulted in new design ideas. “It was rather like repairing a very valuable old rug, stitching everything together and taking key characteristics and memories of the site into the project,” MacCormac says. This prompted the addition of the sunken Priory garden, created in the knave of the priory, with a bridge spanning it.

Another change to the original plans was the location of the Priory Visitors Centre in the walls of the priory. “It evolved as we went along,” MacCormac explains. “It respected what was there and led to the idea of rebuilding the cloisters of the old Priory, not physically, but with trees.

“One of the more unusual and interesting things about the project was working with artists,” MacCormac says. “David Ward had the idea of setting up an oral history facility, broadcasting stories. It has become an archive for the city.”

Another innovation was creating Priory Place, a new commercial and residential quarter for inner-city living. When work on the Phoenix Initiative started, the area was very run down. “We were lucky that it coincided with the move into urban areas by young people – it was wonderful that perception was changing.”

The Phoenix Initiative has won several awards. “The lesson for me as an architect is that it reinforces that successful places are successful because everyone understands the character of the place, and what it

ABOVE: Priory Garden incorporates the remains of the city’s first cathedral.

BELOW: Plans for Ironmonger Square will transform the area.

is going to mean for people,” says MacCormac.

The scheme has also become the benchmark by which the city council is judging future urban design. “We want to extend the regeneration and urban design qualities of the Phoenix Initiative to other developments in the city,” Telford says. “The Swanswell Initiative has already seen significant changes. The council has cleared a depot site next to the canal and an educational quarter has been created with the relocation of City College to the masterplan area.”

The old and new are also being knitted together around Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre, which has recently undergone a £12 million makeover.

The existing listed 1950s building has been refurbished, and a new auditorium added, in a seven-storey extension. Now, a £130 million scheme is creating Belgrade Plaza, with a new public square, two hotels, a casino and 200 apartments, which will connect to the city’s main shopping area.

The sculptural extension to the theatre, dramatically illuminated at night, has raised the design standard for the whole of the city centre. When its architect, Stanton Williams, began making the changes to the theatre, work on the Plaza had not been started. It therefore had to both work closely with English Heritage, because of the theatre’s listed status, and predict how the extended theatre would sit in surroundings that were not yet built.

“We had to try and anticipate what the space around would be like so our building became the centrepiece of the square,” Alan Stanton recalls.

One way that this has been done is by creating a new public entrance to the building, and a new foyer that becomes a through street for people coming into the area. “When the plaza is completed, the glazed courtyard entrance to the theatre extension ➜ coventry central city_issue 2 21

Earlsdon Park Renaissance in the making s s

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URBAN DESIGN

ABOVE: Priory Place is the city’s newest residential quarter.

will become the focal point at the end of a new street,” Stanton says.

Belgrade Plaza is being developed in three phases, with completion from 2008 to 2011. The materials used, such as sandstone, reflect the historic nature of the city wall.

“It is important that our scheme complements the way the cathedral quarter links to the Transport Museum. We are also pedestrianising the area so that people will be able to walk from new multi-storey car park to new square,” explains Darrell Smallman of architect S R Davis.

The Plaza has been designed to take the characteristics of the surrounding area into account. “We have had to ensure that the scheme sits properly

with the Spon Street conservation area by reducing the scaling mass, while using more modern materials at the Upper Wells Street end of the project,” Smallman says. “This means that the new buildings are kept below 16 storeys, and also pay respect to the Belgrade Theatre and the new extension.” (For more on Belgrade Plaza, see page 32).

Another project aiming to achieve the same impact as the Phoenix Initiative is Ironmonger Square. This scheme will pedestrianise two streets in the heart of the city, Burges and Ironmonger Row, next to the West Orchard shopping centre.

“Local people refer to it as the ‘grot spot’, a feature of many cities, where there has been a lack of investment for 30 or 40 years. Pavements are narrow and the area is down-at-heel.

And the major investment around it makes it seem even worse in comparison,” Duncan Elliott, council project champion, explains.

With a masterplan already under way to expand the West Orchard shopping centre, the council has given priority to regenerating this section of the city centre. In November the council cabinet approved a £3.4 million development scheme for the new square that will remove traffic, and introduce new high quality materials and new street furniture to the area.

below: Proposed mixeduse Millennium View, overlooking Millennium Place.

“We are wedded to the idea of taking out street clutter,” Elliott says.

“We have to improve the area, and the public reaction to the plan has been completely positive.”

Like the Phoenix Initiative, the development of Ironmonger Square will take the surrounding buildings into account. “One end of the square is very historic, and contains listed buildings. The changes will help to showcase these buildings and street furniture will be traditional, to respond to that.

“The other end of the square is more modern, so we will be using more modern materials.” Elliott says.

“We also have a budget for public art and hope to introduce innovative lighting and images on blank walls.”

The Phoenix Initiative is just 100 metres away from Ironmonger Square, and has already changed the area beyond recognition in the way that it has linked spaces, Elliot points out.

“A lot of people think that everything in Coventry is concrete. In the past this has been the case, and many of the changes were made on the cheap.

Now we are not prepared to do that – we will use traditional materials and ensure that we get our own identity for our city centre.” ❑

coventry central city_issue 2 23

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PROJECTS

what, where, why, and who The regeneration of Coventry is well under way. Adam Dent explains what is planned, and where

26 coventry central city_issue 2

severn trent The news of Severn Trent Water’s decision to relocate to St Johns Street, in the heart of Coventry, is a huge signal of the city’s regeneration. The UK’s second-largest water company will employ 1,700 staff at this new multi-million-pound centre being created by Stoford Developments.

The 16,000sq m (170,000sq ft), seven-storey development, will bring together Severn Trent staff, and business functions currently spread over a number of Midlands sites when it opens in 2010. Designed to achieve an excellent BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) for its environmental and sustainable features. The building will bring Severn Trent Water’s staff together, working to the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness, all under one roof.

David Brown of Stoford described how the building totally suits Severn Trent’s agenda. “To meet its sustainability objectives, Severn Trent requires a building with as low a carbon footprint as possible. This new centre has been designed to be as future-proof as possible when it comes to sustainability.

“Just by bringing so many departments together, the company is automatically lowering its carbon footprint, but the building has been designed with that in mind.

left: Severn Trent Water’s new centre will bring together all its Midlands staff.

“We are looking at items such as renewable technologies, including solar collectors, ground water cooling and biomass power”

BELOW: Caption to go in here please Sarah on three to four decks thanks

“Low-energy solutions have been used wherever possible, to minimise the use of power.

The building envelope is designed to moderate the internal temperature by limiting solar gain.

We are still some way from the final design but are looking at items such as renewable technologies, including solar collectors, ground water cooling and biomass power.”

Councillor Kevin Foster, cabinet member (city development) says: “This is a hugely significant piece of news for the city. We have been talking about transforming Coventry for several years – and now it is really happening.

“With IKEA at one end of the city centre and Severn Trent at the other, we are seeing a step change in the numbers of people spending time in the city every day and into the evening. That means we can encourage more shops here, our bars and restaurants will benefit. These are very exiting times for us.”

Stoford Developments has submitted a detailed planning application and intends to start work in summer 2008.

➜

coventry central city_issue 2 27

PROJECTS

BELOW: Friargate will provide a gateway to the city.

FRIARGATE Cannon Kirk’s £1.5 billion Friargate scheme, due to get under way early in 2009, will deliver 180,000sq m (2 millionsq ft) of high-grade offices, 67,500sq m (750,000sq ft) of apartments and around 2,400sq m (250,000sq ft) of retail space, as well as nearly a hectare of public space around the city’s railway station.

The development will create a new southern gateway to the city and, when completed, will deliver around 15,000 new jobs, as well as transforming the interchange between the railway station, buses, taxis and car parking spaces.

Cannon Kirk’s vision is to create a new commercial quarter for the city in a mixed use setting, providing a link between the railway station and the city centre. As part of the scheme it is proposed to create a single-level deck across the ring road which has in the past acted as a block to development.

Friargate was first unveiled at MIPIM 2007 when urban regeneration planning specialist Sir Terry Farrell revealed the first draft of the masterplan.

The scheme has been years in the making.

Cannon Kirk’s UK managing director Michael Broughton explains: “When we acquired Station Tower it was with a view to undertaking a residential scheme. However, it soon became clear that, as such a strategic area for the city, a more comprehensive approach was needed. We began assembling the land, allowing us to put together a scheme which we believe will be a major asset to the city.

“There are certain development opportunities which only come up once in a generation and this is one of them.

“The station is a major arrival point for the city, yet it is currently isolated from the city centre and surrounded by buildings which are inappropriate for modern business practice and certainly do not enhance the city.

“We intend to reconnect the station with the

city and create a major integrated transport hub.

We are talking to Network Rail and Virgin Rail and will ensure the development is of the highest quality.”

Terry Farrell and Partners is currently tweaking the masterplan to form a deliverable scheme, while design guidelines are being determined. It is anticipated the scheme may take over a decade to complete, although the first phase could be started almost immediately.

Cannon Kirk has substantial experience of development in the UK and is one of the leading independent home builders in the Republic of Ireland.

Broughton is already enthusiastic about the level of interest Friargate has generated in the market. “We have already had several serious enquiries from companies – all of which are inward investors.” ➜

“We intend to reconnect the station with the city, and create a major integrated transport hub, all set in a development of the very highest quality”

coventry central city_issue 2 29

PROJECTS

BELOW: The QCA HQ will be a landmark building. bottom: Earlsdon Park masterplan.

“Earlsdon Park is a key part of the regeneration of both our city centre and the surrounding area”

30 coventry central city_issue 2

Earlsdon Park The development, by Birmingham-based urban regeneration specialist MCD, is transforming the former City College site into a £110 million mixed-use development, and has already landed a major tenant.

A new 5,850sq m (65,000sq ft) state-of-the-art highly sustainable building on the site will be the new home of the Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA), which is moving from London and will employ more than 500 staff. The arrival of the QCA – which maintains the national curriculum and associated assessments, tests and examinations; and accredits and monitors qualifications – is a massive coup for Coventry.

The council lobbied hard to win this major government relocation, for which several schemes were pitched.

MCD has started work on the QCA building as the first phase of its scheme and the organisation hopes to be operating from its new headquarters during 2009.

QCA chief executive Ken Boston says: “When considering the benefits of moving our offices from central London, we undertook a full

evaluation on a number of cities in England. We considered Coventry’s excellent accessibility, the effective transport links, standard of living, facilities and potential workforce.”

Elsewhere in the Earlsdon Park development there will be more than 500 apartments, commercial space, leisure facilities and café bars.

As part of the masterplan, MCD is restoring the 1930s neo-classical college building, which is a landmark in this part of Coventry, to house office, leisure and café facilities with the potential for some apartments. It is restoring the 650-seat art deco theatre, which it will also fund for the next nine years, and creating a piazza around it allowing the theatre the potential to stage alfresco performances.

The scheme’s apartments will be housed in eight buildings, to be completed in four phases. The first phase will consist of smaller apartments aimed at first-time buyers, but as the development progresses a higher proportion of larger one- and two-bed apartments will be available.

As the masterplan sees the height of the buildings rise towards the north, the apartments will have superb views across the city. Several of the apartments will be accessible via attractive bridges, while great attention is being paid to public art and landscaping.

The project is MCD’s first major development in the city. Chief executive Steven Byrne says: “This is a landmark development for Coventry and it is wholly fitting that it should be the home of the QCA.” Coventry City Council is working to attract other inward investors. Councillor Kevin Foster, cabinet member (city development), says the QCA’s decision to relocate to Coventry was a real sign of how the city was developing. “The Earlsdon Park development is a key part of the regeneration of both our city centre and the surrounding area,” he says. “What is particularly pleasing is that our city’s heritage is being preserved, not destroyed, by retaining the old college building and theatre.”

BELOW: Phase two of the new £50 million City College.

ABOVE: The completed first phase of City College.

SWANSWELL initiative This huge, £600 million initiative to provide a 64ha (158 acre) extension to the city centre incorporating and linking several of Coventry’s major strategic development sites is already under way. The first phase of the new £50 million state-of-the-art City College opened to widespread acclaim, and the second phase, again

by Moss Construction, will open in November 2008. It will be serviced by a new £5 million multi-storey car park.

The learning quarter will be completed by an academy school, potentially located next to the new college and to include part or all of the current Sidney Stringer School site, backed by sponsor partnership funded by Coventry City Council, City College, Coventry University and Jaguar Cars.

Changes to the city’s ring road are also on the verge of beginning, as part of the Swanswell masterplan. The plan is to keep the integrity of the elevated ring road, but to remove the slip roads to and from junction two. This will radically open up both new and existing development sites, and major connections and routes to the city centre beneath. For example, the council is currently working with the NHS to bring the 5ha (12 acre) site of the former Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital to the market as a major development site.

Duncan Elliott, who leads the Swanswell Initiative at Coventry City Council, says the site is of key importance to the scheme. “The vast majority of the medical services on the site have been moved up to the new university hospital at Walsgrave,” he says. “The site could accommodate between 400 and 600 homes as well as complementary commercial space.

“We have already had substantial interest from potential developers in the adjacent cleared 2.8ha (7 acre) former Foleshill Road Depot site, belonging to the council, opposite the successful Electric Wharf scheme of live-work and commercial units, and set on the Coventry Canal,” adds Elliott. “We believe it has great potential for a landmark mixed-use scheme.”

The council is currently putting together a site release programme that could see the former depot site put to the market in the summer.

The council will probably seek a preferred developer partner, who would be granted options for further phased development sites in this regeneration area.

In addition, English Partnerships could back the initiative by investing £20 million of its Strategic Investment Fund to achieve the major planned new housing in the area.

➜

coventry central city_issue 2 31

PROJECTS

“Belgrade Plaza has been designed to complement the theatre and to provide theatre-goers, other visitors and local people with a pleasant environment in which to have a meal, a drink or visit the casino”

Top, and above right: The £130 million Belgrade Plaza, a new leisure heart.

32 coventry central city_issue 2

BELGRADE PLAZA This £130 million development by Oakmoor Deeley – set to be the home of two hotels, a casino, bars, restaurants and apartments – is already reshaping a key part of the city centre, and attracting leading brand names.

Radisson Edwardian has already pledged to open only its second hotel outside London, and the first luxury hotel inside the ring road for 50 years, in the form of a four-star development with 1,200sq m (13,000sq ft) of conference space.

Premier Inns has signed up for a budget hotel, while Bella Italia, Pizza Express and the awardwinning Metro Bar and Grill are also committed to the development.

The first phase of Belgrade Plaza, a reworked and much improved multi-storey car-park, has already scooped a couple of major awards. Work on the second phase started in November 2007.

Peter Deeley of Oakmoor Deeley says the development was of key strategic importance to the city and is a barometer of its regeneration.

“There is no question that Coventry’s reputation has improved greatly over recent years,” he says.

“The Deeley Group has been based in the city for 70 years and I certainly cannot recall this level of regeneration.

“Belgrade Plaza will improve the leisure and entertainment offer in the city as well as provide a superb living environment. The refurbishment and extension of the Belgrade Theatre has been completed and it is now a regional theatre to compete with the very best.

“Belgrade Plaza has been designed to

complement the theatre and to provide theatregoers, other visitors and local people with a pleasant environment in which to have a meal, a drink or visit the casino.”

Director of Metro Bar and Grill, which currently has one outlet in central Birmingham and one in Solihull, Chris Kelly, says the restaurant chain had been looking to expand out of the second city. “We have really been waiting for the right development and Belgrade Plaza fits our requirements exactly. It is linked very closely with the Belgrade Theatre and has already attracted some high-quality national operators.”

➜

past, present & future

Deeley Group has been part of the very fabric of life in Coventry for over 70 years.

We’re proud of our heritage and the city where we started out. Today we are playing our part in shaping the future with major investments that will breathe new life into the heart of the community.

Our regeneration work now extends across the UK from Southampton to Sheffield with projects worth in excess of £0.5 billion that use our specialist skills and experience.

Let’s create a better future together.

Deeley: a forward-thinking business with the specialist skills and experience to identify, acquire, design, build and market commercial, retail, residential and public sector developments that deliver genuine and lasting value to users and owners alike.

For further information please call Peter Deeley on

024 7671 8718 www.deeley.co.uk

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PROJECTS

BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE A £318 million programme to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in Coventry, is now taking shape. Although the first rebuilt school won’t open until September 2011, schools are working with the council to develop detailed plans for the programme. As the proposals progress, school staff, pupils and local communities will have the opportunity to work with architects, developers and the council to shape the final plans.

The first phase will see refurbished or rebuilt schools including Woodlands, Barrs Hill, President Kennedy and Ernesford Grange opening in September 2011, along with two new broad-spectrum special schools.

Ashley Simpson, BSF programme manager for the council, says: “This is the largest investment in the city’s education infrastructure in recent times. The BSF programme is sometimes seen as just being concerned about buildings, but it is really about transforming the way teaching and learning takes place in schools. We must now identify what facilities and ICT infrastructure we need to make it happen.”

Meanwhile, one of the buildings that will be at the heart of the regenerated Swanswell Initiative learning quarter (see page 31), is set to be built a year ahead of original plans following talks between council officials and the government.

Plans to replace Sidney Stringer School with a new academy, sponsored by Coventry City Council, City College, Coventry University and Jaguar Cars, were unveiled earlier this year as part of the BSF programme. But following a fire that destroyed 40% of Sidney Stringer’s buildings in September 2007, education officials

have persuaded the government to fast-track the building of the new academy.

“The new academy will be a flagship building in the heart of a revitalised part of the city centre.

The young people in the community deserve the best, and that’s what they will be getting,” says cabinet member for children, learning and young people, Councillor John Blundell. “I’m delighted we’ve been able to bring a common sense solution to the future of Sidney Stringer School, and although this will be a hugely challenging project, everyone in the council, partners and the sponsors of the academy are hugely committed to making this work.”

The new academy will help create a learning quarter for Coventry as a key part of the massive 64ha (158 acre) Swanswell Initiative.

ABOVE: Moathouse School, a beneficiary of the earlier primary school upgrade programme.

➜ coventry central city_issue 2 35

PROJECTS

Whitley Business Park

BELOW: A new era of business park.

36 coventry central city_issue 2

This £130 million, 102,000sq m (1.1 million sq ft) development by St Modwen Properties represents the changing face of Coventry’s economy, creating commercial space on one of the city’s key industrial regeneration sites. Based around the Jaguar Engineering Centre, which will be retained, the scheme is expected to create more than 2,000 new jobs.

Whitley Business Park will be aimed at local, regional and national companies, with buildings of up to 27,000sq m (300,000sq ft) to bring a mix of employment to the development, with the possibility of becoming a major headquarters to a national firm.

In a prime business location in the West Midlands, it is on the A45/A46 interchange, and a short distance from Coventry Airport, city centre and the major motorway network.

When complete, the scheme will comprise 68,400sq m (760,000sq ft) of offices, 28,800sq m (320,000sq ft) of industrial distribution, 288sq m (3,200sq ft) of retail and a 675sq m (7,500sq ft) crèche.

The first phase, which started on site in March

2008, will consist of 3,690sq m (41,000sq ft) of grade A office space across six buildings, with units ranging in size from 255sq m (2,841sq ft) to 2,200sq m (24,488sq ft). They will be complete and ready for occupation in November. All buildings will have a ‘very good’ BREEAM rating.

Paul Smith, development surveyor for St Modwen, said: “We are delighted to have secured this extremely well-located development opportunity within Coventry and welcome the chance to take it forward.

“It is set in 37 hectares (93 acres) of an existing mature landscaped environment with excellent transport links and an established workforce. We believe that Whitley Business Park will facilitate the growth of the next generation of business environment for the city and beyond.

“As the decline of Coventry’s traditional manufacturing base has taken place, we have recognised the need for new business environments to be created to enable the transition from manufacturing to the business

“We recognised the need for new business environments to be created to enable the transition from manufacturing to the business sector”

sector and believe that Whitley Business Park will be at the heart of this evolution and provide a new era of business park for Coventry and a landmark development.”

Interest is already being reported from potential occupiers, and property professionals believe it will bolster the supply of office and business space in the city. ❑

Top: Whitley Business Park will change the face of Coventry’s economy.

Above: The masterplan for the £130 million development.

coventry central city_issue 2 37

sustainability

design for life Coventry is keen to promote sustainable development. Lee Corden reports on how the city is looking to the future

A

cross the country, it is no longer a case of either being sustainable or making a profit – the two can, and should, go hand-in-hand when it comes to future developments. And Coventry is ahead of the game, with the council keen to promote sustainability and help developers find ways of factoring it into their schemes.

Ever since the council committed itself to Agenda 21, a plan for sustainable development drawn up and agreed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, it has aimed to ensure all future projects have a lasting, positive effect on their area.

As its guidance note ‘Commitment to a Sustainable Coventry’ states: “Sustainable development is about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for future generations.” The advice is based around sustainability in both senses of the word: reducing carbon footprint and designing eco-friendly new buildings; and enhancing the places in which people live and work and offering economic growth and employment.

A few years ago, such statements would have just been seen as paying lipservice to trendy eco sentiments, but now it seems it has become a mantra for those wishing to play a part in the city’s future, making good sense for the developer, the city and the people of Coventry.

City centre schemes crucial for regeneration are leading the way, including Friargate and Severn Trent. The positive impact they will have on the environment and on local people are of the utmost importance.

As well as reducing the company’s carbon footprint merely by bringing so many departments under one roof, Severn Trent’s new centre has been designed for minimal energy consumption. For example, Stoford Developments has minimised solar gain, with low-impact mechanical and

38 coventry central city_issue 2

BELOW: Electric Wharf’s eco homes feature solar panels and rainwater recycling.

“Sustainable development is about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for future generations”

electrical installations wherever possible. It also factored in the amount of window openings, providing the most amount of daylight possible, and is looking at items such as renewable technologies, ground-source heating and biomass power.

Just north of the city centre is another case in point, this time residential – Complex Development Projects’ Electric Wharf scheme. Many would have taken a wrecking ball to the disused power station and created a saleable, if run-ofthe-mill, selection of homes and offices. Instead, CDP took sustainability as one of the key aims of the project – long before it was at the top of the political agenda – in creating a live/work development that has won a clutch of awards and attracted residents from across the UK into its loft-style apartments and creative/IT businesses into the stylish office space.

As well as maintaining the majority of the Victorian buildings, the materials of any parts that have been demolished have been recycled and re-used, adding character to the massively successful scheme.

A number of companies on-site have already expanded, fitting with the ethos of maintaining high and stable levels of economic growth and employment.

The final phase of Electric Wharf, 21 designer townhouses on the edge of the canal, are due for completion in early 2008. These ‘eco homes’ are set to be the most environmentally friendly new-build homes in the city.

The heavily insulated buildings are designed to be warmed by the sun and also feature solar panels, rainwater recycling and efficient lighting and appliances. They aim to use 25% less water and 35% less energy than other homes of a similar size built in the past five years.

Andrew Mason, one of the first purchasers of an eco-home, said: “We are not eco-warriors. We just loved

MAIN IMAGE: Severn Trent’s new centre will minimise solar gain, and maximise daylight.

everything about the property. It’s got a modern feel and has a great canal-side setting. It’s also within very easy reach of the city centre which is ideal.

“We could have bought a townhouse anywhere but we wanted something a little bit different and this fitted the bill. The fact that it’s an eco-home is an added bonus. Of course, everybody wants to reduce their carbon footprint and we are the same so it’s a really interesting feature of the home.

“Also, it’s going to save us money in the short term on bills but also in the long term, as I believe legislation will mean more and more homes have to be built this way.”

So, it really does seem that following green guidance, and factoring in sustainability, can actually make schemes more successful. Even if buyers aren’t going out of their way to live in ‘green’ houses, they certainly see the benefits when compared with the alternative. ➜ coventry central city_issue 2 39

sustainability

Ian Harrabin of CDP says: “Rather than taking the view that we wanted to throw a building up as quickly and easily as possible, we have taken a long term look. That has paid off – but not just in terms of sustainability. The re-use of the existing buildings and the involvement of artists has meant that the project is far more interesting than a new-build development. This has paid off in the type of people that we have attracted to the area.”

Such has been the success of Electric Wharf that proposals are now afoot to develop land on the opposite side of the canal as part of the Swanswell Initiative.

At Coventry Business Park, the Deeley Group’s new HQ was designed to build-in sustainability at the outset, rather than bolt it on at a later date. For starters, the property has been built on a brownfield site which was the former home of the Standard Triumph Motor Company. The site has good public transport links and is well placed for local staff to walk to work. Having just created a green building at Harwell in Oxfordshire, the Deeley Group was also keen to ensure the property was eco-friendly too.

It includes a ground-source heating and cooling system, which will also be used for educational and marketing purposes, and rainwater harvesting to collect water for use in the toilets. Solar panels heat the water, while energy efficient lighting and daylight lighting ensure that, where possible, energy is only used when absolutely necessary and that natural daylight is the main source of light.

Internal and external recycling facilities will enable the firm to maintain and manage a policy of reducing waste throughout the lifetime of the building.

The Deeley HQ is being hailed as an example of how future developments, on every scale, can have sustainability at their heart and make total and absolute commercial 40 coventry central city_issue 2

ABOVE: The brand new, eco-friendly Deeley HQ.

sense. Pat Moroney, of the Deeley Group, says: “This is only the company’s third home in more than 70 years, and we wanted to build on our developing ideas of true sustainability and whole life building economics.

“Working with our architects and environmental engineers, we were keen to explore the possibilities of new building technologies both in the fabric of the building and its systems.

“The reduction of heating and cooling loads was key to reducing the use of consumable energy. But it’s not just environmental, it’s about the future of the whole area from a social and economic point of view too. Where possible, we’ve used local suppliers and sub-contractors so that our attitude towards sustainability has flowed throughout the procurement process.

“And this is the future of development – for the industry and particularly for us as a group. The market, legislation on energy use in buildings and rising energy costs are pushing clients and their design teams to look for ever more efficient design methods and sources for heating and cooling buildings. We know we must be innovative in procuring buildings that incorporate sustainable methods.

“This is a headline development for the city and for us as a company and we believe it was the perfect way to set the standard for ourselves and for others.

“We think it provides a perfect example of how energy efficiency and renewable and low carbon technology can be incorporated into a building in a way that is both relevant and cost-effective.” ❑

10 years of building a REPUTATION in Coventry Since it was founded in 1997 Stoford Developments has created an impressive portfolio of landmark schemes from stunning, modern offices to the sensitive refurbishment of treasured listed buildings.

Over the years the company has expanded to more than 20 people and diversified its interests to include residential, warehousing and office developments and has created an investment portfolio.

Stoford is a leader in the property sector and recognised for its innovative approach to business.

Stoford Developments Ltd Lancaster House 67 Newhall Street Birmingham B3 1NQ t: 0121 234 6699 f: 0121 236 8148 e: mail@stoford.com www.stoford.com

MARKETS

vital statistics

David Gray rounds up the facts and figures about Coventry’s markets and economics

42 coventry central city_issue 2

Residential market

Coventry has a residential stock of 127,000 homes and 246,000 households within a 16km radius, with at least 24,000 new households forecast by 2015 (6,000 in the city centre).

Owner occupation is high (72.5% in 2006), with a correspondingly low (16.3%) level of social renting. Private rental accounts for 9% of all tenure types.

Land Registry figures show the local residential market growing strongly in both price and volume between 2002 and 2005, then flattening from mid-2005. The average price rose from £79,700 in October 2002 to £129,150 by October 2007.

Detached homes sold for £299,200 in October 2007, with semi-detached at £162,200, terraced £114,000 and flats/maisonettes £102,400, much more affordable than cities such as Nottingham and Leeds.

Until now, compared also to many other English cities, Coventry’s centre

has had relatively few residential properties. This might have been a hangover from unfavourable perceptions about its attractiveness, and lack of historic buildings, retail and leisure facilities.

This is now changing rapidly, with several major residential schemes coming onstream in the heart of the city. More than 1,700 new homes have been built since 2004 and developments are under way at Belgrade Plaza (200 apartments) and Millennium View. The council gave the go-ahead in August 2007 to 500 new homes at Earlsdon Park, and the Friargate development is also about to start.

There is even more residential development across the rest of Coventry, which will also face a test as new schemes open in a much tighter national property market. Planning permission has been given for 1,000 homes at Paragon Park, while Astral Parkridge and Wimpey are working

left: Friargate masterplan for a business district. below: Turbine Hall, part of the Electric Wharf residential development.

Several major residential schemes are coming onstream in the heart of the city – more than 1,700 new homes have been built since 2004

on the conversion of the former Peugeot site into New Stoke Village (up to 1,700 homes).

In the north east of the city, a large NDC scheme will see 2,000 rented properties being demolished, to be replaced by 2,400 new homes for sale, and 1,000 for rent.

There are now enough new developments in the pipeline to radically improve Coventry’s housing offer to respond to the changing demands of the city.

Office market

Commercial property in Coventry is in the context of the much larger Birmingham market, which has sucked in investment from all around the West Midlands and saw very intense letting in 2006 and the first half of 2007. With the national climate for office investment cooling rapidly since then, the short-term outlook for the commercial sector in Coventry is not going to be bullish. There are,

however, reasons for expecting the city to have an easier ride than many others.

Most importantly, Coventry has been under-supplied with suitable space for many years, with the level of speculative development much lower than in Birmingham, Nottingham and other regional centres. The existing stock in the city centre of 120,000sq m (1.4 million sq ft) does not meet demand so has insulated yields, though they are bound to edge down during the coming year.

Grade A accommodation in the centre currently achieves around £16.50 per sq ft (about £150 per sq m).

Continuing demand is exemplified

by Severn Trent Water’s decision in October 2007 to relocate all its staff to new offices in the city centre.

The quality of new space now in the pipeline should also help uphold the Coventry market. The Friargate scheme, an entirely new business quarter around the main rail station,

ABOVE: AXA office development.

➜ coventry central city_issue 2 43

MARKETS

What the agents say

David Holt, a director of D&P Holt – agent on Friargate scheme and consultant surveyor on Stoford’s Severn Trent development – has practised in the city for more than 40 years.

“All the indicators for the city are positive, particularly since the level of transformation is now clearly under way and that will only increase.

“Currently 25,000 people work within the ring road but the council is keen to push the figure employed in the city centre to 100,000 by 2026, which will include several more major inward investors.

“Coventry is identified by the government as one of only 20 New Growth Points – while a recent survey placed it as one of the best three places in the UK in which to do business over the next 15 years.

“The council has worked extremely hard to attract investment and its message is now delivering in the best possible fashion – with real projects which are under way.”

will have its first offices available from the end of 2008.

Almost 13,500sq m (150,000sq ft) of new development is currently taking place in the city centre and the longer-term aim is to provide a stock of about 200,000sq m (2 million sq ft) by 2015. Given the strength of occupier demand and the limited amount of suitable quality existing space, this expansion is not overambitious. Coventry remains more affordable than Birmingham and has the potential to be one of the most attractive office locations in the Midlands.

will double the amount of shops, adding 61,200sq m (68,000sq ft) of retail space by 2015 – the biggest development the city has seen in over 50 years.

In the leisure sector, the refit of the Belgrade Theatre and the development of Belgrade Plaza alongside puts an

DAVID PENN, a director of Shortland Horne which has worked on Belgrade Plaza and Earlsdon Park.

“If you were to sit down and plan a city from scratch to attract investment, factors such as 15% of the population being undergraduates, very good communication links, two international airports close at hand, five motorways and direct trains to London, relatively cheap property rents and prices and a skilled labour force would all be high on the list.

“Coventry has all this, and open countryside within three miles in any direction.”

end to the era of Coventry being by-passed for the bright lights of Birmingham and the historic attractions of Warwick, Stratford and Leamington Spa. The £130 million Plaza project is a major vote of confidence and includes the city’s first four-star hotel. ❑

Retail and leisure market

Regeneration of the city centre is bringing an end to Coventry’s historically poor retail and leisure offer, which has held back the city’s development.

In the past its large and comparatively affluent population has preferred to shop outside the city in places like Solihull and Leamington Spa. Coventry came just 43rd in Experian’s 2007 national ranking of retail centres, and the level of investment in the city’s retailing has been very low for years. This is reflected in lower rents than other cities – Colliers reports levels in 2007 of £175 per sq ft, compared with £325 in central Birmingham and £245 in Nottingham.

However, this means there is huge opportunity to realise Coventry’s potential. The council is working with major developers to dramatically improve existing centres as well as build new ones. An early boost came at the end of 2007, with IKEA opening its first city centre store in Coventry, employing 400 staff, unlocking the retail potential of the city.

The £1 billion regeneration masterplan for the city centre by Jerde 44 coventry central city_issue 2

left: Shopping in Coventry city centre.

Top 20 Employers 2006/7 Rank Name of Organisation No. of Employees SIC Category 1 Coventry City Council 17,458 Public administration and defence 2 University Hospital 6,000 Health and social work 3 University of Warwick 4,734 Education

(Includes University Training centre) 4 Coventry University 2,280 Education 5 Jaguar Cars 2,104 Manufacture of transport equipment 6 Coventry Teaching PCT 2,075 Health and social work 7 Barclays Bank 1,992 Financial intermediation 8 Royal Mail/Parcelforce 1,889 Post and telecommunications 9 Tesco 1,547 Retail trade 10 West Midlands Police & Fire Authorities 1,456 Public administration and defence 11 Extra Care Charitable Trust 1,400 Health and social work 12 Rolls Royce 1,133 Manufacture of transport equipment 13 UK Central Government Depts 1,131 Public administration and defence 14 PSA Peugeot Citroen 1,002 Manufacture of transport equipment 15 Eon 963 Manufacture of electrical machinery 16 Meggit - Dunlop Aerospace 945 Wholesale, retail 17 Sainsbury Supermarkets 924 Retail trade 18 Coventry Building Society 862 Financial intermediation 19 British Telecommunications 859 Post and telecommunications 20 Capita Business Services 819 Computer and related activities Total 51,753 Source: Coventry City Council

PLEASED TO BE PART OF COVENTRY’S NEW DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME GALLAGHER HOUSE GALLAGHER WAY GALLAGHER BUSINESS PARK WARWICK CV34 6AF TELEPHONE: 01926 339339

FAX: 01926 339222

E-MAIL: mail@gallagheruk.com www.gallagheruk.com coventry central city_issue 2 45

T 08

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Charlie Parker Investment and performance, English Partnerships

Brian Field JESSICA task force, European Investment Bank

John Holmes Chief executive, Hull Citybuild

Tony Middleton Divisional director of asset and Facilities, London Borough of Croydon

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Coventry Leading the way in relocation Coventry is undergoing a massive regeneration programme, and the city's Investment and Business Team offers a tailor made service to businesses who want to be part of the city’s exciting future.

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investing in Coventry

10 years of regeneration

Developed on the site of a former colliery since 1998, the transformation of ProLogis Park Coventry into one of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most successful industrial parks just proves why the excellent location combined with the adaptable local workforce has already attracted a variety of high profile occupiers including Tesco, Gefco and Exel.

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ProLogis has spent ÂŁ18m improving infrastructure to create easy access for a wide range of users: logistics operators, manufacturers, office workers and residents.

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1998

2008

future for Coventry building a new