The Coventry Society Response to the City Centre Area Action Plan
The City Council published its City Centre Area Action Plan (CCAAP) in February 2015. This is a 90 page document that helps guide, inform and consider development proposals within Coventry city centre. It will guide how the city centre will develop over the next 20 years and provides a framework for the transformation of the city centre.
The Coventry Society have issued a formal response to the CCAAP in the form of a 23 page document submitted in April 2015.
Links to both the CCAAP and the Coventry Society response are provided to enable access and review; we welcome input and participation in this on-going initiative.
We see the key elements of the CCAAP to be:
Public Realm – develop a high quality of landscape design, providing significant new attractive and welcoming public spaces.
Buildings – we want to see High Quality Design as the critical ingredient of any developments; we support active frontages and use of quality materials (distinctive “Coventry” style of sandstone, red brick and timber). We recognise that good building design is an essential element of the built environment. The city centre needs a better balance between large-scale buildings and domestic scale developments.
Homes – we support the plan to build new houses in the city centre and see the need to bring back a “living heart”; this should include aspirational housing to both retain University graduates and attract families back into the centre.
Small Independent Businesses – we want to promote development that caters for this key sector that would then contribute to the lifeblood of the city centre, and become instigators for change.
Green Areas – we support the plan to open up sections of the culverted River Sherbourne; we see the potential for creating a natural green corridor following the River Sherbourne west-east across and through the city centre, connecting people with nature, and giving access to natural green spaces. We support the policy to maintain and enhance green & blue infrastructure and develop the “greening” of the Ring Road and the delivery of a strategic network of green and blue spaces (parks, amenity landscaping, ponds, canals and rivers) that is of high quality and well connected.
Ring Road – we need to address the negative “barrier” effects of the ring road, to improve access and connectivity between the Centre and the wider City. We would like to "green" and "civilise" the ring road which is seen as a physical and psychological barrier, creating safer, more convenient and attractive routes across it.
Historic Environment / Heritage Assets – we need to preserve and enhance the City’s historic buildings, to develop the “lost” Medieval legacy of Coventry, whilst supporting the development of heritage and tourism. We support the aim of connecting residents with their past, boosting civic pride, identity and hope, and linking the Medieval C15 story into the C21 CCAAP. We want to support the installation of Public Art to help enrich the City’s cultural offering, celebrating the rich history.
Next Steps, Progress:
The Coventry Society looks forward to an on-going dialogue and engagement with the Council and Developers, to ensure the Plan gets translated into a quality, attractive and diverse city centre.
Our aspiration is to develop a culture of utilising Design Briefs to guide the development of the City Centre and ensure a Quality transformation.
We are looking to work in partnership with local Architects and Designers to develop Design Briefs that will support and guide the CCAAP into reality. The over-riding desire of the Coventry Society is to install a culture of Quality into the city centre environment, and we promote ideas and input regarding architecture, street-scene and the urban realm. We are progressing a working group with stakeholders and professionals in the fields of architecture, urban design and the built environment, aiming to raise awareness of design issues and encourage debate and interaction across the City.
Download the City Centre Action Area Plan here.
Download the full response of the Coventry Society here.
