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Chapter 10

City Centre

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List Of Contents

Title Page

Introduction and Policy Aim 142National and Regional Policy Context 142Local Policy Context - Consultants� Report and the Community Plan 142

City Centre Strategy 146A Vibrant and Entertaining Market Place 146A Living Heart 146Warm and Welcoming Public Spaces 150Accessible to All 151Sparkling through Good Design and Management 155

Distinctive Areas 155Central Shopping Area 155West End Area 157Southside Area 158Queens Road/Butts Area 159Station Area 159Parkside Area 160Coventry University Area 161Cathedral Area 161Phoenix Area 162Ring Road Area 164Swanswell Area 165Drapers Fields Area 165

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INTRODUCTION AND POLICY AIM

10.1 The City Centre has traditionally been at theheart of the City�s civic and religious life aswell as its shopping provision. Theexpansion of the City has meant that otherfacilities have been provided in other placesbut the City Centre remains the single mostaccessible location. After what was felt to bethe �completion� of the City Centre in the1970s there was a period of little activity butfrom the mid 1980s there has been a freshrealisation of the importance of continuallyrenewing the heart of the City.

10.2 The policy aim is to develop the full potentialof the City Centre by making it a more attractiveplace for all the community and the wider sub-region. This means creating:

� a vibrant and entertaining market place� a living heart� warm and welcoming public spaces;

making it � accessible to all and� sparkling through good design and

management

10.3 The definition of the City Centre has changedsince the 1993 Plan and the distinctionbetween the �Central Area� and the �CityCentre� has also been abandoned. The areahas been extended to include the housingdevelopments at Drapers Fields and potentialdevelopment sites around the Coventry &Warwickshire Hospital but reduced aroundLower Ford Street and by the removal of theentire Far Gosford Street area which is nowreferred to in the Shopping Chapter.

National and Regional Policy Context

10.4 The main Government guidance is inPlanning Policy Guidance Note (PPG) 6�Town Centres and Retail Development�1996 which, as its name implies, dealswith these two aspects but firstly stressesan approach where the free marketoperates within a plan-led environment.Guidance therefore starts with:

� emphasis on a plan-led approach topromoting development in towncentres;

� emphasis on the sequential approach toselecting sites for development forretail, employment, leisure and otherkey town centre uses.

10.5 In dealing with town centres, guidanceseeks:

� promotion of mixed use developmentand retention of key town centre uses;

� emphasis on the importance of acoherent town centre parking strategy through a combination of location,management and pricing for differentuser groups;

� promotion of town centre managementto develop clear standards of service and improve quality for users; and

� promotion of good urban design.

10.6 �Regional Planning Guidance for the WestMidlands� 1998 (RPG 11) identifies Coventryas the centre of a string of towns runningfrom Atherstone in the north to Warwickand Stratford in the south.

Local Policy Context - Consultants�Reports and the Community Plan

10.7 As a result of the changes that had takenplace in the City Centre since the 1993Plan and the renewed interest in towncentres encouraged by Governmentguidance, the City Council has commissioned anumber of studies. These include a CityCentre Retail Health Check in the formrecommended in PPG 6 and a wider CityCentre Audit (carried out by Donaldsons,Urbed and Buchanans), an Urban DesignStudy and City Centre Access Strategy(Urban Initiatives), Lighting (Speirs &Major) and Public Art (PACA).

10.8 The City Centre Retail Health Checkestablished the shopping profile, structureand mix and also covered the otherindicators listed in PPG 6.

10.9 The shopping profile, structure and mixassessment compared the City Centre witha number of other centres and found lessshopping floorspace than both Wolverhamptonand Derby and considerably less thanLeicester, with which Coventry hasfrequently been compared. The amount ofshopping floorspace has increased by 11%since 1990, principally through theconstruction of West Orchards and CathedralLanes centres. There have been significantincreases in the floorspace taken by serviceuses.

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10.10 The structure and mix of the City Centre in1995 showed 62% comparison floorspace(above the national average) with 12%convenience floorspace (below thenational average) and about the same forboth services and vacant (Cathedral Laneswas being refurbished at the time and wastherefore vacant). Comparable figures for1997 show 67% in comparison floorspace,13% in both convenience and servicefloorspace and 7% vacant.

10.11 Although the range of shopping is felt to beadequate and there are other attractionssuch as the Cathedral, the Museum ofBritish Road Transport, Spon Street, theBelgrade Theatre and Coventry University,the Health Check reveals that there isroom for improvement in both enhancingexisting facilities and attracting new ones.There is no entertainment area as suchwhich results in a sense of isolation forpotential users of the City Centre in theevening.

10.12 The key shops are the middle- and lower-market multiples including Debenhams,Burtons, New Look and Top Shop.Mainstream retailers such as Marks &Spencer, BHS and Allders are alsoimportant but there is a lack of qualitymultiples and speciality shops. Sainsburys,the food hall in Marks & Spencer and theMarket are also key for food shopping.Surveys have shown 50 retailers seekingspace in the City Centre including somewho wish to expand. Their names suggesta slight strengthening in the quality andspeciality areas but essentially the furtherdevelopment of the middle-market.

10.13 Information on shop rents suggests thatlevels have increased over the last 5 years.Prime space is in high demand with therental gap widening between prime andsecondary space which is only maintainingits value. This may lead to some retailersmoving to slightly secondary positions inorder to increase space or in anticipationof improvements in the secondary areas.

10.14 Vacancy levels have varied over the last 5years as parts of the shopping area havecome forward for refurbishment but arecurrently below the national average. Theimpending work on the Lower Precinctwill increase the level again.

10.15 Commercial yields indicate that there hasnot been a lot of investor confidence in theCity Centre, indicated by the potential forrent increases, although the situation maybe improving.

10.16 Pedestrian flows have been measured on aconsistent basis over a number of yearsand show around a 20% drop in total overthe last 5 years. On a day to day basis,Saturday has become around 40% quieteralthough Friday has become a little busier.Peak flows are recorded aroundBroadgate, Upper Precinct, Orchard Linkand Cross Cheaping with the lowest flowsin the Lower Precinct and Queen VictoriaRoad.

10.17 The Health Check shows that most (41%)of visitors to the City Centre come by bus,just more than those who come in a car asdriver or passenger (40%). A surprisinglyhigh proportion of people walk (13%)reflecting the close links to adjacenthousing areas. Provision for bus services isfelt to be good but overcomplicated insome respects. Access for cars was also feltto be good but capable of improvement byimproving signing between the Ring Roadand the car parks. The car parksthemselves were chosen because theywere generally central (37%) or closest tothe main shop destination (26%). Themajor problem identified for bothpedestrians and cyclists was crossing theRing Road.

10.18 Customer views and behaviour wereassessed by a 500 person Shoppers Surveywhich found that:

� over half the respondents were under44 with nearly one-third in the both theskilled manual and the unskilledmanual/unemployed/student categorieswhich is broadly typical of the City;

� ethnic minority groups were significantlyunder-represented in the City Centre;

� the majority of people had come forshopping although two-thirds combinedshopping with something else likeeating out;

� most shopping was for clothing andfootwear and the City Centre waschosen mainly because it was closest towhere people lived with the choice,range and equality of the shops as thenext most important factor;

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� for food shoppers, Sainsburys andMarks & Spencer were the mostimportant shops;

� over a third of people come to the CityCentre only once a week but nearly athird come more than that, most stayfor about two hours;

� the things that people liked about theCity Centre were that it was easy to getto (34%) and the choice of shops(30%) while 22% liked it for noparticular reason;

� a third of people used the City Centrein the evening, mainly in the youngerage groups and mainly to visit thepubs, clubs and cinema.

10.19 Questions about the City Centre were alsoasked in the larger Household Survey whichlargely confirmed the Shoppers Survey results.The Household Survey also showed that:

� good things include the choice ofbanks, building societies and otherservices (57%), the Market (43%), thechoice of shops (42%) and signposting(41%);

� poor things include parks and openspaces (26%), the choice of places toeat and drink (20%) and the lack ofcinemas/theatres (18%).

10.20 Safety was felt to be an important issue bynearly 80% of the people and over two-thirds of them felt safe in the City Centre.When asked further, safety specifically inthe evenings is a concern with theHousehold Survey showing 58% of peoplehaving a fear of violence.

10.21 A survey of City Centre environmentalquality was carried out which showed that:

� good things include the generalcondition of the streets, cleanliness,lack of graffiti and lack of flyposting;

� poor things include street furniture,planting, a general feeling of lack ofsafety and treatment of vacant sites;

� the main shopping area, the cathedralarea, the historic area around SponStreet and the offices area in the southare all of high environmental quality;

� the University area, secondary shoppingarea and residential area in the south are all of mixed environmentalquality;

� the partly industrial area in the north of theCity Centre is of poor environmental quality;

� crossing the Ring Road was a particularproblem for pedestrians;

� there are few incentives to linger in theCity Centre, more green spaces andwater features would improve things.

10.22 The wider City Centre Audit alsoconsidered employment, housing, cultureand the evening economy. It found that,

for employment:

� the City Centre is a major source ofemployment provided in a sustainable location including City Council staff,Coventry University, AXA Assurance, Coventry Newspapers, Travel WestMidlands and retailers;

� businesses run by ethnic minoritygroups are under-represented in theCity Centre;

� the University is a major source ofincome for the City Centre throughdirect employment and the studentmarket for night-life;

� managed workspaces and seedbeds fornew enterprises are lacking;

� attracting new major office developmentswill be difficult.

for housing:

� there are fewer people living in the CityCentre than in other comparable cities and the quality of the residentialenvironment is not good;

� there are not many �stylish singles�people in the City who favour CityCentre living;

� the key to attracting investment is theability to create a safe and attractive environment. Current opportunities arelimited so environmental improvements willbe essential;

� Coventry University residences shouldbe focused in and around the City Centre.

for culture and the evening economy:

� the City Centre has an adequate rangeof attractions but nothing exceptional;

� the general atmosphere of the City Centreat night and at the weekends is not attractive enough to draw in visitors;

� the attractions are too small and too dispersedfor them to achieve �critical mass� and thebenefits of a concentrated area;

� it is important to reinforce what existsor is developing rather than spread investment too thinly.

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10.23 These findings were taken forward in theproduction of the Review Strategy and theCoventry Community Plan. TheCommunity Plan identifies the City Centreas one of the six main priorities and setsout a number of objectives:

� Making the City Centre accessible toeveryone by:- improving access to shops and

buildings;- making it a safe place to visit;- providing free on-street parking in

the evenings;- promoting late-night buses.

� Providing facilities that meet people�sneeds through:-- housing for all ages;- a wide range of shops;- extended shopping hours;- a wide range of restaurants;- facilities that meet the needs of all

sections of the community and visitors (not just young people).

� Creating the right environment by:-- celebrating our heritage;- more street entertainment;- multi-cultural events;- innovative lighting features;- a cleaner and greener environment;- an environment which encourages

new investment.

10.24 The City Council, in partnership with theprivate sector, has formed the City CentreCompany which has taken over themanagement of the car parks within theRing Road and the public spaces withinthe main Precinct.

10.25 The Urban Design Study focuses principallyon a hierarchy of routes and spaces. Theseconsist of:

� the �civic spines� running east-west andnorth-south;

� �community/visitor routes�, principallypedestrian;

� the Inner Circulatory Route forvehicles;

� Broadgate;� �hub spaces�;� spaces on the �civic spines�; and� spaces on the �community/visitor

routes�.

There are separate sections on designapproaches to the Ring Road, the areasaround the Ring Road both inside andoutside the City Centre (referred to as�Inner Area Zones of Change�), gap sites,views and landmarks.

10.26 The City Centre Access Strategy arosejointly from the Urban Design Study andthe need to reconcile the Phoenix Initiativewith highway concerns. It suggests:

� the need for controlled bus access acrosssome key spaces during the day;

� development of a package ofcomplementary measures to support this;

� revisions to the pattern of taxi accessand ranks;

� remodelling the Station Square area forpedestrians and other means of transport;

� the need to run the �City Centre PeopleMover� across key spaces whether ornot other forms of public transport arepermitted to do so;

� the existing number of car parkingspaces is broadly right but spacesshould be concentrated into fewer butbigger car parks;

� the car park pricing regime should berationalised and charges should bemade for on-street parking;

� �Dynamic Traffic Management� systemsshould be introduced to enable traffic tobe steered in appropriate directions atdifferent times by Variable Message Signsand other technologies;

� All long distance and tourist coachtraffic should be directed into Pool Meadow;

� An incremental approach todowngrading the northern side of theRing Road be considered;

� improved ways of crossing the RingRoad for pedestrians and cyclists are needed but the particular approach willneed to be site specific; and

� improved cycle parking is needed.

10.27 The Lighting Strategy also relates to theUrban Design Study and focusesprincipally on the image of the City Centreat night. In addition to the routes andspaces in the Urban Design Study itidentifies:

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� landmark buildings;� gateways to the City Centre for both

vehicles and pedestrians;� edges to the City Centre, principally the

Ring Road;� �night time economy� locations.

10.28 The Public Art Strategy seeks to place andencourage items of public art in specificCity Centre locations. Areas consideredappropriate for the inclusion of public artare identified in the various site specificpolicies below.

CITY CENTRE STRATEGY

CC 1: CITY CENTRE STRATEGY

The development of the City Centre will bepromoted and encouraged as an attractive,vibrant and accessible focus to meet theneeds of all the community and to fullydevelop its Sub-regional role.

This will be achieved in partnership with awide variety of public, private and voluntaryagencies.

(Part 1 policy)

10.29 The City Centre needs to be able to meet avariety of community needs for the City�spopulation and continue to develop itswider specialised and Sub-regional roles forthe 460,000 people in the secondarycatchment area (see Text Map S 1). Ways ofmeeting these needs and roles have beensummarised in paragraph 10.2 .

10.30 This Strategy section expands thesegeneral objectives and contains keypolicies for those areas which have a CityCentre-wide content, identifying sites onthe Proposals Map as necessary. It isfollowed by both general and site specificpolicies for the Distinctive Areas of the CityCentre shown on the Proposals Map. Atthe level of these Distinctive Areas, it is theintention that an overall mix of uses issought in accordance with Policy OS 9.

A Vibrant and Entertaining MarketPlace

CC 2: A VIBRANT AND ENTERTAININGMARKET PLACE

The development of the City Centre will bepromoted and encouraged as the major focus fornew shopping and social, community, leisure andtourism schemes. This will be achieved through acombination of redevelopment, refurbishmentand extension.

10.31 The main focus of the City Centre willcontinue to be its shopping role. Thedefinition of the Central Shopping Areawith appropriate promotional and controlpolicies is intended to develop this inaccordance with the Shopping Strategy setout in Policy S 1. The further developmentof the social, community, leisure andtourism role of the City Centre is alsoimportant and the identification of theWest End and Phoenix Areas are intendedto provide a focus for developments of thesetypes in accordance with Policy SCL 2.Moves towards the �24-hour City� will besupported and Coventry University alsohelps to generate demand for specifictypes of leisure facilities.

A Living Heart

CC 3: A LIVING HEART

The development of the City Centre will bepromoted and encouraged to provide a living heartfor the City through the identification andpromotion of a mix of residential, employment andeducation sites and areas.

Residential schemes will be of a variety oftypes and tenures.

Employment schemes should be primarily forbusiness offices and also include hotels andconference and training accommodation.

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Map CC (1) New Housing Sites - Policy CC 4

NEW RESIDENTIAL SITES

11. Lower Holyhead Road/Hill Street12. Hill Street/Bond Street13. Hill Street/Corporation Street14. Spon Street/Queen Victoria Road15. Queen Victoria Road

16. Whitefriars Street (Coventry University Car Park)17. Whitefriars Lane Car Parks18. 64 - 76 Whitefriars Street19. Winfray Annexe, Butts10. Site Adjacent 39 Stoney Road

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10.32 In order to fulfil the City Centre Strategy,the development of a �living heart� wherepeople want to live, work and be educatedat all hours of the day and night isrequired. The southern side of the CityCentre already has a mix of residential andoffice employment which co-exist wellwith each other and with CoventryUniversity. To achieve the 1,000 unit targetreferred to in the Housing Chapter atparagraph 3.32, three elements areidentified:

� new residential sites (referred to inPolicy CC 4);

� office conversions (referred to in PolicyCC 5);

� �living over the shop� (referred to inPolicy CC 6).

The identified new residential sites arespread throughout the City Centre in orderto increase the general mix of activities.Sites suitable for a mix of uses but whereresidential must be a substantial elementare identified in Policy CC 7. Other sitesmay also emerge which will contribute tothis element of the Strategy and these arereferred to in Policy CC 8.

10.33 The general suitability of the City Centrefor a range of employment uses is stressedin the overall Economy and EmploymentChapter. Specifically, business offices areindicated to be �principally located�within the City Centre in Policy E 5 whilehotels and conference and trainingfacilities are encouraged to locate withinthe City Centre in Policy E 4. Specific sitesare identified for these uses in theSouthside, Queens Road/Butts, Stationand Parkside Areas (the last linked toCoventry University) and employmentuses may also form a part of thedevelopment of the Phoenix Area.

CC 4: NEW HOUSING SITES

New housing will be promoted and encouragedon sites shown on the Proposals Map at:

11 Lower Holyhead Road/Hill Street;12 Hill Street/Bond Street;13 Hill Street/Corporation Street;14 Spon Street/Queen Victoria Road;15 Queen Victoria Road;16 Whitefriars Street (Coventry University

car park);17 Whitefriars Lane car parks;18 64-76 Whitefriars Street;19 Winfray Annexe, Butts;10 Site adjacent 39 Stoney Road.

A further 200 dwellings will be incorporatedwithin the Phoenix 1 and 2 areas.

Other uses which are both ancillary andcompatible may be included where it can beproved that this will assist in bringing thesites forward.

10.34 It is important to offer a wide portfolio ofhousing sites within the City Centre tocater for the changing needs of thepopulation over the Plan period. Thehousing sites are all considered suitable forowner-occupier developments, especiallysites 9 and 10; apart from these two, all areconsidered suitable for social or studentdevelopments. Broadly, owner-occupierdevelopments are sought to widen thesocial mix of the City Centre.

10.35 Part of the Parkside 2 area is identified inPolicy H 7-4 and the Drapers Field site isidentified in Policy H 7-7 as PrincipalHousing Sites. The Phoenix 1 and 2 areasare referred to in Policies CC 37 and CC39. A site in Greyfriars Lane is to bedeveloped as an extension to FordsHospital for special needs housing.

10.36 In some cases, an ancillary element ofdevelopment will be required in order toachieve other objectives for DistinctiveAreas. At sites CC 4-3 and CC 4-4 inparticular, specialised retailing at groundfloor level would help to link existing retailfrontages and promote the generalcharacter of the West End Area.

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CC 5: OFFICE CONVERSIONS

Proposals to convert redundant officebuildings to residential use will be permittedsubject to a satisfactory residentialenvironment being created.

10.37 It has become clear that a number ofexisting office blocks in the City Centre areno longer suitable for that use as a result ofchanging space and technicalrequirements. Conversion to residentialuse has already started to happen but ismost likely to be suitable for the social orstudent housing market. Buildings whichare considered suitable include CoventryPoint, Market Chambers and RingwayHouse.

CC 6: �LIVING OVER THE SHOP�

Proposals to convert space above shops andother commercial uses to residential use willbe permitted subject to a satisfactoryresidential environment being created.

10.38 There are some locations where spaceabove shops and other commercialpremises is not being used to its fullpotential. �Living Over The Shop� hasbeen promoted as an effective way of bothachieving more residential units in the CityCentre and providing increased income orsecurity for property owners. A scheme isunder development above the Coventry &East Mercia Co-op building in CorporationStreet which would reuse the top storey ofthe existing building and add moredevelopment above. West Orchards Houseand the AEUW Offices in Corporation Streetare also considered to be suitable and, inother areas, detailed investigations will becarried out to assess the attitude of ownersand the feasibility of the work.

CC 7: OTHER SITES FOR RESIDENTIAL USE

Residential use should form a substantialelement of the redevelopment of sites shownon the Proposals Map at:

1 Manor House Drive;2 Sibree Hall and Greyfriars Road car park;3 East side of Grosvenor Road.

10.39 On some sites within the City Centre, themost suitable redevelopment will be for amix of uses, both to aid the developmentprocess and also for its own sake.Residential use should be a substantialelement of that mix in the three identifiedsites, detailed below. The inter-relationshipof uses, the achievement of a satisfactoryresidential environment and the financialviability of the overall scheme will all needto be considered.

10.40 The site at Manor House Drive, referred toin Policy CA 38 of the 1993 Plan as FriarsRoad/Ringway St Patrick, has been thesubject of discussion with the site owner.The exact type of residential use will beestablished by the market and otheracceptable uses include offices, hotel orleisure uses including pub/restaurant(although this will be subject to the criteriain Policy S 11). In view of the location ofthe site, a development of up to 8 storeyswill be acceptable on the frontage toRingway St Patrick while development atthe other end of the site will need to relateto the existing buildings in Friars Road andthe listed Cheylesmore Manor building.

10.41 The site consisting of the Sibree Hall andthe Greyfriars Road East car park wasidentified as part of a larger DevelopmentOption Site in Policy CA 38 of the 1993Plan. In addition to the substantialresidential element, public car parkingprovision must be retained (referred to inPolicy CC 13) and business office andsocial, community and leisure uses wouldalso be acceptable. The scale of thedevelopment will need to relate to thelisted buildings on the Warwick Rowfrontage.

10.42 The site on the east side of GrosvenorRoad consists of the Park Court officedevelopment, a surface level car parkintended to be retained in the 1993 Planand the former Parkside car dealership,now vacant. In addition to the substantialresidential element and in the light of thelocation adjacent to the Station, businessoffices and a hotel will also be acceptableuses.

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CC 8: CITY CENTRE WINDFALL SITES

Proposals for the redevelopment of otherCity Centre sites should seek to includeresidential use as part of the overall schemewherever this is feasible in environmentaland economic terms.

10.43 In this context, a windfall site is one forwhich the proposed uses are not identifiedby a policy in this Chapter. It is importantthat when unforeseen redevelopmentopportunities emerge, the potential forresidential use is carefully considered. It isnot possible to identify all theseopportunities for residential developmentwithin the City Centre which may emerge.

Warm and Welcoming Public Spaces

CC 9: WARM AND WELCOMING PUBLICSPACES

Improvements to the environment of CityCentre will be promoted and encouraged.This will be through a combination of majorenvironmental improvement schemes,smaller scale improvements and greeningexercises.

10.44 The City Centre Audit established that,while a lot had been done to improve theenvironment of the City Centre, somemistakes had been made and much moreneeded to be done. There is also now arecognition that the improvement processneeds to be continuous with evolving ideasto meet the public�s changing needs. Workhas taken place in the main Precinct area,Bull Yard and the Canal Basin, but furtherwork for the first two is referred to below.The major problem for the Canal Basin isthe access to it across the Ring Road andthis is referred to in Policies CC 44 and CC46.

CC 10: MAJOR ENVIRONMENTALIMPROVEMENT SCHEMES

Major environmental improvement schemeswill be promoted and encouraged on sitesshown on the Proposals Map at:

11 Broadgate and High Street;12 Upper Precinct;13 Palmer Lane;14 Belgrade Square;15 Lidice Place;16 Spon Street;17 Greyfriars Green;18 Bull Yard;19 Little Park Street/High Street/Earl Street;10 New Union Street/Little Park Street;11 Jordan Well/Gosford Street/Cox Street;12 Priory Street;13 Ring Road;14 Station Square.

10.45 The locations include those identifiedthrough the Urban Design Study andgenerally follow the categorisation set outin paragraph 10.25. The schemes will allinclude improved and integrated lightingschemes and public art. Particular detailsare:

� in Broadgate and High Street, apartfrom involving the removal of vehiculartraffic if this is possible, the removal ofthe existing canopy, remodellingBroadgate to improve the link with theUpper Precinct and remodelling HighStreet to improve the pedestrianenvironment;

� in the Upper Precinct, the removal ofthe existing ramp to the upper leveland relocation of the escalator awayfrom the main axis of the Precinct;

� in Palmer Lane, the separation ofpedestrian and vehicular movements andenhancement of the River Sherbourne;

� in Belgrade Square, the remodelling ofthe space to improve the pedestrian environment and provide a bettersetting for the Belgrade Theatre;

� in Lidice Place, the remodelling of thespace to strengthen the links betweenthe Lower Precinct, Spon Street andHill Street and improve the setting ofhistoric buildings;

� in Spon Street, the repaving of thestreet to complement its historiccharacter;

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� at Greyfriars Green, the widening of thefootway from Bull Yard, removal of the subway under Greyfriars Road and theremodelling of the Green itself;

� in Bull Yard, the extension of theexisting repaving scheme up NewUnion Street and Warwick Row andaround Christchurch spire;

� at the Little Park Street/High Street/EarlStreet junction, the creation of a newsquare to improve the pedestrianenvironment and improve the setting ofthe Council House;

� at the New Union Street/Little ParkStreet junction, improvements to thepedestrian environment;

� in the Jordan Well/Gosford Street/CoxStreet area, improvements to thepedestrian environment;

� in Priory Street, the creation of a newsquare to improve the pedestrianenvironment, the setting of theCathedrals and Coventry Universitybuildings and the exclusion of largevehicles;

� around the Ring Road junctions, aprogramme of visual improvements topillars, cladding panels and surroundingspaces;

� in Station Square, remodelling of thespace to improve the pedestrian links tothe rest of the City Centre and thesetting of the Station building.

10.46 Both the City Centre Audit and the UrbanDesign Study remarked on the very highlevel of general accessibility of the CityCentre to the rest of the City. Clearproblems were, however, identified withsome aspects of moving around within theCity Centre and crossing the Ring Road.There was also a concern that, in an effortto create a pedestrian and public transportfriendly environment, the importance ofthe private car for the evening economyhad been overlooked. The achievement ofan �accessible to all� City Centre meansthat these remarks need to be considered.

Accessible to All

CC 11: ACCESSIBLE TO ALL

Improvements to accessibility to and withinthe City Centre to provide access for allsectors of the community will be promotedand encouraged. These will include:

� promotion of a �City Centre People Mover�;

� schemes to make crossing the Ring Road easier for pedestrians and cyclists;

� provision of an adequate supply of car parking for shoppers; and

� opening some streets for car traffic and parking in the evening.

Special attention must be paid to the needsof disabled people.

The removal of buses from Broadgate andHigh Street and the complementarydevelopment of other convenient locations forpublic transport interchanges will be sought.

10.47 In accordance with Policy AM 1, the safe,efficient and easy movement of people inand around the City Centre will bepromoted and a balance sought betweenpublic transport, pedestrians, cyclists andcar users. This balance will change fordifferent types of journey and at differenttimes of day.

10.48 One way of helping people to get aroundthe City Centre is the concept of a CityCentre People Mover. This could take avariety of forms ranging from aconventional diesel bus through to electricpowered vehicles or a fixed-track ultra-light system. The route would depend, tosome extent, on the system but would linkall the major destinations within the CityCentre. It would be able to cross theMillennium Boulevard and run throughBroadgate and High Street if a non-polluting vehicle is used.

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Map CC (2) Public Car Parking - Policy CC 13

PUBLIC CAR PARKING

1. West Orchards2. Barracks3. Market/City Arcade4. Greyfriars Road5. Salt Lane6. Leigh Mills7. Queen Victoria Road8. Leisure World9. Moat Street

10. New Union Street11. Christchurch House12. Manor House drive13. Gosford Street14. Grove Street15. Lower Ford street16. Queens Road17. Ford Street18. St. Johns StreetM. Multi-storey car park at St. Johns Street

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10.49 The major problem associated with bothwalking and cycling to the City Centre iscrossing the Ring Road; getting to the Stationand the Canal Basin are the most notableproblem areas. A number of alternativeapproaches to this are possible includingimproving and providing more bridges,providing �at-grade� crossings and, if nothingelse is possible, improving the existingsubways. Providing �at-grade� crossings mayinvolve either filling in existing subways orreplanning stretches of the Ring Road to makeit more pedestrian friendly. These are referredto in Policies CC 42 to CC 46.

10.50 Shoppers will be encouraged to come tothe City Centre by both improvements toother modes of transport and the provisionof short-stay car parking.

10.51 During the day, pedestrians and cyclists willbe given priority over public transport apartfrom the City Centre People Mover. Duringthe evening, parts of the City Centre such asCorporation Street will be opened to cartraffic and on-street car parking allowed.

10.52 The existing layout of Broadgate and HighStreet causes inconvenience for manythrough a combination of high pedestrian andbus flows and illegal use by private cars andother vehicles during the day. The desiredsolution consists of the removal of allvehicular traffic from these areas, apart fromthe City Centre People Mover if it is a non-polluting vehicle. It is recognised that this willinvolve major reorganisation of bus routesand the relocation of public transportinterchanges in the City Centre and willrequire investigation by the City Council andpublic transport planners and providers.

CC 12: CAR PARKING AND NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Private car parking provision for newdevelopments will be subject to maxima standardsand will be limited in the case of non-residentialdevelopment to that necessary for the essentialoperational needs and provision for �orangebadge� holders.

The developer will be required to contribute in fairand reasonable proportion to the cost of meetingor reducing demand for additional parkingprovision through public car parking, park and rideschemes or other transport measures.

Supplementary Planning Guidance willimplement these principles in detail.

10.53 Commuting to work by alternative means oftransport to the private car will be promotedthrough continued improvements to othermodes, �green commuting� and by limitinglong-stay car parking. A number of existinglong-stay car parks are identified for residentialor substantially residential use in Policies CC 4and CC 7. New developments and extensionsfor non-residential uses should not providemore than the operational minimum numberof spaces in order to encourage the use ofalternative means of transport. The operationalminimum will exclude long-stay staff and visitorparking but will include provision for �OrangeBadge� drivers. Car parking standards areSupplementary Planning Guidance, referred toin Policy AM 18, and planning obligations inaccordance with Policy IM 2 will be sought toimplement this policy.

CC 13: PUBLIC CAR PARKING

Public Car Parks will be retained on sitesshown on the Proposals Map at:

11 West Orchards;12 Barracks;13 Market/City Arcade;14 Greyfriars Road;15 Salt Lane;16 Leigh Mills;17 Queen Victoria Road (Central Midlands Co-op);18 Leisure World;19 Moat Street;10 New Union Street;11 Christchurch House;12 Manor House Drive;13 Gosford Street;14 Grove Street;15 Lower Ford Street;16 Queens Road;17 Ford Street;18 St Johns Street.

Proposals to redevelop any of these sites willonly be considered if adequate and suitablealternative provision is made through one ormore of the following:

� replacement parking as part of the scheme;� a financial contribution towards replacement

parking within the City Centre; or� a financial contribution towards the

provision of �Park and Ride� services.

A new multi-storey car park will be constructed at StJohns Street over the existing surface level car park.

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154

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Map CC (3) Distinctive Areas - Policy CC 15

4

3

56

1

10

78

7

2

9 10

1112

1. Central Shopping Area2. West End Area3. Southside Area4. Queens Road/Butts Area5. Station Area6. Parkside Area

17. Coventry University Area18. Cathedral Area19. Phoenix Area10. Ring Road Area11. Swanswell Area12. Drapers Fields Area

10.54 The City Centre Access Strategy concludedthat the existing number of public carparking spaces (around 6,000) should beretained in order to ensure the continuedattraction of the City Centre for car users.It suggested that overall managementwould be improved by the concentrationof spaces into fewer but larger car parksdirectly accessed from the Ring Road as faras possible. There would then be anopportunity to redevelop of a number ofexisting surface level car parks for otheruses. Car parks to be retained are shownon Text Map CC (2).

Sparkling through Good Designand Management

CC 14: SPARKLING THROUGH GOODDESIGN AND MANAGEMENT

Improved design and management of theCity Centre will be promoted andencouraged through partnerships withlandowners, developers, businesses and theCity Centre Company.

This will include:

� major lighting and public art schemes; and� an approach to urban design that

recognises the Distinctive Areas of the City Centre.

10.55 The partnership that the City Council hasestablished through the City CentreCompany for the management andpromotion of the City Centre will be acrucial part of this exercise but one whichis largely outside the land use remit of thePlan. Partnerships will also be sought withother landowners to secure agreementswhich support the City Centre Strategy.

10.56 The Lighting and Public Art Strategies needto be linked with the Urban Design Studyboth in the promotion of the mini andmajor environmental improvements andreferred to in Policies CC 9 and CC 10 andin day-to-day design and maintenancework. The overall approach to UrbanDesign is referred to in the BuiltEnvironment Strategy and the Principles ofUrban Design Policies BE 1 and 2.

DISTINCTIVE AREAS

CC 15: DISTINCTIVE AREAS

Distinctive Areas are shown on the ProposalsMap to guide development within the CityCentre. Although there will be apredominant use or uses within these Areas,an overall mix of uses will be maintained andsought.

10.57 The identification of Distinctive Areas, alsoshown on Text Map CC (3), helps to focusdevelopment in appropriate parts of theCity Centre where this is desirable. Withinthese Areas, in accordance with Policy OS9, mixed land use will be sought althoughit will not always be appropriate to pursuemixed uses on every site. There will alsoneed to be consideration of the details ofdevelopments in accordance with theprinciples set out in Policy BE 2.

The Central Shopping Area

CC 16: THE CENTRAL SHOPPING AREA

The Central Shopping Area is shown on theProposals Map.

Within this Area, proposals forredevelopment, refurbishment, extension orconversion for shopping uses will be promotedand encouraged.

Outside this Area, proposals for refurbishment,extension or conversion for shopping uses beconsidered in the light of the character of therelevant Distinctive Area and its role. Proposals forredevelopment and conversion for shopping willnot be permitted except as indicated in other CityCentre policies.

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10.58 In the light of the City Centre Retail HealthCheck and other changes and proposals inthis Chapter, the Central Shopping Area inthe 1993 Plan has been redefined by theexclusion of the Central Midlands Co-op,Spon Street, the west side of CorporationStreet, Fairfax Street and the Hay Lanearea. This does not mean that the CityCouncil will discourage existing retailing inthe excluded areas but rather that thedevelopment of additional new roles forthese areas will be encouraged. Thebalance of shopping uses within theCentral Shopping Area will be subject toPolicy CC 20.

10.59 The Coventry Shopping Study hasidentified capacity for up to 67,300 sq mgross of in-centre development during thePlan Period. Following the �sequentialtest� set out in Government guidance, theCity Centre sites identified below will bethe main priorities for refurbishment andredevelopment but other proposals mayarise for smaller parts of the Area whichwill normally be supported in the interestsof maintaining the Area�s role.

10.60 Outside the Central Shopping Area,redevelopment for shopping will not bepermitted except for:

� small scale redevelopments in associationwith residential use (referred to inPolicy CC 4);

� sites at the corner of New Union Streetand Little Park Street (referred to inPolicy CC 25); or

� the Phoenix 1 development area whichincludes shopping both within the Central Shopping Area and outside it(referred to in Policy CC 37).

Refurbishments and extensions which helpto support a changing role will bepermitted. This would apply to sites andshops within the West End, Southside orCathedral Areas if owners sought to adaptto meeting changing needs.

CC 17: LOWER PRECINCT REFURBISHMENT

The refurbishment of the Lower Precinctarea shown on the Proposals Map forpredominantly shopping uses will bepromoted and encouraged.

10.61 In a short section referring to the Lower Precinct,the 1993 Plan stated �consideration will begiven early in the Plan Period to improvementsto the existing physical structure�. In the light ofquicker than anticipated developments in otherparts of the City Centre, the City Council havepursued improvements with a developerpartner in the light of interest from EnglishHeritage.

10.62 As a result of these influences, the currentproposal is for a refurbishment of the mainLower Precinct space including a lightweightroof, widening the ramp access from thePrecinct Cross, the construction of a new linkfrom the Lower Precinct to the Market and theconstruction of a new multi-storey car park.

CC 18: SMITHFORD WAY REDEVELOPMENT

The redevelopment of the area betweenSmithford Way, Corporation Street and theLower Precinct shown on the Proposals Mapfor predominantly shopping uses will bepromoted and encouraged.

10.63 The next stage in the redevelopment of theCentral Shopping Area is likely to be the areabounded by Smithford Way, CorporationStreet and the Lower Precinct. The principaloccupier of the area is the Coventry & EastMercia Co-op while the City Council are alsoa significant landowner. The scheme shouldtake the opportunity to improve the linkagesbetween the three streets particularly at thepoint where Smithford Way joins the BelgradeSquare environmental improvement schemearea identified in Policy CC 10.

CC 19: BARRACKS REDEVELOPMENT

The redevelopment of the Barracks Car Parkarea shown on the Proposals Map forpredominantly shopping uses will bepromoted and encouraged.

10.64 In the longer term, the redevelopment ofthe Barracks Car Park is likely to arise.While the exact form and nature of thedevelopment will be left to the market, thescheme should take the opportunity toimprove linkages between Upper Precinct,Market Way, Bull Yard and Hertford Street.Replacement public car parking provisionmust be considered in accordance withPolicy CC 13.

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CC 20: PRIMARY FRONTAGES

Primary Frontages are shown on the ProposalsMap and will remain predominantly in Class A1use to protect their shopping role.

Proposals for Class A3 use will be permittedif they contribute to the vitality and viabilityof a Frontage, subject also to Policy S 11.Proposals for increases in the number ofClass A2 or other uses in a Frontage will notbe permitted.

A window display or open frontage willnormally be required.

Outside the Primary Frontages any mix ofClass A uses will be accepted.

10.65 The Coventry Shopping Study hascommented on the current extent ofprimary retail frontage and, as a result, thishas been much reduced from the 1993Plan. It now consists of the Upper andLower Precincts (both levels), SmithfordWay, Market Way and Shelton Square, theWest Orchards, Orchards Link andCathedral Lanes covered shopping centres,parts of Broadgate and Cross Cheaping. Itwill also extend to the covered mall to becreated between the Lower Precinct andthe Market.

10.66 Within the Primary Frontages, shops (ClassA1 of the Town & Country Planning UseClasses Order (UCO) will be thepredominant use. Catering Outlets (ClassA3 uses) can provide an extra element ofliveliness and variety. Financial andProfessional Services (Class A2 uses) havealready taken some units within thePrimary Frontages and it is felt that theyhave now reached an acceptable level.The provision of a window display or anopen frontage through which the shoparea can be seen will normally berequired. The visual effect of a blankfrontage is considered inappropriate in aprime shopping area.

10.67 In West Orchards, Orchards Link andCathedral Lanes, each individual floorlevel will be considered as a separatePrimary Frontage.

10.68 Outside the Primary Frontages, any mix ofshops, professional and financial servicesand catering outlets will be acceptedalthough catering outlets will still also besubject to consideration under Policy S 11.Groupings of catering outlets are alreadyin existence around Ironmonger Row andCross Cheaping and have been suggestedfor Bull Yard and Spon Street. This policywould accept such groupings if the marketseeks them. Sui generis uses such asamusement centres may also beacceptable in some of these secondarylocations. Streets such as City Arcade andSpon Street should be promoted forspecialised shopping.

The West End Area

CC 21: THE WEST END AREA

The West End Area is shown on theProposals Map.

Within this Area, proposals for redevelopment,refurbishment, extension or conversion for social,community, leisure and tourism uses will bepromoted and encouraged.

10.69 The West End area and its identification forpredominantly social, community, leisureand tourism uses is based on the existenceof a number of buildings serving thismarket at present, the major �LeisureWorld� development between Croft Roadand Spon Street and the prospect offurther developments in this generalmarket.

10.70 The construction of the �Leisure World�development on the site bounded by SponStreet, the Ring Road, Croft Road and theCentral Midlands Co-op store will focusmore attention on the uses in Spon Street.Their response to this pressure is helped bythe removal of restrictions on the mix ofClass A uses.

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10.71 Between the social, community, leisure andtourism uses, there are existing pockets ofresidential development in LowerHolyhead Road and Hill Street, many ofthem in historic buildings and includedwithin the (extended) Spon StreetConservation Area. The consolidation of theresidential character of these areas can beachieved by the use of a number of existingvacant sites and sites occupied byinappropriate uses. These sites are referredto in Policy CC 4 and others may beidentified in the Plan Period which couldprovide a satisfactory residentialenvironment. The overall effect will be toincrease the mix of uses in the area.

CC 22: BELGRADE THEATRE EXTENSION

Proposals for the extension of the BelgradeTheatre on land south of Bond Street shownon the Proposals Map will be promoted andencouraged.

10.72 The existing Belgrade Theatre is a fineexample of post-Second World Wartheatre design and is now listed as ofarchitectural and historic interest. It is,however, lacking some of the facilitiesexpected at a venue of this size and status.The Theatre Trust have prepared a fundingsubmission which envisages the extensionof the theatre towards Bond Street toprovide additional backstage areas andimproved public facilities. A small existingcar-park will be released to assist this.

CC 23: ARTS AND MEDIA CENTRE

Proposals for the development of an arts andmedia centre or other similar uses on land atBond Street/Upper Well Street shown on theProposals Map will be promoted andencouraged.

10.73 As a result of the changing national patternof the provision of arts and media training,Coventry University, in partnership with theCity Council and the Belgrade TheatreTrust, have prepared a proposal for an artsand media centre on a site bounded byBond Street, Upper Well Street andRingway Hill Cross. The proposal includesboth teaching and performance spaces,much of which are intended to be publiclyavailable. The identified site includes part

of the main Bond Street car park and theBond Street Annexe car park. Alternativecar parking will be provided by thedemolition of Coronet House. If thisparticular proposal does not proceed atthis location, it is considered that the siteshould still be used for an arts, media orleisure related development, given itslocation adjacent to the Belgrade Theatre.

The Southside Area

CC 24: THE SOUTHSIDE AREA

The Southside Area is shown on the ProposalsMap.

Within this Area, proposals for redevelopment,refurbishment, extension or conversion forbusiness office or residential uses will bepromoted and encouraged.

10.74 The Southside area is the principal businessoffice area of the City Centre includingmuch of the City Council�s office space aswell as commercial, legal, police andGovernment space. It houses the bulk of theCity Centre�s banks, building societies andestate agents and a number of uses whichserve these activities. There are alsosignificant residential areas at Friars Road/StPatricks Road and Starley Road. These usesare considered to be broadly compatibleand while, in the past, redevelopment,refurbishment, extensions or conversionsfor business offices have been the mainemphasis, a shift towards residential is nowencouraged. The area between High Street,Little Park Street, Cow Lane and GreyfriarsLane is within the High Street ConservationArea.

CC 25: SITES AT NEW UNION STREET/LITTLE PARK STREET

Proposals for development of sites shown onthe Proposals Map at:

1 1-8 Union Buildings;2 Cheylesmore car park;

should be mainly four storeys in height.Acceptable uses will include business officesand hotel with retail on the ground floor of1-8 Union Buildings.

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10.75 These sites are needed to be developed at anappropriate scale (around 4 storeys) to providea satisfactory frame for the space at thejunction of Little Park Street and New UnionStreet. In view of the surrounding uses, it isconsidered that business offices or hotel wouldbe the most suitable use. The inclusion ofretailing is referred to in paragraph 10.60.

The Queens Road/Butts Area

CC 26: THE QUEENS ROAD/BUTTS AREA

The Queens Road/Butts Area is shown on theProposals Map.

Within this Area, proposals forredevelopment, refurbishment, extension andconversion contributing to an overall mix ofresidential, business offices and social,community and leisure uses will be promotedand encouraged.

10.76 This area has traditionally been consideredas part of the City Centre for the role it playsin providing office space both small andlarge scale; residential uses including carehomes, guest houses and students; plannedsocial and community uses and edge-of-centre retail development at the Central SixRetail Park. A recent trend has been a moveaway from office space towards residentialwhich has resulted in the Apollo Houseconversion for Coventry University. A newhousing site is referred to in Policy CC 4 andthe site on the east side of Grosvenor Roadis referred to in Policy CC 7.

CC 27: QUEENS ROAD/BUTTS AREA -SOCIAL, COMMUNITY AND LEISURE USES

Proposals for the expansion of existingsocial, community and leisure uses withinthe area shown on the Proposals Map will bedetermined on the basis of the overallenvironmental and traffic impacts.

10.77 There have been a number of recentdevelopments in this area which have served tostrengthen the role in providing for City wideneeds for religious, social, community and leisurepurposes while there is pressure on some of thelong-standing users to move out. These haveresulted in some environmental and trafficproblems which will be very carefully consideredif there are proposals for further expansions.

The Station Area

CC 28: THE STATION AREA

The Station Area is shown on the ProposalsMap.

Within this Area, proposals for redevelopment,refurbishment, extension or conversioncontributing to an overall mix of usesincluding business office, hotel andresidential uses will be promoted andencouraged.

The improvement of transport links betweenthis Area and the rest of the City Centre willbe required.

10.78 The Station Area consists of the post-waroffice redevelopment in association withthe listed Station buildings and thesurviving pre-war area of Manor Road,Park Road and Stoney Road which haslargely retained its residential use andcharacter. A new housing site which wouldcontinue this theme is identified in PolicyCC 4. The Urban Design Study identifiedthe area as an important gateway to theCity with a need for environmentalimprovements to Station Square referredto in Policy CC 10-14. The keyimprovement which is required is the linkbetween the Station Area and the rest ofthe City Centre and Policy CC 29 belowsets out a process for beginning this withother elements referred to in Policies CC45 and CC 46.

CC 29: STATION AREA SITES

Proposals for the redevelopment of themulti-storey car park site shown on theProposals Map for a new access to WarwickRoad and a mix of uses including replacementcar parking, business offices, hotel andpublic house/restaurant will be encouraged.

Proposals for the redevelopment of theeastern side of the Station shown on theProposals Map for business offices will beencouraged.

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10.79 The creation of a new access to WarwickRoad is the key first stage in thereorganisation of Station Square and willbe a requirement of any developmentproposal. The other part of the formermulti-storey car park site should beredeveloped to provide replacement carparking space and a mix of other useswhich could include business offices, hoteland replacement public house. On theeastern side of the station, the originalparcels area provides an opportunity forbusiness office development.

The Parkside Area

CC 30: THE PARKSIDE AREA

The Parkside Area is shown on the ProposalsMap.

Within this Area, proposals for redevelopment,refurbishment, extension or conversioncontributing to an overall mix of uses includingbusiness offices, research and development,residential and Urban Green Space uses will bepromoted and encouraged.

10.80 The Parkside Area was identified as aDevelopment Option Site in Policy CA 38of the 1993 Plan and it was hoped that acomprehensive redevelopment of theentire 24 ha site could be achieved. Dueto a number of land assembly problems,this has not been possible and instead,three separate parts of the area are nowidentified.

10.81 The Parkside 1 area is bounded byQuinton Road, Mile Lane and theCoventry-Rugby railway line. Redevelopmentat this stage has consisted of a largebusiness office development for theFurther Education Funding Council and acar showroom. A further business officedevelopment is under construction on themajor frontage to Mile Lane. Remainingareas for development include a site onQuinton Road and the Elm Bank teacherscentre with adjacent premises. The area isconsidered most suitable for furtherbusiness office developments because ofits availability to meet these needs in alocation in conformity with Policy E 5 andaccessible by a choice of means oftransport. It is identified in Policy E 7-4.

CC 31: PARKSIDE 2

Proposals for the redevelopment of the Parkside 2area shown on the Proposals Map for businessoffice, research and development, residential andUrban Green Space together with ancillary useswill be encouraged.

10.82 The Parkside 2 area is the former RollsRoyce site bounded by Mile Lane,Parkside, Quarryfield Lane and theCoventry-Rugby railway line.Redevelopment has begun with theconstruction of the �TechnoCentre�building for Coventry University as well asPuma Way and Swift Road to access moreof the site. Further road construction willenable more of the site to becomeavailable for development. The conversionof the former �Swift� car factory buildingas part of a larger hotel development iscommitted.

10.83 In addition to the �TechnoCentre�building, the concept of the developmentof the northern part of the area envisagesoffices, further research and developmentuses together with ancillary light industrialuses. It is identified in Policy E 7- 5.

10.84 The development of the southern part ofthe area is to be for residential purposes, acapacity of 300 units is identified in PolicyH 7-4. To serve these and the wider area alocal shop or shops up to a total grossfloorspace of 250 sq m would be anacceptable ancillary use.

10.85 There are existing areas of structurallandscaping along Puma Way and SwiftRoad and further areas of Urban GreenSpace will be required both between theemployment area and the residential areaand within the residential area.

CC 32: PARKSIDE 3

Proposals for the redevelopment of theParkside 3 area shown on the Proposals Mapfor predominantly business offices andresearch and development uses togetherwith a public house/restaurant will bepromoted and encouraged.

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10.86 The Parkside 3 area consists of the fringebetween Parkside and the Ring Road/LondonRoad. Some of this area was included withinPolicy CA 38 of the 1993 Plan but a morecomprehensive approach is now feltnecessary to consolidate the redevelopmentof the Parkside 2 area. In view of the range ofuses that are likely to remain and the need forgeneral environmental compatibility, thepredominant suitable uses are business officesand research and development work. Anacceptable ancillary use in the area betweenParadise Street and Quarryfield Lane wouldbe a pub/restaurant. The area is identified inPolicy E 7-6.

The Coventry University Area

CC 33: THE COVENTRY UNIVERSITY AREA

The Coventry University Area is shown onthe Proposals Map.

Within this Area, proposals for the redevelopment,refurbishment, extension or conversion ofbuildings for use by Coventry University willbe encouraged.

10.87 The Coventry University Area is unique inthat it flows under the main elevated sectionof Ringway Whitefriars to include N, Q andR Blocks down Gosford Street and �ThePlanet� Club towards Ford Street. CoventryUniversity plans to consolidate more of itsactivities in and around its main campusincluding converting the existing libraryspace into teaching space once it has beenreplaced. In urban design terms, theconstruction of a building between theHerbert Art Gallery and Museum and Dblock is required to give sufficient enclosureto Jordan Well and an Urban DesignFramework should be established to steerthe gradual process of refurbishment of theUniversity�s buildings.

10.88 In addition to the main University campus,there are pockets of residential developmentaround the Whitefriars area which are to bestrengthened by the redevelopment of anumber of sites in the area referred to inPolicy CC 4. Other existing uses include theHerbert Art Gallery and Museum and theCentral Swimming Baths and Sports Centre.The Swimming Baths has been listed as abuilding of architectural and historic interestand the complex is envisaged to remainsubstantially unchanged.

CC 34: GULSON ROAD SITE

Proposals for the redevelopment of this site shownon the Proposals Map by Coventry University for anew library, arts provision and a major residentialdevelopment will be encouraged.

10.89 Coventry University has now begun theconstruction of a new library building behindthe William Morris building on Gosford Streetand future plans include a linked building forarts use which could also link up with thesurviving Whitefriars monastic buildings. Onthe Gulson Road frontage, a major residentialdevelopment is envisaged to contributetowards the estimated 600 multi-person unitsrequired for the expansion of the Universityand to encourage students to live close to thecampus.

The Cathedral Area

CC 35: THE CATHEDRAL AREA

The Cathedral Area is shown on the ProposalsMap.

Within this Area, proposals for tourismpurposes which also maintain and enhancethe historic environment will be promotedand encouraged.

10.90 This area includes the old and newCathedrals, which are a major touristdestination, as well as the surviving core ofthe old City including St Mary�s Hall, HayLane, Cuckoo Lane, Holy Trinity Churchand Hill Top. It also includes the BritanniaHotel and parts of Coventry University�sPriory Hall blocks which enclose CathedralSquare. A large part of the Area is within theHill Top Conservation Area, part is alsowithin the High Street Conservation Areaand there are a number of historic buildingsincluding Drapers Hall and the 18thCentury County Court building that couldfind new uses in accordance with the Policyabove.

10.91 The tourist experience of the CathedralArea is not entirely favourable and theimpact of traffic, particularly coachparking, on Priory Street for tourists,students and others is unacceptable attimes. The remodelling of this area isreferred to in Policy CC 10-12.

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The Phoenix Area

CC 36: THE PHOENIX AREA

The Phoenix Area is shown on the ProposalsMap

The redevelopment of significant parts ofthis Area for an overall mix of uses includingmajor public spaces, limited retail, leisureand recreation, residential and employmentuses will be promoted and encouraged.

10.92 This area represents a part of the CityCentre which has not, in the past, been thesubject of much planning policy guidance.The 1993 Plan principally identified theredevelopment of Pool Meadow which hastaken place in part, the Conservation Areastatus of Lady Herbert�s� Garden whichremains, a multi-storey car park at BishopStreet which has now been abandonedand a Development Option Site at thecorner of Bishop Street and Well Streetwhich has similarly been abandoned.

10.93 Following the decision to retain theMuseum of British Road Transport in HalesStreet, a scheme to link the Museum to theCathedral was developed. This is referredto as Phoenix 1 and is the subject of asubstantial grant offer from the MillenniumCommission. It is envisaged as the firstphase of a major redevelopment of thispart of the City Centre which couldinclude the Museum of British RoadTransport, the area around BishopStreet/Tower Street, the area around LambStreet/Chapel Street and the Pool Meadowarea.

CC 37: PHOENIX 1

Proposals to link the Cathedral Area with theMuseum of British Road Transport through asequence of major public spaces shown on theProposals Map will be promoted and encouraged.

Proposals will also include redevelopmentfor limited retail, residential, business officeand hotel uses.

10.94 The substantial grant offer from theMillennium Commission is to construct amajor new pedestrian link running fromPriory Row north and west across NewBuildings and the junction between HalesStreet, Fairfax Street and Trinity Street tothe Museum of British Road Transportthrough a sequence of spaces. These willinclude:

� the Old Priory and Priory Cloisterspaces devoted to the first monasticCathedral;

� Priory Place, Priory Causeway movingdown towards Hales Street andMillennium Place; and

� the improvement of Lady Herbert�sGarden and the creation of a Garden ofInternational Friendship running up tothe Ring Road.

Development along the major publicspaces and south of Hales Street willinclude specialised retail, cafes, etc withresidential space above and the replacementof some of the Britannia Hotel facilities.The limited retail redevelopment isreferred to in paragraph 10.60. MillenniumPlace will be linked to the Garden ofInternational Friendship by a glass bridge.Provided that the City Centre PeopleMover is a non-polluting vehicle, it will beallowed to cross Millennium Place.

CC 38: MUSEUM OF BRITISH ROADTRANSPORT

Proposals for the refurbishment andexpansion of the Museum of British RoadTransport on the site shown on the ProposalsMap will be promoted and encouraged.

10.95 The Museum of British Road Transport hasbeen recognised as being of nationalsignificance and schemes for itsimprovement are in preparation. Inaddition to work to be carried out as partof the Phoenix 1 development, thesecould involve redevelopment in part. Theuse of the Old Grammar School at theBishop Street/Hales Street junction andother premises in the immediate area maybe included in later development phases.

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CC 39: PHOENIX 2

Within the Phoenix 2 area, shown on theProposals Map, redevelopment for an overallmix of uses including the improvement ofaccess from the Ring Road, residential, hotel,business offices and leisure and tourism useswill be promoted and encouraged.

10.96 The part of the Phoenix Area aroundTower Street and Bishop Street includes anumber of small scale industrial premiseswhich are a hangover from the pre-Warpattern of development, vacant premisesincluding a former night-club, a surfacelevel car park and a major postal SortingOffice.

10.97 In order to access the overall Phoenix Areabetter, the improvement of the existingaccess onto the Ring Road at the FoleshillRoad roundabout is required. The re-creation of the historic route via TowerStreet, College Green and Silver Street toBurges would be a possibility. This wouldallow the role of Bishop Street to changeaway from a vehicular route and towardsthe major pedestrian link to the canalbasin and Drapers Fields Area. It wouldalso define a number of potentialdevelopment sites. Uses consideredappropriate for this area include asignificant residential element adjacent tothe existing residential uses in the CookStreet area, a hotel, business offices andleisure and tourism as an extension to theMuseum of British Road Transport.

CC 40: PHOENIX 3

Within the Phoenix 3 area, shown on the ProposalsMap, redevelopment, refurbishment, extension orconversion contributing to an overall mix of usesincluding residential, business offices and social,community and leisure uses will be supported.

10.98 The part of the Phoenix Area betweenBishop Street and Upper Well Streetincludes major employers in purpose-builtoffices in the form of AXA Assurance andthe Coventry Evening Telegraph, smalleremployers, shops, restaurants, a pub andcommunity uses. Part of the historic CityWall still survives and Bishop Street is themajor link between the City Centre and

the Drapers Fields Area. The BishopStreet/Well Street corner was identified asa Development Option Site in Policy CA38 of the 1993 Plan but its redevelopmenthas not proved practicable because of landownership difficulties.

10.99 Large parts of the area are expected toremain unchanged and the City Councilwill not initiate any particular developmentaction. Both small and larger scale changethat should be proposed can usefully beguided and the most appropriate uses areconsidered to be residential and businessoffices.

CC 41: POOL MEADOW

The role of Pool Meadow bus station as thecentre of all long distance, excursion andtourist traffic will be promoted and encouraged.

Within the Pool Meadow East area, proposals toredevelop the site for uses including City Centrehealth facilities, leisure and public car parking willbe promoted and encouraged.

10.100 The development of Pool Meadow BusStation has not taken the form envisaged inthe 1993 Plan. The practicalredevelopment has enabled the use of thePool Meadow East site to become atemporary car park in addition to thepermanent Ford Street car park. Topromote the use of the bus station, theCity Council will seek to persuade bus andcoach operators to use it for both regularlong-distance services and excursion trafficrather than White Street which will revertto its previous purposes for bus and coachparking only. It will be also able toaccommodate coaches unable to wait bythe Cathedral as a result of the Priory Streetenvironmental improvement schemereferred to in CC 10

10.101 For the Pool Meadow East area, acombination of uses including City Centrehealth facilities (if the major new hospital isbuilt at Walsgrave), leisure and public carparking is considered the mostappropriate. An urban design solution tothe combination of these uses and dealingwith the elevated Ring Road will berequired.

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The Ring Road Area

CC 42: THE RING ROAD AREA

The Ring Road Area is shown on the ProposalsMap.

Within this Area, a range of actions designedto make crossing the Ring Road easier,particularly for pedestrians and cyclists, willbe promoted.

10.102 The Ring Road was completed in its presentform in the mid-1970s and has been thesubject of recent refurbishment works togive it a life beyond the end of the PlanPeriod. It reflects an approach to trafficmanagement which has caused what arenow seen as unacceptable problems forpedestrians and cyclists. The design has alsoled to the separation of the City Centre fromsome of the surrounding areas particularlyaround its northern length.

CC 43: SUBWAYS

A reduction in the number of subwaycrossings of the Ring Road will be sought.Subways which have to be retained will bethe subject of environmental treatment toimprove their appearance and theperception of safety.

Improvements to the Spon Street and ButtsRadial Road (west) subways, shown on theProposals Map, will be a priority.

10.103 The subway crossings of the Ring Road havebeen the subject of much criticism as to theirsafety and general environment. Since it isnow accepted that pedestrians and cyclistsshould not automatically be forced to give wayto motorised vehicles to this extent,opportunities to remove subways will be sought.

10.104 There will, however, be a number ofinstances where an alternative crossing isnot practicable or where an existingsubway is of reasonable safety and appearance.In these locations, further improvementswill be sought which will aim to:

� widen the subway if it is narrow;� provide clear views through the subway

and avoid blind corners at the ends; and� improve lighting and surfaces.

CC 44: BRIDGES

The construction of a new bridge at HillStreet and the reconstruction of the existingbridges between Manor Road and FriarsRoad and between Bishop Street and theCanal Basin to accommodate pedestrian andcycle traffic, shown on the Proposals Map,will be promoted.

10.105 The City Centre Access Strategy suggestedthat there were a small number ofpossibilities for replacing subways withbridges. Hill Street appears to be capableof treatment in this way. The existingfootbridges between Manor Road andFriars Road and between Bishop Street andthe Canal Basin are not currently capableof accommodating both pedestrians andcyclists in safety and the latter is veryinconvenient. Their reconstruction would,however, achieve provision for bothmodes of transport.

CC 45: �AT-GRADE� CROSSINGS

The provision of safe �at-grade� crossings ofthe Ring Road on slip roads at Butts RadialRoad (east), Upper Well Street and WarwickRoad, shown on the Proposals Map, will bepromoted.

10.106 A number of informal crossing places havedeveloped based on what is perceived tobe �reasonably� safe. An �at-grade�crossing has been provided as part of thereconstruction of the London Roadroundabout, possible because theroundabout is already partially controlledby traffic lights. The installation of trafficlights at other roundabouts for trafficcontrol reasons would also enable theprovision of safe pedestrian crossings.

CC 46: DOWNGRADING THE RING ROAD

Opportunities to downgrade the Ring Roadaround its northern side will be consideredin the light of the benefits to be gained.

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10.107 The City Centre Access Strategy suggestedthat, as a result of changing traffic flowswhich are tending to use the southern sideof the Ring Road, it might be possible todowngrade the northern side. A sequenceof changes was suggested beginning withFoleshill Road roundabout, moving on tothe stretch between Radford Road andWhite Street and culminating in work tothe entire length between Butts RadialRoad and Sky Blue Way.

10.108 There would be clear advantages in linkingthe City Centre more directly with areasoutside the Ring Road, particularly theDrapers Fields and Swanswell Areas andmore land for development might bereleased. Changes in levels of accessibilityby different means of transport wouldneed to be considered as part of a series ofstudies.

The Swanswell Area

CC 47: THE SWANSWELL AREA

The Swanswell Area is shown on the ProposalsMap

Within this Area, the redevelopment of theCoventry & Warwickshire Hospital site andthe enhancement of Swanswell Pool will bepromoted and encouraged.

10.109 Parts of this area will be subject to aconsiderable change during the PlanPeriod and policies to provide a degree ofcertainty will aid the process. SwanswellPool and the buildings which surround it tothe west are not anticipated to change butshould be the subject of enhancementaction to improve the setting of animportant community Green Space. Linksbetween this Area and the rest of the CityCentre will need to be improved either asa result of the downgrading of the RingRoad referred to in Policy CC 46 orthrough improvements under elevatedsections of the Ring Road that are retained.

CC 48: THE COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIREHOSPITAL SITE

Proposals for the redevelopment of theCoventry & Warwickshire Hospital site foreither a new hospital or a mix of residentialand employment use will be promoted andencouraged.

The redevelopment site may be extended bythe inclusion of sites and properties in thearea bounded by Stoney Stanton Road,Howard Street, Harnall Lane West andFoleshill Road.

10.110 The Walsgrave Hospital NHS Trust hasbeen successful in achieving agreement fora Public Finance Initiative fundedredevelopment of their sites at Coventry &Warwickshire and Walsgrave Hospitals.Their initial planning applications onlyrelate to land within their control butcould be extended to ensure acomprehensive scheme on sites andproperties in the area bounded by StoneyStanton Road, Howard Street, HarnallLane West and Foleshill Road. Theseinclude the Hillfields Health Centre,Russell Street car park, a number of vacantsites, a terrace of residential properties, theSalvation Army Hostel and the AmbulanceStation.

10.111 If the Hospital development does notproceed, redevelopment for a mix ofresidential and employment uses will bepromoted with the retention of some ofthe existing uses or their inclusion in aredevelopment scheme.

The Drapers Fields Area

CC 49: THE DRAPERS FIELDS AREA

The Drapers Fields Area is shown on theProposals Map.

Within this Area, further residentialdevelopment will be encouraged as well asfurther enhancement of the Canal Basin andsurrounding buildings.

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10.112 The redevelopment of the Canal Basin hasbeen completed with the exception of asite identified for a pub. Development ofthe adjacent Drapers Fields residential siteidentified in Policy H 7-7 is alsoproceeding. Further residential developmentwould help to support the facilities in andaround the Basin which needs to be linkedbetter to the rest of the City Centre.

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