Go ahead for Friargate
14th January 2010
Coventry City Council's planning committee has today approved the outline planning application for the £1.5 billion Friargate proposal that will transform the area around the railway station.
The masterplan for Friargate shows how 14 Grade A office buildings, two hotels, new homes and streets with shops, restaurants and bars could be designed around new public spaces. The high quality office buildings - which will have restaurants and shops at ground level - will face on to Warwick Road and a new public square will be created in front of the train station. The new homes will be located in the quieter areas of the site around Grosvenor Road and Manor Road. In total, 26 buildings are being proposed for the mixed-use scheme.
Leader of Coventry City Council, Cllr Ken Taylor said, "This approval for Friargate is proof if it were needed of our great city's ability to reinvent itself. It's a fantastically exciting plan and at a time when developments across the country have stalled - here we are looking at a great scheme that could create up to 15,000 new jobs.
"It's increasingly clear that Coventry is in an excellent position to be one of the success stories of the new decade, and this confirms the prediction that we are the Midlands city for renaissance, regeneration and innovation over the next ten years - and a city the rest of the region will be watching closely.
"The invention, innovation and creativity in this outline scheme is typical of the approach Coventry has always taken when meeting new challenges. We want to create a city centre fit for the 21st Century and proposals like Friargate show just how exciting the future is for this city.
"It covers over 37 acres and will transform the area around the railway station, create a fantastic, green pedestrian route into the heart of our city centre and will connect perfectly with our plans to develop the south side of the city centre as part of the Jerde masterplan. The proposed office floor space at Friargate will be the equivalent of more than 17 Severn Trent buildings and once the offices are occupied we're expecting the 15,000 workers to bring an extra £150 million a year spend in the city centre."
The masterplan for the scheme has been designed by internationally acclaimed architects Allies and Morrison. Rodney Pilcher, who is overseeing the development proposals for Friargate Coventry LLP, comments: "Friargate will inject millions of pounds into the local economy and is specifically designed to appeal to corporate and government relocations. We believe that Coventry is a city with a very bright future and that's why we have submitted our plans for outline planning permission at a time when not much is happening across the country.
The developers are aiming for an excellent environmental rating and now the outline plan has been approved, detailed planning applications for individual buildings will be worked up.
"Coventry is already benefitting from a number of successful new office developments but Friargate presents the opportunity for us to deliver the highest quality regeneration right next to the train station that will create clear pedestrian links into the city's retail core. Our proposed masterplan will completely transform the area and create a ripple effect for further development across the city."
Friargate Coventry LLP is the development vehicle for Friargate and is wholly owned by European developer and investor Cannon Kirk.
