Flats plan floated for city centre listed building

Council staff currently work on the top five floors of Broadgate House

Offices in a city centre could be turned into apartments after they were deemed to be surplus to requirements.

Staff working for Coventry City Council currently work on the upper five floors of Broadgate House, a Grade II listed building at the entrance to Hertford Street, facing the statue of Lady Godiva.

Over the autumn, they will move to other sites in a series of relocations, carried out in stages.

In a council meeting on Tuesday, it was explained that, while the offices could be turned into flats, shops in the ground floor would be kept.

Council officer Paul Beesley said they would look to find developers to take on the work and draw up plans but they would not be used for student housing.

He added that the council would look to lease out the whole building, apart from the ground floor shops.

"Our anticipation is that there will be developers out there who would look at refurbishing the upper floors for an alternative use," he said.

"This is a Grade II listed building and there are a number of elements that need to be protected and maintained so this is not going to be a cheap process."

Broadgate House was built as part of the initial post-war regeneration of the city centre.

It opened in 1953 and includes a number of works of public art including Trevor Tennant's People of Coventry sculpture and the popular Peeping Tom and Lady Godiva clock, all of which will be preserved.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.