University unveils plans for seven-storey car park

The car park would be built near the Coventry ring road

Plans for a seven-storey car park to help cater for the thousands of extra students expected in Coventry by 2030 have been unveiled.

The development proposed by Coventry University would create 500 spaces on the site of Lower Ford Street car park, next to the ring road.

A statement with the planning application lodged with Coventry City Council said the project was a “divisive issue” but the university needed to make changes to have “room for growth”.

According to the statement, the university could be accommodating 6,000 more students by the end of this decade.

The car park would have rooftop solar panels, 48 electric car charging bays and storage for 120 bicycle and 21 motorbikes.

The development would be built on the site of the car park in Lower Ford Street

It would replace the 110-space car park at Cox Street and allow for other pockets of parking around the city to be removed for the creation of more green spaces, the statement said.

The university said it hoped the development would encourage staff and students to use electric vehicles as well as greener modes of transport, as part of its plan to be carbon neutral by 2030.

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