Coventry given '£100m' for City Centre South scheme
- Published
The grant will pave the way for the £360m City Centre South scheme
A cash boost of almost £100m has paved the way for the redevelopment of Coventry city centre.
The sum - £98.8m in total - is the biggest slice of devolution funding yet approved by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
The move, Coventry City Council said, effectively gave the go-ahead for a major overhaul under a planned £360m scheme.
Dubbed City Centre South, the project includes new homes and shops.
The development will transform the area around Bull Yard, Shelton Square and Market Way
An "anchor store" and cinema are also planned for a complex set to transform the area around Bull Yard, Shelton Square and Market Way.
The concept was first discussed in 2011 and branding it "ambitious and exciting", council leader George Duggins said Coventry residents had "waited too long for improvements to the city centre".
He said: "It's no less than Coventry people deserve and a wonderful early Christmas present for the city."
WMCA chair Cllr Bob Sleigh said the funding was a "great example of how our devolution deal is beginning to have a real impact".
The City Centre South site, bordered by Upper Precinct, Greyfriars Road and Warwick Road, connects to Bull Yard, where it picks up the new boulevard connection to the railway station.
A developer is yet to be selected.
- Published5 February 2015
