Official Coventry Thread 6

[NewTroll]

They seem pretty similar...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pikersl...409840/?page=3

I think Coventry would be better to concentrate on Swanswell for a water feature.

[NewTroll]

Originally Posted by Sebadude

Incidentally, I think that while some businesses have left the city by choice (Monsoon?) it's worth factoring in how many units have emptied due to mergers/liquidation. Off the top of my head:

Woolworths, Zavvi, TJ Hughes liquidation
Waterstones takeover of Ottakars, leaving multiple units, one of which had to close
JD Sports takes over First Sport - same as above
JJB Sports closes several stores to avoid liquidation
Dogma's owner (ever so sensible) closes most of its Dogma branches
Gamestation/Game financial problems, one branch has to close

even at a smaller level, Ben's Cookies has pulled out of the area completely, they've shut their Leamington branch as well as the Coventry one.

Makes you realise how big the recession is really!

How many branches did Dogma have? Shame, I used to go there.

I noticed that the little courtyward thingy (Satchwell?) where that cookie place was located in now almost empty. Some of the businesses have relocated.

I was in Solihull this weekend (John Lewis, only place locally with a decent collection of coffee machines - Debenhams in Coventry is rubbish and I don't use out of town retailers if I can help it as they're also pretty lousy for range.) and all I can say is: Recession? What Recession? Very little evidence of it there. A lot of shops have shut in Touchwood, but the units don't stay empty long. The 'food' area is mainly chains, though. Even that horrible precinct is full and the whole place was absolutely packed.

I agree that Coventry has lost a lot of stores through the fact that a lot chains have closed down. However, the retail in Coventry was pretty average before the recession - compared to its peers - and what is more telling (to me) was when Allders closed during the boom no department store showed any interest in taking over the unit. And the Lower Precinct, nice and shiny, just seemed to attract retailers from elsewhere (Plus, yes, some new ones) in the precinct and this has left the upper precinct filled with phone shops. Most of it's just tat nowadays, and there are hardly no independent stores at all. Isn't losing a store like Monsoon quite a blow? (I haven't got a clue about fashion, but a few years back we had some visitors who had not been in Coventry for some years, since they graduated, and they were mightily impressed that Coventry had a Monsoon...)

But it's always been that way... Coventry's never been a great retail centre. In the 1990s when I was a student we used to go to Brum and Leamington shopping... These days you've got Solihull nearby as well as Leicester if you want to get a big, decent item.

I sometimes wonder if they should just give up on that crumby precinct and try to build a huge indoor mall by the ringroad complete with massive car parks and direct access...

To be perfectly blunt, the LAST place I want to go sometimes is that horrible precinct with the wind howling through it... I don't even think the plans to knock down chunks of it and rebuilt it will be much of a improvement!

Do people think Coventry's precinct will improve once the recession is over? (If it's over, that is.)

Oh, I was reading a report from 2008 (Pre-recession) in which the council were slapping themselves on the back at the way they'd changed Coventry economy to 'services.' and it would be resiliant to recession. Except a lot of those services have gone (AXA, Barclays downsized, and the National Grid moved out), and many of the public sector jobs have gone, and unemployment has almost hit double figures. The stats for the city at the moment make fairly unpleasant reading - I actually think it's economically in a worse state than it was in the 1980s.

[We-Are-Borg-1987]

Coventrys economy has large structural weaknesses.

This may sound really bizaare but Leamington and Warwick have much stronger economies even though they are much smaller.

Just google any industry, from high-tech manufacturing to services, and there will be more firms in Leamington/Warwick than Coventry but also crucially those firms will be doing alot better.

I'm interning for a Coventry marketing firm atm that has only been going for 2 years. In Coventry, we are already one of the most significant firms due to the fact that we have so little competition. Our competition is in south warwickshire. We get almost no work from Coventry, we have more work from the small town of Warwick- population 25,000 than Coventry- population 320,000!!!

I was unemployed since leaving uni for ages, the majority of jobs in Coventry are care work and sales. Its depressing and is why graduates tend to leave Coventry, even if they only go down the road to Leamington!

[NewTroll]

Originally Posted by We-Are-Borg-1987

Coventrys economy has large structural weaknesses.

This may sound really bizaare but Leamington and Warwick have much stronger economies even though they are much smaller.

Just google any industry, from high-tech manufacturing to services, and there will be more firms in Leamington/Warwick than Coventry but also crucially those firms will be doing alot better.

I'm interning for a Coventry marketing firm atm that has only been going for 2 years. In Coventry, we are already one of the most significant firms due to the fact that we have so little competition. Our competition is in south warwickshire. We get almost no work from Coventry, we have more work from the small town of Warwick- population 25,000 than Coventry- population 320,000!!!

I was unemployed since leaving uni for ages, the majority of jobs in Coventry are care work and sales. Its depressing and is why graduates tend to leave Coventry, even if they only go down the road to Leamington!

I agree. This was highlighted a few years ago in a paper about 'spatial connections' which showed Coventry has very few connections (In terms of business) to anywhere - in fact, it was one of the few large towns that didn't.

It's futile to keep trying to improve the city centre while the city's economy is so weak. There seems to be little reason for new businesses to move in, as well, except for warehousing. Leamington/Warwick seems to be able to attract hi-tech businesses. Coventry doesn't.

[CovAD]

Originally Posted by NewTroll

How many branches did Dogma have? Shame, I used to go there.

I noticed that the little courtyward thingy (Satchwell?) where that cookie place was located in now almost empty. Some of the businesses have relocated.

I was in Solihull this weekend (John Lewis, only place locally with a decent collection of coffee machines - Debenhams in Coventry is rubbish and I don't use out of town retailers if I can help it as they're also pretty lousy for range.) and all I can say is: Recession? What Recession? Very little evidence of it there. A lot of shops have shut in Touchwood, but the units don't stay empty long. The 'food' area is mainly chains, though. Even that horrible precinct is full and the whole place was absolutely packed.

I agree that Coventry has lost a lot of stores through the fact that a lot chains have closed down. However, the retail in Coventry was pretty average before the recession - compared to its peers - and what is more telling (to me) was when Allders closed during the boom no department store showed any interest in taking over the unit. And the Lower Precinct, nice and shiny, just seemed to attract retailers from elsewhere (Plus, yes, some new ones) in the precinct and this has left the upper precinct filled with phone shops. Most of it's just tat nowadays, and there are hardly no independent stores at all. Isn't losing a store like Monsoon quite a blow? (I haven't got a clue about fashion, but a few years back we had some visitors who had not been in Coventry for some years, since they graduated, and they were mightily impressed that Coventry had a Monsoon...)

But it's always been that way... Coventry's never been a great retail centre. In the 1990s when I was a student we used to go to Brum and Leamington shopping... These days you've got Solihull nearby as well as Leicester if you want to get a big, decent item.

I sometimes wonder if they should just give up on that crumby precinct and try to build a huge indoor mall by the ringroad complete with massive car parks and direct access...

To be perfectly blunt, the LAST place I want to go sometimes is that horrible precinct with the wind howling through it... I don't even think the plans to knock down chunks of it and rebuilt it will be much of a improvement!

Do people think Coventry's precinct will improve once the recession is over? (If it's over, that is.)

Oh, I was reading a report from 2008 (Pre-recession) in which the council were slapping themselves on the back at the way they'd changed Coventry economy to 'services.' and it would be resiliant to recession. Except a lot of those services have gone (AXA, Barclays downsized, and the National Grid moved out), and many of the public sector jobs have gone, and unemployment has almost hit double figures. The stats for the city at the moment make fairly unpleasant reading - I actually think it's economically in a worse state than it was in the 1980s.

Regarding the precinct, do I think it'll improve post recession - no I don't. It may fill some more units (although walking through today I noticed a few more units had closed from a few months ago, especially in the lower precinct although the two carphone warehouses are still open about 100m from each other (?!)) but in terms of quality definitely not.

With your idea of a massive mall, is it something akin to what I outline at the bottom of here (although it isn't directly connected to the ringroad as I think there's too much in the way to do that)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...2&postcount=47

[kthulhu]

Originally Posted by NewTroll

I agree. This was highlighted a few years ago in a paper about 'spatial connections' which showed Coventry has very few connections (In terms of business) to anywhere - in fact, it was one of the few large towns that didn't.

It's futile to keep trying to improve the city centre while the city's economy is so weak. There seems to be little reason for new businesses to move in, as well, except for warehousing. Leamington/Warwick seems to be able to attract hi-tech businesses. Coventry doesn't.

Personally speaking, I think improving the city centre is the way forward with trying to make the city as a whole more attractive for investment and business.

These days image trumps all else. The centre is the part most will experience when visiting a city for the first time. It's why places like Manchester, Nottingham, Leicester, Liverpool, Glasgow etc. are all deemed worthy cities (i.e. attractive centres) in spite of apparently having much higher levels of crime and deprivation than Coventry.

Warwick and Leamington are well regarded, 'classical' towns, so naturally a business, wanting a 'sophisticated' image, may choose to relocate to these places.

Still, things are still happening in Coventry - we have the automative technology facility that was announced last week. And the city certainly enjoyed a boost in profile by being an olympic venue. Will it be enough?

[NewTroll]

Originally Posted by kthulhu

Personally speaking, I think improving the city centre is the way forward with trying to make the city as a whole more attractive for investment and business.

These days image trumps all else. The centre is the part most will experience when visiting a city for the first time. It's why places like Manchester, Nottingham, Leicester, Liverpool, Glasgow etc. are all deemed worthy cities (i.e. attractive centres) in spite of apparently having much higher levels of crime and deprivation than Coventry.

Warwick and Leamington are well regarded, 'classical' towns, so naturally a business, wanting a 'sophisticated' image, may choose to relocate to these places.

Still, things are still happening in Coventry - we have the automative technology facility that was announced last week. And the city certainly enjoyed a boost in profile by being an olympic venue. Will it be enough?

I don't think it's 'image'. That's way too simplistic. A hi tech automotive firm, for example, wouldn't give a shit about 'sophistication', it would give a shit about having a local workforce. If it was just image, it would be easy to fix. Tart the place up and people would come in... Yet when they do 'tart the place up', people don't come in, and we're left with white elephants like Priory Place - which remember was nominated for a highly prestigious architecture award - if that development had been in another city, it would have been a huge success. It didn't seem to work in Coventry.

I truly thought that development was going to be the start of great things, but it stalled long before the recession. You can't say that haven't spend the money, because they have. A lot of it seems to be a waste.

Surely companies go to where they can thrive, not to somewhere because it's pretty? There's been a long standing issue with Coventry's local workforce being poorly skilled for modern businesses, and I can only imagine it's even worse now that people like Marconi/Ericsson have gone. (Even the remains of Marconi have relocated to a business park in Leamington.)

I really wish I could find that report on 'spatial links' again. It really was an eye-opening read. I used to think that Coventry's woes were down to a lame city centre, but I've read quite a lot that changed that completely. I actually think a thriving city centre would just happen naturally if the city's economy was thriving, even with its somewhat manky looks. Solihull is a similar sort of place, with a manky precinct and a disjointed jumble of roads and stuff.

The automotive centre is good news. But when you look at the sort of businesses that have moved to Solihull over the years, it's pretty clear to see why that town is thriving and Coventry isn't.

[NewTroll]

Originally Posted by CovAD

Regarding the precinct, do I think it'll improve post recession - no I don't. It may fill some more units (although walking through today I noticed a few more units had closed from a few months ago, especially in the lower precinct although the two carphone warehouses are still open about 100m from each other (?!)) but in terms of quality definitely not.

With your idea of a massive mall, is it something akin to what I outline at the bottom of here (although it isn't directly connected to the ringroad as I think there's too much in the way to do that)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...2&postcount=47

Well the owners of Cafe Giardino went bust a few weeks back, and so did Julian Graves. I think someone else is closed as well (A clothes shop?) and the Sony centre is long gone.

I think your idea makes sense! I'd probably recreate the Broadgate->Spon Street link properly. You could even have links under the ground like in the Bullring.I think the area where Woollies/The Market/City Arcade now stands was mainly industrial and before that Barracks.

Okay... One think I liked about the Bullring was how it created a public space around the old church.

Why couldn't something similar be done at the bottom of the precinct with the church at the base of Spon End? Construct it so that Smithford Way leads directly to Spon Street, but there's a public space with frontages on it and some sort of new landmark building overlooking the church. It just baffles me as to why in Coventry they seem unable to create public spaces that actually have things in them...

[kthulhu]

Originally Posted by NewTroll

I don't think it's 'image'. That's way too simplistic. A hi tech automotive firm, for example, wouldn't give a shit about 'sophistication', it would give a shit about having a local workforce. If it was just image, it would be easy to fix. Tart the place up and people would come in... Yet when they do 'tart the place up', people don't come in, and we're left with white elephants like Priory Place - which remember was nominated for a highly prestigious architecture award - if that development had been in another city, it would have been a huge success. It didn't seem to work in Coventry.

I truly thought that development was going to be the start of great things, but it stalled long before the recession. I recently read a comment somewhere which said, 'you can't build yourself out a decline.'

Surely companies go to where they can thrive, not to somewhere because it's pretty? There's been a long standing issue with Coventry's local workforce being poorly skilled for modern businesses, and I can only imagine it's even worse now that people like Marconi/Ericsson have gone. (Even the remains of Marconi have relocated to a business park in Leamington.)

I really wish I could find that report on 'spatial links' again. It really was an eye-opening read. I used to think that Coventry's woes were down to a lame city centre, but I've read quite a lot that changed that completely. I actually think a thriving city centre would just happen naturally if the city's economy was thriving, even with its somewhat manky looks. Solihull is a similar sort of place, with a manky precinct and a disjointed jumble of roads and stuff.

The automotive centre is good news. But when you look at the sort of businesses that have moved to Solihull over the years, it's pretty clear to see why that town is thriving and Coventry isn't.

Perhaps image and 'sophistication' is a little too simplistic - I guess I'm trying to get to the bottom of why the 'Coventry' name carries so much baggage, not just in the eyes of business but everyday folk.

Say the name of the city to many people and you are often met with sneering looks - why? Often these people have never even visited the place, but still look down upon it. The issues you mention are valid, definitely, but more often than not, the city is derided due to its looks.

I have friends who, when visiting other towns and cities and are asked where they come from, say 'the midlands'. Why?

Why do many students at Warwick University say they are studying 'in Warwick' (read: not AT Warwick!)?

Thankfully, we have well-read, learned folk like Dr Jonathan Foyle fighting the city's corner

Hypothetical question: say Friargate gets built, and is filled with companies of a hi-tech variety. Would the bulk of the employees commute in by train from outside the city, or would they be based locally? If either is true, would the development boost the city centre in general, even though it's just a section of it?

[kthulhu]

Speaking of Mr Foyle...

Has anything more been said about this stained glass restoration project? I understood there was a plan put forward to put it on display - do we know if this might be a new building?

I heard something about the crypts beneath the old cathedral being opened up, but I'm not sure if they're planning to display them in there...

[NewTroll]

I've met a few people who'd visited Coventry and thought it was OK, but mainly people just mention the ring road & concrete. Actually, the ring road seems to be what people mention most, and not for good reasons. One of my cousins just called it a 'very sad place indeed'. When I started work at GPT, staff at sister sites in Nottingham used to joke that Coventry was the 'city that dies at 5:30' - that was 15 years ago...

In general, I meet very few people who have been to the city. I've had friends visit and they're underwhelmed. One friend (Who works as an architect) was absolutely astonished when I showed him IKEA and the surrounding streets - he couldn't believe that a city centre street had no frontages on it and thought it was a terrible mistake. But he also said that 320,000 is a good size for a city to be, but didn't understand why Coventry was so rubbish in terms of shops and general facilities.

Quite a few friends and family don't understand why we live here, and when they visit they want to visit Leamington or Solihull as they think the city centre is rubbish. The reason I do live here is because I love living in Earlsdon. After four years elsewhere, I was ready to move out to Leamington but a great house came up in Earlsdon, so we stayed and it was the best thing we did. I think people living Earlsdon, especially the 'upper' bit, don't realise how lucky they are.

I did an MSC at Warwick, and the students that I met did not ever go into Coventry. They tended to stick around Leamington.

Interesting question about Friargate. How many people, I wonder, commute to Severn Trent? There's a stream of workers from the station most mornings, but very little traffic at the junction on the ring road - I honestly expected that when ST opened up, I would end up stuck there in traffic (I drop my wife off in the city centre in the morning.) but it made no difference.

I guess there will be commuters, especially if the rail links to Nuneaton and Leaminton are improved (As they are going to be with this plan for a new East->West route that will go through Coventry). It might boost the apartment market in the city centre for graduates who stay. It's also in the right area for getting people to move in. Walking distance from some of the city's more popular and less problematic inner city areas... So you never know.

One thing that surprises people who've never been here before is how big it is. it's almost like the UK's forgotten city. Years ago, when I mentioned Coventry, people used to mention Jaguar. They don't anymore. My Dad was an engineer and he knew Coventry as he owned a factory that had Alfred Herbert machine tools in it and some Wickman's. He'd also been to Coventry on a school trip when the precinct was being built!

I always remember walking throught the Cathedral one morning and hearing an Amercian tourist (This was when there used to _always_ be busloads of tourists at the Cathedral) saying to some other people as they stood on the steps and looked out at Cov Poly, "I don't understand it, I was here just after that bombing and there were loads of nice old buildings round here still standing."

[CovAD]

Originally Posted by kthulhu

Personally speaking, I think improving the city centre is the way forward with trying to make the city as a whole more attractive for investment and business.

These days image trumps all else. The centre is the part most will experience when visiting a city for the first time. It's why places like Manchester, Nottingham, Leicester, Liverpool, Glasgow etc. are all deemed worthy cities (i.e. attractive centres) in spite of apparently having much higher levels of crime and deprivation than Coventry.

Warwick and Leamington are well regarded, 'classical' towns, so naturally a business, wanting a 'sophisticated' image, may choose to relocate to these places.

Still, things are still happening in Coventry - we have the automative technology facility that was announced last week. And the city certainly enjoyed a boost in profile by being an olympic venue. Will it be enough?

If by image you mean perception I think there is something in that.

It wasn't that long ago (pre IRA) that Manchester was considered a bit of a dump and a backwater. A bit of a spruce up and a few decent bands and suddenly its the place to be seen. Frankly I find most of it very underwhelming and can't see the reason for the huge praise people give it.

There are people I know who used to go out clubbing in Birmingham that cost them 4 or 5 times what it cost in Cov, and by the time they got there they'd already be blind drunk and never remember a thing they'd done, and I can't see how Birmingham can make a complete blur better? I went to London on a day trip and some people on the coach were going shopping because it was so much better. When they got back on they'd only gone to Primark and bought stuff I've seen in ours for twice the price.

In terms of other companies I don't think it is so much of an issue as cost issues, suitable skills etc would take precedence.

[CovAD]

Originally Posted by NewTroll

I've met a few people who'd visited Coventry and thought it was OK, but mainly people just mention the ring road & concrete. Actually, the ring road seems to be what people mention most, and not for good reasons. One of my cousins just called it a 'very sad place indeed'. When I started work at GPT, staff at sister sites in Nottingham used to joke that Coventry was the 'city that dies at 5:30' - that was 15 years ago...

In general, I meet very few people who have been to the city. I've had friends visit and they're underwhelmed. One friend (Who works as an architect) was absolutely astonished when I showed him IKEA and the surrounding streets - he couldn't believe that a city centre street had no frontages on it and thought it was a terrible mistake. But he also said that 320,000 is a good size for a city to be, but didn't understand why Coventry was so rubbish in terms of shops and general facilities.

Quite a few friends and family don't understand why we live here, and when they visit they want to visit Leamington or Solihull as they think the city centre is rubbish. The reason I do live here is because I love living in Earlsdon. After four years elsewhere, I was ready to move out to Leamington but a great house came up in Earlsdon, so we stayed and it was the best thing we did. I think people living Earlsdon, especially the 'upper' bit, don't realise how lucky they are.

I did an MSC at Warwick, and the students that I met did not ever go into Coventry. They tended to stick around Leamington.

Interesting question about Friargate. How many people, I wonder, commute to Severn Trent? There's a stream of workers from the station most mornings, but very little traffic at the junction on the ring road - I honestly expected that when ST opened up, I would end up stuck there in traffic (I drop my wife off in the city centre in the morning.) but it made no difference.

I guess there will be commuters, especially if the rail links to Nuneaton and Leaminton are improved (As they are going to be with this plan for a new East->West route that will go through Coventry). It might boost the apartment market in the city centre for graduates who stay. It's also in the right area for getting people to move in. Walking distance from some of the city's more popular and less problematic inner city areas... So you never know.

One thing that surprises people who've never been here before is how big it is. it's almost like the UK's forgotten city. Years ago, when I mentioned Coventry, people used to mention Jaguar. They don't anymore. My Dad was an engineer and he knew Coventry as he owned a factory that had Alfred Herbert machine tools in it and some Wickman's. He'd also been to Coventry on a school trip when the precinct was being built!

I always remember walking throught the Cathedral one morning and hearing an Amercian tourist (This was when there used to _always_ be busloads of tourists at the Cathedral) saying to some other people as they stood on the steps and looked out at Cov Poly, "I don't understand it, I was here just after that bombing and there were loads of nice old buildings round here still standing."

Yep the one thing you ALWAYS get first from people who have visited is the ring road every time. And not one of them likes it. They find the joint sliproads letting traffic on and off at the same time scary and the junctions confusing.

Friargate - I think most would commute in, especially at the start.

ST does have a lot of commuters to my knowledge and it uses the War Memorial Park as a park and ride which could explain why little traffic reaches the ring road junction (thankfully, as the thing would be unbearable if they did.

[CovAD]

Originally Posted by NewTroll

I think your idea makes sense! I'd probably recreate the Broadgate->Spon Street link properly. You could even have links under the ground like in the Bullring.I think the area where Woollies/The Market/City Arcade now stands was mainly industrial and before that Barracks.

Okay... One think I liked about the Bullring was how it created a public space around the old church.

Why couldn't something similar be done at the bottom of the precinct with the church at the base of Spon End? Construct it so that Smithford Way leads directly to Spon Street, but there's a public space with frontages on it and some sort of new landmark building overlooking the church. It just baffles me as to why in Coventry they seem unable to create public spaces that actually have things in them...

I have considered how to do this link, as I think if they'd done a link between the medieval churches it would have looked so much better and joined up with Spon St better, but have problems with it due to the ring road - it cuts Spon St off and so doesn't really give a reason to walk down there anymore than the current offset layout.

Underground links are a thought but there's already a big difference in elevation between Spon St and Broadgate and going underground would just magnify that. Hence the first idea of a two-tier redone precinct at the level of Broadgate and Corp St.

I'm sure someone out with much more talent than I could think up a solution, but so far one escapes me.

[Typhoon2000]

IN all honesty that ring road as it stands is no longer fit for purpose. You have to remember it was built in a time when the general population would have been driving around in Ford Anglias (or whatever the equivalent Rootes or S-T) car was at that time. Now we drive around in Mondeos and Insignias with performance coming from engines in the size of car that could only have been dreamt off at that time.. - It barely works at all at these junctions.

As for Severn Trent - I'm surprised but there are a few things that make it dead easy to get to and from outside of the city.

1) That refurbished girder bridge - A *real* godsend and a total stroke of genius to whoever put it there. When they did it up you noticed how long it took to walk the extra distance from the Uni to the station. And to be honest, with all the lighting it's much better and feels a bit more safer to walk over in the evenings.

2) Park and Ride at Tile Hill. A no brainer although I think they got caught a bit short when ST opened up initially. Not sure if they've expanded it but that's probably your main reason why there hasn't been the sudden horrible increase in cars to cause problems. P+R is one area where I can safely say Coventry deserves a good pat on the back for getting this right.

As for that 'Cov shuts at 5:30' vibe - yep.. I remember the only decent places to go (if you call them that) was Fatty Arbuckles, The Colloseum (in what was possibly the nastiest part of the town centre), and Mr G's (the G an abbreviation for Greasy)- although I did like Bar Coast. Although the Skydome sorted out the problem of lack of entertainment it still centralised it well away from the centre.. you go to Leicester though and it seems more spread out. - Even Birmingham has multiple areas to go dotted about the town, as well as Broad Street (in fact I think Broad Street's in a bit of trouble at the moment - the other areas seem more desirable- Arcadian for example).

[susamuruago]

Naul's Mill Park. Is this a pond, was that a fountain, or is there any small brook in there? Does anyone cleans that alga:


Where should I report that this board is damaged:


Railway crossing with Coundon Rd. Was there a platform (station) here, was it for cargo, passengers? When was it closed. I am sure I can see some brick structure there. Maybe it wasn't a station, just my imagination

[NewTroll]

Coundon was a proper station. It closed in 1965.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coundon...ailway_station

That park doesn't look well looked after. :-(

[DBadger]

Looks a logical station to reopen in my opinion.

Edit: following a line around, you could have Coventry to Nuneaton to Coalville to Leicester. Coalville to Leicester is being reopened. It would give Cov a link to Leicester as I think somebody asked about earlier.

[susamuruago]

There has to be demand from the people to use that station. It is important to know the population density in that area. 10 min by foot is max distance for people to walk to the station. Proper bus connection must be opened (I don't know, maybe Cov - B-ham). And new bus stops have to be built - very close to the platform. Also small park and ride parking for cars and bicycles as well. It won't function without this things. I am sure that I didn't mention a lot of different conditions. But believe me it is not so easy as it looks. I'd like it to be easy. I lived for a year in Vienna and I was able to experience myself "Schnellbahn" in the big city and around it. Every single small or big station had a lot of bus connections, and a big P+R. It functions very well. But also people's attitude to railway is different.
Other thing - I am from Poznan (PL), the city that is twice bigger than Coventry. A lot of stations were reopened there during the last few years but nobody uses them. People are so much used to use buses, and of course cars. The biggest mistake that has been made is that there were no P+R built there. Bus stops are also not so close to the platform as they should be. It's very long topic to discuss. I'd like that and any other station to be reopened here, And I'd use railway link to travell around the city. But I know that a lot of activities has to be carried out.

[Jonny Gee]

Two tall cranes have appeared on the land at Hood St/Alma St and framework is already going up...

more student accommodation maybe?