Chapman Taylor's City Centre South, Coventry, re-design

CGI of proposed regeneration of Coventry City Centre South (Chapman Taylor)

Chapman Taylor has received planning permission for its regeneration of an historic area of Coventry - City Centre South, upgrading several areas such as Bull Yard, Shelton Square, city Arcade and Hertford Street, which will make the city a significant shopping and leisure destination in the West Midlands.

The whole scheme will connect the city's much-loved circular market with the rest of the centre, with the aim to have the development open for business by 2026.

The development proposal includes up to 50 new retail units, a number of new public realm spaces, a pavilion containing independent and start-up retailers and restaurants, a premium cinema and other leisure uses, new restaurants, private rented residential accommodation and a hotel.

Chapman Taylor provided the masterplan for this urban regeneration project on behalf of Shearer Property Regen Ltd Group.

Associate Director, UK at Chapman Taylor, Daniel Morgans, who has over 15 years' experience as an architects in the UK and overseas will join Future Cities Forum's discussion event on 'Future High Streets & city centres' this May to describe this significant project in Coventry.

Daniel says:

'City Centre South is an area of wonderful strategic potential because of its position between Friargate/the railway station and the successful Broadgate area; it sits both on the route between the railway station and the city centre and on an east-west axis with Coventry University. The city is growing in population with major automotive and industrial plants such as Jaguar Land Rover as well as a diverse student population.

'The historic street pattern of Coventry was interrupted by badly conceived post-war planning, which had a number of failings, including the imposition of tower blocks in the middle of the street, poor urban legibility and damaged or blocked views. Meanwhile, the best most elegant post-war architecture was itself undermined by insensitive additions between te 1970s and 1990s. There is too much bad architecture and a reliance on outdated retail concepts, such as inward-looking arcades, rooftop parking, huge service yards and multi-storey car parks.

'The over-reliance on retail, which accounts for over 90% of the area's offer, means that the area will decline very sharply if nothing is done to introduce new uses and new functions. To put it bluntly the city centre will die, socially and commercially if it is not transformed.

'Our design for Coventry City Centre South remedies the mistakes of the past, which doesn't necessarily mean everything post-war, while respecting the best elements of the area's heritage and reinstating a permeable street pattern. Our concentration is less on the architecture than on urban renewal - the urban fabric and street patterns.'

Daniel has spent eight years working in the luxury residential and hospitality sectors and on a number of sensitive urban and historical sites. He also has experience in coordinating teams for large-scale mixed-use projects in the Middle East, and Europe.