Numerous changes have taken place to transform Coventry's public spaces, with £57m invested in the city since 2011, and £10m+ in 2021. This has resulted in significant private sector investment in public realm schemes and commercial developments, creating a lighter, greener and more inviting city centre.
As Coventry celebrated being UK City of Culture 2021, parts of the city centre were heavily revamped to create a lasting legacy for the city, retaining the best of the old alongside the best of the new.
Upper Precinct, Market Way and Smithford Way
The regeneration of the precinct’s spaces enhance and pay homage to the original Gibson design, featuring water features, new lighting, new paving stones, new art pieces and more greenery.
The works in the city centre retail area began in December 2019 with the demolition of the green escalator, which used to provide an entrance to West Orchards Shopping Centre, and was replaced with new escalators and lifts inside the former Moss Bros. building. Portuguese buff granite and Italian porphyry paving slabs were installed, followed by new planters with greenery, seating and lights.
Also added were two new water features and a poem, 'Weaving Coventry' written by local writer Kim Hackleman, which was embossed into the water rills that run along the planters.
Hertford Street
A gold-coloured resin-bonded gravel was laid in Hertford Street and decorative lighting was added to the trees, plus new seating. The food traders, which were formerly located in Market Way, are now located in Hertford Street.
"Endless Ribbon Connecting Us" by Morag Myerscough, was installed underneath the canopy, bringing vibrancy and colour.
Bull Yard
As part of a £2m investment, a gold-coloured resin-bonded gravel was laid and a new water feature was built. New lighting was installed, along with new benches and a children's play area.
Coventry Railway Station
The new railway station extension was opened to the public in March 2022, with entry points from Station Square and Warwick Road. It provides a high quality gateway to the city, with additional capacity and improved step-free access to all floors for passengers.
The extension complements the original Grade II-listed station building, where Vinyl artwork by Christopher Tipping was installed, as well as a new Welcome to Coventry sign created from submitted stitched designs.
There were a number of improvements made to the area surrounding the station, including:
- the addition of a 633 space multi-storey car park with lift access to the station concourse
- an extension of the pedestrian boulevard to create a high-quality traffic-free route from the station to Greyfriars Green
- the creation of a new taxi rank, vehicle drop-off loop and transport interchange
- highway improvements to Warwick Road, which included upgrading the roundabout at the Central 6 junction, creating a new access road from the multi-storey car park onto Warwick Road and a new two-way link road from Westminster Road to the Ring Road
- new access tunnel under Warwick Road from the transport interchange
The £82m programme was led by Coventry City Council, funded by West Midlands Combined Authority Devolution Deal, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Growth Fund and Council funds.
Works continue to improve the railway station for passengers, including recent installation of a new sculptural parklet at the transport interchange by Creative Giants, and the unveiling of two 2-Tone plaques to celebrate the origin of 2-Tone music in Coventry as part of the 2-Tone trail.
Pepper Lane
Pepper Lane has been resurfaced, with colourful paint added to the walls and a new ‘living wall’ feature installed, which is made up of over 8’000 plants and 15 different plant species. New lighting has also been added to the lane.
An art piece, by local artist Matt Chu, called 'At One With Cofa's Tree' was also installed.