Regional Minister welcomes £2.2 billion regeneration boost for Coventry city

Regional Minister for the West Midlands Ian Austin today welcomed a major boost to the radical multi-billion pound transformation of Coventry into a 21st century city.

Regional development agency Advantage West Midlands is committing up to £40 million to help drive the £2.2 billion ten-year plan to revitalise Coventry city.

This money will help pull together and deliver the key schemes planned for Coventry City centre including Friargate, Swanswell and Coventry University developments as well as the hugely important Jerde masterplan to radically redevelop the retail centre of the city.

The programme is a major partnership between Coventry City Council, Advantage West Midlands, Coventry University, public sector stakeholders and private businesses.

It will transform the physical landscape to deliver a unique and modern vision for the city, as expressed by the people who live and work there; one which provides an environment attractive to residents, visitors, students, investors and business.

The investment from Advantage West Midlands will help build larger, more flexible and adaptable business space, improving linkages between key parts of the city centre and maximise the city’s focal points to create a stronger sense of identity. This will include the re-integration of Coventry University’s buildings and the expansion of the Technopark.

This will create the right environment to attract businesses to the region and improve the city’s ability to attract new and high growth markets, which will stimulate employment and growth for the region.
This will also help to retain graduates in the city by increasing the number of highly skilled jobs within the city centre.

Ian Austin said: “This is one of the most ambitious regeneration partnerships in the region. I am delighted Advantage West Midlands has committed millions of pounds to kick start the whole redevelopment programme and boost the city’s economy.

“These plans will provide new high quality buildings to bring investment to the city, and strengthen Coventry's economy by boosting skills and attracting the highly-skilled and well-paid jobs that the city's prosperity will depend upon in the future."

Mick Laverty, Chief Executive at Advantage West Midlands, said: “I am delighted we have been able to commit £40million to provide a catalyst to this major redevelopment.

"Our interventions and work with partners will help to provide essential infrastructure and good quality buildings of a high design standard, which will attract major investment to the city, creating the right jobs and retaining the right skills to support its growth.

“Our investment will also help to create 9,000 new jobs for Coventry and will safeguard a further 3,000. We will also be reclaiming 15 hectares of brownfield land, which is either currently underused or derelict, to bring this back into economic use.

“There is also a real opportunity here for the city to be an exemplar of environmental sustainability and user of renewable energy, looking at shared energy sources, which will reduce energy costs with the ultimate goal of making business more productive.

“At the same time, the city will become a dynamic and diverse beacon for innovation in building design, urban landscape and business development.

“Coventry will be in a position to reassert its status as an icon for the region while gaining maximum benefit from its advantageous position on the country’s transport network and strategic location in the centre of the UK.

“The progress made to arrive at this point provides further evidence of the momentum the region is gaining and of the real impact being delivered through the partnerships that have been built up.”

Councillor Ken Taylor, Leader of Coventry City Council, said: “I am delighted by the strategic support and investment from Advantage West Midlands, which will ensure we realise the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform Coventry once again into one of the country's most important and successful cities.

"The people of Coventry have been clear about what they want in their new city centre – green spaces, an understanding of our great history and a pleasant environment that's easy to walk around and get to places.

“The Jerde masterplan will help us to create a distinctive, quirky and very special vision for the retail sector – one of the programme’s ten ‘quadrants’ of redevelopment – which will help make the centre of Coventry unique again.

"The crucial support from Advantage West Midlands will now help the partnership secure the regeneration and integration of the whole of the city – and to do so as quickly and effectively as possible.”