Green light for £20m Coventry regeneration project

CONSTRUCTION work will start on the final piece of an 18-year Coventry regeneration project this summer after it was given the all clear by planners.

The £20m Gosford Gate scheme – a mixed-use development at the entrance to Far Gosford Street – will feature restaurants and shops at ground floor level as well as providing a home for 286 students in purpose built accommodation above.

The development will provide a link between Coventry University and the city’s new creative quarter, anchored by Fargo Village. 

Complex Development Projects (CDP), which has worked in partnership with Coventry City Council to regenerate the area, is working with Unite Students, the UKs largest developer and operator of student accommodation, to deliver the project. 

The scheme is the final development in the regeneration of Far Gosford Street which has seen the restoration of existing properties, including 16 listed buildings as well as the creation of the Fargo Village creative quarter and new offices.

Ian Harrabin, of CDP said: “The University is a huge economic driver for this part of the city centre and the gap in the street left by the development of Sky Blue Way in the 1970s created a dead zone that severed the link.

“We first came up with the idea 18 years ago. It has been a very bumpy ride and there were times when many people inside and outside the city did not think it would be possible.

“But I think we and the council have shown determination for the long-term and that, coupled with the strong vision and community buy-in, has really made it possible.”

Cllr Kevin Maton, Coventry City Council cabinet member for business, enterprise and employment, said: “Far Gosford Street is one of our oldest and most historic streets. It’s been enjoyed by past generations who have lived, worked and traded or shopped in it.

“Now, this new student accommodation will help to breathe new life into this much loved street all over again.”