Full steam ahead for £82m redevelopment of Coventry railway station
PLANS for the £82m redevelopment of Coventry railway station are set to be approved today.
The Coventry Station masterplan is likely to get the go ahead from the city council as part of the overall regeneration of the city.
The programme is set to deliver improvements to Coventry Railway Station. The plan was developed in response to a 2014 study that looked at the city’s future rail needs. It was initially approved by the city’s cabinet in March 2015, with funding from the Local Growth Deal. Since then the scheme has been developed extensively in terms of design and scope to meet the needs of the growing city.
The city station has seen the highest growth in rail passengers in the last five years outside of London. It is now one of the busiest stations on the West Coast Mainline after Euston and Birmingham New Street. However, since its original opening in 1962 the facility has undergone little investment. It was given Grade II listed status by English Heritage in 1995 due to its modern architecture.
However, the improvements proposed are mainly to deal with capacity issues rather than aesthetics.
The council said it was essential that the city had a fitting gateway to the new Friargate development and wider city regeneration. It was also vital that the station infrastructure support the likely continued growth in passenger volumes, especially in the lead up to HS2 – even though the city won’t get an HS2 station.
The station masterplan forms an important part of the city centre action plan and Coventry & Warwickshire LEP’s strategic economic plan.
The city council, in conjunction with the Friargate delivery partnership, is collaborating with Network Rail, the Department for Transport, the wider rail industry and the LEP on the scheme.
As a consequence of this, the scope of the scheme has expanded and the total cost has increased to £82.4m, which includes an £11.8m contingency as part of good practice.
“The Coventry Station Masterplan will deliver extra capacity, accessibility and a better first impression of Coventry,” states a report to today’s city council meeting.
Measures proposed as part of the redevelopment include:
• a second footbridge connecting al four platforms and extended roof canopies;
• a second station entrance building, facing outwards onto Warwick Road and providing step free access to platforms;
• a 644-space multi-storey car park;
• a bus interchange connected directly to the station building via a new access tunnel under Warwick Road;
• highway improvements; and
• a bay platform
The highways improvements will provide the infrastructure required to deliver the Friargate Masterplan and make provision for future rapid transport services via the railway station.
The bay platform will enable a new service to operate between Coventry and Nuneaton, with two trains per hour. The relocation of the Coventry to Nuneaton services will also free up capacity on the existing line.
It will also provide extra capacity for additional services to support major events at Coventry Arena.
The council said an immediate £27.4 was available for the scheme with additional funding coming from the West Midlands Combined Authority’s devolution deal and CWLEP growth funds.
In addition, prudential borrowing will be used to finance the new car park. This will be repaid from car parking income.
Construction of the bus interchange, car park, new station building and highways works will not begin until all the funding has been secured, which is not expected until the autumn.
Building work is likely to begin in 2019, with the scheme being completed in 2021.
