Uni expansion plans set to get the go-ahead
PLANS to expand Coventry University with a “new landmark building” are expected to get the green light from the council’s planning committee.
Full planning permission is sought for a new six-storey building on the site of the former Civic Centre along Earl Street, opposite the Council House.
The plans - phase one - will restore part of the Grade Ii-listed former Civic Centre 2 and incorporate it into a purpose-built block with “world-class teaching spaces”, a 350-seat public auditorium, and 36 apartments for visiting lecturers.
A ‘phase two’ application for outline consent is also sought for a new university campus to the south of the site, comprising three buildings up to five storeys high to create a new hub for research and development.
The scheme is recommended for approval ahead of a planning committee meeting on Thursday (July 30).
Speaking on the plans, a university spokesman said: “The focus of this scheme is to aid the on-going improvements of the city landscape, help the local community and encourage more visitors to our wonderful city by delivering a new landmark building for the university and for Coventry.
“Located in a prominent and central location within the city centre, the new building will provide a new civic function that complements the historic civic function of the Council House.
“The new building will enhance the university’s connection to the wider city and as part of this function, the building has a permeable design that will be open to members of the public.”
Demolition of the wider area is already well underway but the university will not start building work until 2022 so it can offer levelled site use during the UK City of Culture year.
It is hoped ‘phase one’ incorporating Civic Centre 2 will be ready for autumn 2025.
The Civic Centre 2 building was previously office space for Coventry council before it moved into the purposebuilt Friargate One in 2017.
Extensions are planned to incorporate the site into a new purpose-built building, but objections have been raised by The Coventry Society and The Twentieth Century Society.
Historic England have also noted the works “will result in substantial harm” but have raised no objections as there are significant public benefits to the scheme.
A university spokesman said: “In developing the former Civic Centre, Coventry University has sought to respect the local context and heritage of the site.
“This includes the preservation of two medieval basements, the retention of the Civic Centre 2 building, and a design that complements Council House and Coventry Cathedral.”
Conservation officers have also raised no objection and planning officer Anne Lynch has recommended the scheme is approved.
She said: “The proposed development seeks to retain the essential character of the building whilst incorporating it within a larger purpose-built university building.
“This would enable significant investment into the building whilst returning it to a civic use.”