Friargate development

I've looked at the links with the massing diagrams for Friargate and to me there seems to be two small areas designated as car parks. To me that seems totally inadequate for the developments proposed. Comments please.

Friargate is close to a railway station and many people travel to and from work by train. It makes sense to site this development near to a main transport link to 2 other major commercial centres in Britain, Birmingham and London. Hopefully the lack of parking spaces together with the proximity of a major rail station will encourage travellers to leave their cars at home, thereby helping to reduce road congestion and also air pollution. This will hopefully improve the environment for future generations.

Hi Digger, I'm sure what you say explains the theory and the logic of it. But that rarely happens in practice. The majority of jobs on offer in the Friargate complex will be at the lower end of the pay scales so the people will be recruited from within the city boundaries. Very few will travel to work by train. The railway station is not well served by buses travelling from the north and east of the city: the south and west is served better. I was up near Tile Hill Station the other week and quite a few people in that area commute by train - but to Birmingham not Coventry. As can be seen the car park is well used but an equal number of commuters park their cars in surrounding streets to the annoyance of the residents.

Hi pixrobin, Tile Hill station is a good example of commuting by train. People from other areas with stations nearby will commute by train to Coventry (for Friargate). Hopefully the Friargate will be a successful development, leading to many employment opportunities from companies relocating there. At present the bus service via the main Coventry station may not serve all of the city but once there is a demand then profit hungry bus operators will soon alter / add to their timetabled services. In my opinion Friargate is a well planned development integrated with the local transport system. If people have nowhere to park then they will adapt to the services provided. In many major cities parking is limited e,g, in London, Manchester etc. and people there successfully commute into the city centre.

As long as they don't reduce the trains stopping at Coventry. Read one of the Telegraph articles here

I think that the development has been poorly thought through in terms of transport links. There is a poor amount of parking, though I understand this from an environmental and congestion perspective. However, I think the bus provision is also poor and the bus interchange (although it has been expanded from the original plans though I think this might be due to them doubting they can fill all the proposed office space) doesn't serve anywhere near enough of the city. I find it interesting that people consider the north and east to be poorly provided by buses, as I live in the west and that is terrible too. To be fair we do have the local stops of Canley and Tile Hill, but these aren't exactly accessible to all either. It seems the only area that is served to a decent level is the south, which is most affluent and less likely to use public transport. I still find the removal of the slip road quite baffling too. It will be interesting to see if/how the development may be affected by Brexit, although we have already been lied to once. When HS2 to Birmingham was being consulted we were told that the extra capacity freed up on the WCML would see the number of services to London through Coventry increase. Yet now they've passed HS2 all of sudden they're suggesting reducing those services, and thus making Friargate less appealing.

Pixrobin, why do you think Friargate is aimed at low wage jobs? It isn't. The development is partly aimed at attracting technology businesses who will employ IT specialists and Software Developers who command higher that average salaries. One key aspect is improving Coventry's poor railway links to there are more trains to places like Oxford and Nottingham.

Progress on Friargate 25 March 2016 18 July 2016

Pictured today we can see further development

I like those photos, Pixrobin. I think this is going to be a fine looking building.

Can anyone enlighten me on what is happening on the Warwick Rd station bridge ? It appears that one side of the road has been finished but no evidence of what has been done. Is the opposite side also to have the no apparent work done treatment ? Also does anyone know of any plans for the rather scruffy looking block of flats?

I think Tony has copies of the plans jon so will hopefully post here - I'll have a look myself but in the interim - I think they are strengthening and widening the road bridge ready for the extended platforms to take the newer High Speed trains etc. I'm sure I read that those flats were going at some point along with the Burger King but I may be wrong.

jonboy, They are constructing a subway beneath Warwick Road to link to the proposed new Nuneaton line (KNUCKLE) platform and also the second station entrance and bus hub that will be build on the site of some of the existing car park. The subway will be closed off for about two years until the scheme progresses, but it is externally funded and the money had to be spent this year. Peter.

Thanks PeterB. So that's why there's no apparent progress at street level !

This is a nice view. Just a shame it'll only be for council workers rather than everyone. Should've been the view from the station and the first thing visitors saw when the exit. It gives a real sense of place IMO