Cathedral Lanes

Can anyone remember the original shop or shops that were located at the present Wilkinson's site in Cathedral Lanes please? We cannot seem to recall that Wilkinson's were the original occupiers when the complex was built in 1990. Thanks Alan

Hi Alan, My wife recalls that there used to be a cafe or restaurant there before Wilkinson's - one that you could walk through and come out the back by the Coventry Cross statue. No idea what it was called though - anyone else know?

I think it was called "THE DEAD ZONE" or "THE EMPTY QUARTER" Recall walking through it once just for the experience of going in the front of Cathedral Lanes and coming out of the back at the Coventry Cross. It felt like a major achievement at the time, a bit like getting through the Shambles Arcade without bumping into anybody. Cathedral Lanes (from a shopping point of view) was a waste of time until Wilko came along. I only used to go in to visit "K-Soft" - the computer shop run by the somewhat miserable 'Ken' who used to have a stall in the Shambles before he moved there.

We have success! My wife asked someone working in Wilkinson's today, and by coincidence they had also recently discussed this. The restaurant on that site from 1990 was.... PALMS. Sorted!

Thanks to all for the information, I now remember Palms but I recall that was directly at the back, the owner moved from "Grannies" which relocated from Hays Lane. We seem to remember a furniture / craft type shop on the lower floor prior to Wilko's, but perhaps my memory deceives me. K Soft! memories... and yes the owner always did seem miserable, used to buy my Amiga software there thanks again Alan

I remember a craft type shop in amongst all the empty units ... went in once and thought it was all very nice but just not Coventry city centre material. Ah yes, the Amiga ... silly old me saw some adverts for the Atari ST which rekindled memories of the Atari VCS so I got one. It wasn't rubbish by any means but if I'd done my homework I would have deffo got the Amiga. One thing I will give K-Soft, when I saw "Sonic the Hedgehog" running on his TV screens it persuaded me to buy the Sega Megadrive when I next got paid. The ST was soon sold after Sonic entered my life!

Yep I remember Palms - tried to be kind of upmarket if I recall. What was the bar where the Foreign Exchange place is now called?

I loved that shop - it was there for ages. I bought loads of things there, it made a change from the run of the mill shops in the centre. I also remember 'Palms' in the conservatory - it would have survived, I think, as part of the new 'cafe bar' culture that Coventry has belatedly adopted. I remember having some pleasant meals there.

Just in case anyone has missed this it states, reading on the tv news, plans to revamp Cathedral Lanes shopping centre have been drawn up by developers. Coventry City council said it was working closely with the owners, Hammerson, on three potential designs. The council's director of development, Martin Yardley, said he hoped a planning application would be submitted before the end of the year. He said "The building justifiably gets a lot of criticism about how it looks so we've got to do something about it."

Not a very good picture, but this image from the latest edition of the Council's "City Vision" brochure gives some indication of what it might look like. Hideous isn't it?

I think most people think that the main thing wrong with the building is its location Now we are promised a partial view of the Cathedrals and Three Spires as a compromise

Its simple ....all it needs is one of these:

It is going to take more than one..

I have to confess, I've also made jokes about demolishing the Cathedral Lanes building in the past. I think all of our jesting is purely about the fact that it was a thoughtless thing for the council to have done back in the late 1980s, when "the Cathedral Lanes" were originally planned to be a complex of small period style buildings and streets in keeping with the area. Instead, the overly large building seems to have acted as a barrier between the "commercial" part of the town centre and the beautiful Cathedral Quarter. Like most people seem to agree, it's not a bad looking structure, just in the wrong place!

It's nice to see something being done, but I'm afraid I'm still in the demolish category. It's not the nicest looking building but neither is it hideous. The problem isn't its looks, it's the potential view and history of the city it hides, and no matter what it looks like that will not change enough. Almost every other city makes buildings such as these stand alone icons with great views from all directions, we hide it behind a second rate shopping mall. I've had the discussion with flapdoodle elsewhere, but the fact the view of the spires has never existed doesn't mean it COULDN'T exist. The issue of the topography is negligble and actually completely negated taking into account a person's eye-level is 1.5-2m off the floor. The old County Court may block the view of the cathedral slightly, but not the spire, and with a tasteful bit of tarting up could itself add to the view. The service area can be tastefully screened off short term while decision are made as to how to improve this bit of land. The biggest issue is without doubt the residents, who need to be considered much more carefully. But most people move during their lifetimes and a fair price and a decent alternative would I'm sure be sufficient for many. TBH I don't think I'd enjoy living in them that much. Noisy as it's near a route used by many buses and a service yard, not very private as it's near a major throughfare for pedestrians and tourist area, and cold and a bit dark due to the northfacing aspect so doesn't get the sun and a huge church blocking light getting in (although the new green area would undoubtedly make the view out the window a lot nicer)