Historic England has recently published its “Heritage at Risk Register” for this year. Despite the money invested in recent years, there has been little change in the list for Coventry since last year.
As we reported last year, there are three Conservation Areas, one Parks and Gardens, one Scheduled Ancient Monument and five Listed Buildings still on the list – one Grade I, three Grade II* and one Grade II.
The three conservation areas are:
Lady Herberts Garden Conservation Area – as last year this is described as “very bad” and “deteriorating significantly”. The anti-social behaviour associated with this area was reported as a significant issue at the CovSoc Heritage Conference last month.
London Road Conservation Area – as last year this is described as “very bad” but “improving”.
Naul’s Mill Conservation Area – as last year this is described as “poor” and “deteriorating”
There is one area of Parks and Gardens on the list. Stoney Road Allotments, which is Grade II* listed, is still described as “Generally unsatisfactory with major localised problems“ and “declining”. The completion of work to restore three of the summer houses has not changed the status of the risk assessment.
Listed buildings on the list are:
The Grade 1 listed St. John the Baptist Church. The condition is reported as “Poor” and itis stated that there is slow decay and that a solution has been agreed but not yet implemented.
The Grade II* listed basement of the Old Star Inn in Earl Street is described as Fair, with a solution agreed but not yet implemented. The basement is part of the proposed new Coventry University building that was to replace the old Civic Centre. The new university building is on hold and may not now be completed for many years, if ever.
The Nonconformist Chapel to London Road Cemetery is also listed as Grade II*. Its condition is described as “Fair”. A repair scheme is in progress but not yet complete.
Whitefriars Gatehouse on Much Park Street is another Grade II* building on the “At Risk” list. Its condition is described as “Fair”, following a repair scheme in 2023, but further work is required and an end user has not yet been identified.
St Marks’s Church and boundary walls in Bird Street and Stoney Stanton Road. This is a Grade II listed building. The condition is described as “Poor”, vulnerability as “high”, the trend is “declining” with “slow decay and no solution agreed”.
The only scheduled Ancient Monument on the list is Allesley Castle. This is described as “Generally unsatisfactory with major localised problems” and declining, with an Action/strategy agreed but not yet implemented.
Perhaps surprisingly, Coventry Baths is not included on the list, despite Historic England have apparently approved of its demolition.
The Coventry Society keeps its own register of heritage at risk. In addition to the heritage assets listed on the national list, the Coventry Society also identifies the following buildings as being at risk:
25 Allesley Old Road, topshops (condition not currently known)
Coventry Synagogue, Barras Lane
Bird Grove House, George Eliot Road
Former Paris Cinema, Far Gosford Street
Sheep pound (pinfold), Coat of Arms Bridge Roa
Unfortunately, none of these heritage assets has improved over the past year. Disappointedly, the city is not making any progress in reducing its “heritage at risk” profile.