Our Secretary, John Payne, reflects on the news that Paradise House is to be demolished and its site redeveloped. John writes…..
Paradise in an old and interesting neighbourhood in Foleshill, located between the upper part of Stoney Stanton Road and the canal.
The origin of the name is not known, but it may have been taken from Paradise Farm, the site of which is now on the other side of the canal. The biblical associations were extended with the naming of local streets such as Eden Street (previously Paradise Row) and the Adam and Eve pub.
The area was heavily bombed during the War and a lot of buildings were destroyed, one of the exceptions being the Adam and Eve pub.
Photograph of bomb damage to Numbers 84, 86, 88, 90 & 90a Crabmill Lane. Coventry Digital
A significant part of the bombed area was redeveloped by the council, with the construction of Paradise House, one of typical Council residential blocks of the 1960s – the ones with the winged tops.
Back in the nineteen seventies I worked for the city planning department on the preparation of a new plan for Foleshill – the Foleshill District Policy Guide.
It was to be a revolutionary plan, going well beyond the normal realms of town planning: a corporate plan for a whole district of Coventry. It covered a wide range of subjects including housing, shopping, industry, community relations, education and social matters.
As part of the plan preparation, I went to interview all the prominent people in the district. One of these was the local vicar.
At that time, there had been a recent change in housing policy. Instead of demolishing all the old houses, the emphasis was now on modernising them. One new policy recognised that it wasn’t enough to improve the inside of the house, but that the surrounding environment needed to be improved as well. Thus, the concept of General Improvement Area (GIA) was born.
A programme of GIAs around the older parts of the city was put in place. Paradise was the second or third GIA in the programme.
Photograph of environmental improvements as part of the Paradise GIA. Coventry Digital
My conversation with the vicar got round to housing policy and I said to him “You do realise that Paradise is a general improvement area, don’t you?” The vicar paused in thought for about a minute and then said “Yes, I suppose it is!”
In November, Citizen Housing, the successor to the housing association that took control of all the council’s housing, announced that Paradise House is to be demolished.
They have stated that the building will be bulldozed following detailed assessments and surveys. Residents will be provided with new homes while the site is redeveloped.
Some reportedly said their flats are hard to heat, increasingly in need of repairs, and no longer suitable for modern living. Citizen concluded that even major investment could not bring the block up to the required energy standards.
Rehousing tenants was due to start in December, with the process likely to take up to two years. Letters have been sent detailing the steps and timeline of the project.
Citizen plans to redevelop the site after the demolition of Paradise House, with the aim of delivering high-quality family housing. Coventry City Council and the wider community will be asked for their input before any redevelopment plans are finalised.
Bridget Guilfoyle, Director of Asset Management at Citizen, said: “Paradise House has been home to many people for a long time, and we understand how much it means to our customers.
“Our priority is to create better living conditions for the future and make sure we find homes that meet our customers’ needs. We will be fully supporting our customers throughout this process.”
At one time there were a large number of the classic winged blocks in the city, but redevelopment in Hillfields and shortly in Spon End is reducing them significantly. Perhaps we should renovate and keep at least one of them for future generations to see.
Classic “winged flats” in Hillfields in 1974, mostly now demolished. Coventry Digital