Earlier this year the Canal and River Trust – which owns and runs the entire British canal system – quietly put the freehold of Coventry’s 18th century Canal Basin on the market, for sale by auction on 19th March.
The Basin, as anyone who visits this little-known gem in the city centre will know, has a number of commercial and residential buildings as well as open spaces and gardens that form a delightful oasis of calm amidst the bustle of traffic on the Ring Road and Foleshill Road.
Visiting narrowboats can often be seen. There are waterside cafes (Playwrights and Gorety), the Riley Collection, and The Tin Music and Arts, one of the city’s most important and well-established venues. Across the water is the 18th century, listed, self-managed Canal Warehouse, which houses 25 workshops and artists’ studios.
Over the years the Basin has been the site of innumerable cultural, creative and leisure events, most recently Imagineer’s Where We Belong celebration on 20th March.
All this was thrown into doubt by CRT’s decision.
In response the Basin community of businesses, charities and voluntary organisations has applied to have the Basin registered by the City Council as an Asset of Community Value under the Localism Act 2011. This would prevent a sale on the open market for 6 months, during which time the community is entitled to purchase the asset if they can raise the finance.
CRT has, in turn, taken the Basin off the market for now.
Jess Harper, Marketing Manager at The Tin Music and Arts, said:
“This is a really positive step for the Canal Basin and for the community that surrounds it. The space already has a strong creative identity, and pursuing Asset of Community Value status recognises just how important it is to so many people. We’re hopeful this creates the opportunity to secure a future that protects and builds on what’s already here – supporting grassroots arts, independent culture, and inclusive community activity.”
We await further developments and encourage the City Council to proceed speedily with registering the Basin as the Asset of Community Value that it surely is.