News

Warwick District Council has commenced public consultation on a masterplan and design code for Kings Hill. The King Hill site, which is just outside the city boundary in Finham, was previously sold by Coventry City Council to Warwick District Council and its development has long been expected. Residents and stakeholders are now being invited to… Read more: Kings Hill Masterplan and Design Code SPD

Historian and CovSoc member Peter James tells us the interesting story of the Maudslay family and the vehicles that they built. Peter writes…. Henry Maudslay was born on 22nd August 1771 in Woolwich the son of Henry an artificer at the Royal Arsenal. He trained as an engineer  with Joseph Bramah a locksmith and eventually… Read more: Maudslay Dynasty

Following our earlier article about the local listing of the Coventry spigot mortar off Bennetts Road, we are pleased to report that a second World War II defensive structure — located beside the Oxford Canal off Shilton Lane — is now the subject of a Local List consultation. This is an important step forward in… Read more: Another Spigot Mortar

Parks and open spaces are one of our biggest sources of local pride as well as making a significant contribution to our health and well-being. Our Vice-Chair, Tim Brown, was involved in a recent study with the Town and Country Planning Association that highlighted these benefits. So it was topical that at our recent meeting,… Read more: Coventry’s Parks and Open Spaces

Historian and CovSoc member, Peter James, tells us the story of two of Warwickshire’s abbeys and their links to royalty. Peter writes….. Cryfield Men wearing white cloaks with hoods appeared in south Warwickshire in 1154. They were Cistercian monks aiming to settle at Cryfield after being given permission by Empress Matilda. Matilda was a claimant… Read more: Abbeys and Royalty

Coventry’s Transport Strategy identified walking, wheeling and cycling as important tools to achieve some of the council’s wider corporate objectives.  To give a clearer picture of how these objectives can be achieved, we are developing a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).  The LCWIP will be a daughter document of the main Transport Strategy,… Read more: Walking Wheeling and Cycling Survey

Coventry Society has set up a sub-committee that considers planning applications submitted to the City Council. Last year, we looked in detail at 77 applications and made responses to 26 of these. One of our emerging concerns has been the disappointing and uninspiring quality of the design-related aspects of some of the proposed developments. By… Read more: Design and Placemaking

The Coventry Telegraph has reported that a developer has purchased the Chase Hotel with a view to bringing it back to life as a quality hotel. Telegraph reporter, Danny Thomspson, writes….. The company that has purchased a beloved Coventry hotel has revealed it plans to spend millions of pounds returning the site to its former… Read more: Chace Hotel to be Renovated

Being involved with a group of post-graduate architecture students who are working on a project for an innovative scheme to help asylum seekers and refugees, the Vice-chairperson of Coventry Society, Tim Brown, has been exploring the wider issue of homelessness in the city. It is also topical as the government published a “national plan to… Read more: Homelessness and Rough Sleeping in Coventry

The Twentieth Century Society has formally objected to plans to demolish the Grade II-listed Coventry Central Baths, arguing that the proposal would result in the total and unjustified loss of a significant post-war heritage asset. The Society says the application for listed building consent fails to meet national and local planning policy requirements for the… Read more: Twentieth Century Society Objects to the Demolition of Coventry Baths