Spon End regeneration to start in October

It's part of a £120 million regeneration scheme

Author: Ellie Brown (Local Democracy Reporter)Published 24th Jun 2024
Last updated 24th Jun 2024

A 1960s Coventry housing estate will be torn down to make way for new homes. Work to flatten Trafalgar House, Kerry House and Milestone House is due to start in October this year.

It is the first part of a planned £120 million regeneration of an area in Spon End by social housing provider Citizen. Residents of the 158 flats had to move out due to the scheme which was announced four years ago.

In a page on its website on the plans, Citizen said it has been “working closely with our customers in Kerry, Milestone and Trafalgar House to help them with their move to a new home.” Coventry council approved a bid to demolish the empty blocks last week, 19 June.

Citizen aims to start redevelopment work as soon as the buildings have been knocked down, according to documents with plans. However, if there is a delay, a “temporary wildflower meadow” will be planted on the site.

Work on the project must start by next March if the group is to get funding from Homes England, the letter warned. Plans for the huge redevelopment of the wider area are due to be lodged with Coventry City Council this summer.

The latest scheme for Spon End was shared with the public for comments last month. It showed that the 158 flats that will be knocked down would be replaced by 236 mostly two-bedroom homes.

These would be “modern and energy efficient,” plans claim, and built across four blocks ranging from five to nine storeys high. The site would also get better car parking and potentially a “community hub.”

The aim is for this area to be finished by March 2028, Citizen’s website said. Other areas of Spon End are also earmarked for redevelopment, with 750 homes in total planned of which 30% would be “affordable.”

Nine buildings are included in the second stage of the scheme. These are: Spon Gate House, George Poole House, Grindlay House, Drinkwater House, Givens House, Gardner House, Fennel House, Winslow House and Corrie House.

The third stage involves three areas: Wellington Gardens, Sherbourne Street and numbers 85 to 99 on Upper Spon Street. Other changes that have been put forward include a riverside boardwalk, new cycle routes and wildlife habitats.

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