Shearer Property Group (SPG) has selected The Hill Group (Hill) as its development/funding partner for City Centre South (CCS). The £450m landmark, mixed-use regeneration scheme will truly transform Coventry City Centre. Hill has committed significant investment into Shearer Property Regen Ltd (SPR), the development entity delivering this exciting major regeneration project in Coventry.
Outline planning permission was granted for CCS in January 2022 and SPR will now work with the Council to submit a series of detailed planning applications and aim to start on site in the Summer of 2023. As UK City of Culture 2021 and a host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Coventry is witnessing a renaissance. Thanks to external funding, over £750 million has been invested across a range of private and public initiatives including a major upgrade of the main line railway station, the new The Wave indoor waterpark and the first 300,000 sq ft of new Grade A offices, part of the initial phases of the Friargate office led, mixed use district. The city centre has also been transformed with new art and water features, lighting, and planting.
Coventry is the 11th largest City in the UK and will now have a modern city centre to be proud of. SPR is finalising details for CCS, which will create a new, leading residential, shopping and leisure destination.
Raising a new dawn for the city and establishing Coventry as a new Midlands mixed-use destination, CCS will include an extensive selection of retail, hospitality, leisure, and healthcare facilities to support the local community.
Designed to attract people back into the city to live, work and play, including graduate students from Coventry and Warwick Universities, CCS will offer a wide range of homes comprising studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments available to buy or rent.
Award winning architects Allies & Morrison have been appointed by SPR to provide inspirational architecture and landscaping which reimagines this part of the City, but carefully respects and enhances the existing heritage of the city and Grade II listed buildings. Designed to aid health and wellbeing, including a combination of communal gardens and private balconies, all properties will incorporate the latest energy efficient and sustainable technology.
Andy Hill, Group Chief Executive of The Hill Group comments: “We are delighted to have been selected to deliver a vibrant new district in this historic part of the city. Our experience in urban regeneration and expansion will enable us to provide an inspirational destination that appeals to residents and visitors alike. From my first visit, I was overwhelmed with the ambitions for this City, and excited by the prospect of delivering the missing ingredient – new high quality homes thatbring living back into the heart of Coventry.”
Guy Shearer of SPG added: “After an extensive selection process for a residential partner, we are delighted to be supporting the Council in partnership with Hill, who have a complementary skill set to ours. They are a stand-out private organisation with a superlative track record in designing and building a quality residentialproduct. CCS is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity fora top 12 UK city to deliver a game-changing project which will bring about the long-anticipated renaissance of a great City.”
Councillor Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change said, “This news is another important step forward for the City Centre South regeneration plans. Our city centre needs investment to ensure it can thrive as the way people want to use and enjoy city centres changes.”
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands and Chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority, said: “Coventry is a city on the rise with a growing reputation as a cultural and economic hub within not just the West Midlands but also right across the UK.
“The WMCA is standing firmly behind the city to ensure it continues to prosper, and our track record of investment shows we are putting our money where our mouth is. We backed Coventry’s City of Culture endeavours to the tune of £35m, we put £40m towards the new railway station, and of course we’ve earmarked more than £98m for the City Centre South regeneration scheme, which I’m delighted to see is progressing with today’s announcement of a development and funding partner.
“With major redevelopment schemes like City Centre South coming to fruition, Coventry has a bright future ahead.”
Located within a five minute walk of Coventry train station, offering three fast services an hour to London with travel times less than an hour, the residential district at City Centre South will enjoy excellent access to the public transport network. Cycleways and footpaths will provide further links across the City and all properties will benefit from secure cycle storage.