Sir Peter Rigby, chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, has been given a walk through one of the largest developments in the region just weeks before work to transform it will begin.
The LEP has backed the Friargate scheme to the tune of £12 million but work will start just days after Sir Peter steps down after 18 months as LEP chair.
The scheme will see the total redevelopment of the area around Coventry railway station to create a mixed use development which will include offices, hotels and apartments.
Work on decking the ring road – the prelude to the Friargate scheme – will be carried out first before the overall project begins. The scheme will provide more than three million square feet of office-led mixed-use development which will link Coventry train station with the city centre.
It will feature 25 efficient and sustainable buildings including 14 Grade A office buildings – one of which will be a new headquarters for Coventry City Council – two hotels and residential development which, the developers hope, could generate up to 15,000 jobs.
The development is one of several identified by the LEP as being key economic drivers to bring growth and jobs to Coventry and Warwickshire.
Sir Peter said: “We see Friargate as a fundamental development which will bring huge improvements in terms of physical development and perception, but also through the jobs it will attract.
“The work of the LEPs is all about helping to bring economic growth and jobs and I think that in the last 18 months we have brought a real focus to those aims, and that is reflected in the Government funding we have attracted.
“Friargate will be a great example of the tangible improvements the LEP can help make happen, and I am looking forward to seeing it develop and thrive.”
Sir Peter was given a tour of the site by Owen Kirk and Stephen Reynolds of Friargate LLP – the company behind the development – and Cllr Ann Lucas, leader of Coventry City Council, which will be one of the first tenants of the scheme.
Stephen Reynolds of Friargate Coventry LLP, said: “The support of the LEP has been crucial to helping the development reach this very exciting stage. It has seen the potential of Friargate to attract jobs while at the same time creating a gateway befitting an area of the size and significance of Coventry and Warwickshire.”
Councillor Lucas, who is also a board director of the LEP, added: “Friargate will, I am sure, be an example of what can be achieved with the public and private sector working together with a clear aim.
“It will help simulate the Coventry and Warwickshire economy by attracting jobs and provide a fitting gateway to the city.”