Broadgate - revealed

Following close consultation with local people the new square will include more trees, be traffic free, have a granite floor in two colours and just round the corner there will be a new grassed area outside Holy Trinity Church.   

The plan for Broadgate is one part of a £7 million plan that also includes filling in two subways to improve the connection from the station and de-cluttering to improve the settings of some of the city's most stunning buildings.  Now, thanks to local people the final designs are shaping up to be even more impressive.

Councillor John Mutton, Leader of Coventry City Council, said: "We know how important Broadgate is to everyone so we have taken our time to get the plan just right - and I think it will be fantastic.  Local people told us they wanted it to be traffic free, so it will be.  There was also a call for us to make it as green as possible - so we have included as many trees as we can - which will be planted in the ground rather than in movable pots.  And just round the corner we have re worked our plan to de clutter in front of the stunning Holy Trinity Church so we it will now have grass in front of the flower beds.

"In Broadgate we plan to raise the statue of Lady Godiva up on to a larger plinth.  This will mean she is exactly where she belongs - at the heart of the square and a real focal point.  We will also remove the railings from around her. We are also investigating the possibility of moving the Coventry Cross back into Broadgate.

"We spent a lot of time looking at materials - especially the flooring which people told us under no circumstances did they want a large expanse of grey.  So we have gone for granite.  It reflects a lot of light, is tough and hard wearing, easy to clean and comes in colours that perfectly reflect materials used throughout our history.

"The new square will have lots of seating and we will arrange it sensibly so it is set up to enable people to be sociable and to talk to each other.  At the moment lots of the seats in the city centre turn their back on each other so its hard to talk to anyone. People like to sit in Broadgate, for a chat or to watch the world go by so we wanted to encourage that by thinking carefully about the seating. 

"Local people deserve a city centre they can be proud of and that's what we want to deliver.  But there will still be chances for people to be involved - in choosing the kinds of trees we have for example and helping us decide what kinds events and activities go on in the square once it's finished.

"Now all we have to do is get on and build it.  It's a challenging timescale but we will do it. Our new Broadgate will be ready for the Olympics next year."

To see the artist's impressions of Broadgate please visit our Flickr site.