Building work under way for £450m city revamp
The first buildings for City Centre South take shape, with 1,500 homes, shops and public space expected.
Building work is now under way on the £450m city revamp
City Centre South spans 17 acres in the southern section of Coventry city centre and is replacing a shopping area that was built in the 1950s and 60s.
Thirteen months after demolition began on the £450m redevelopment of Coventry city centre, the first of the new buildings is starting to emerge from the rubble.
City Centre South is Coventry City Council’s plan to redesign the southern half of the city centre. It is expected to deliver more than 1,500 new homes, 18,000 sq m (21,529 sq yds) of public space, along with restaurants, shops and other leisure facilities.
Lynette Kelly, the council’s deputy leader, said the retail sector is changing and "people might go to shops, take a quick look around but then go home and order the size they want to get delivered to their house".
Those changing habits meant the original plans for a flagship store were dropped.
Many post-war concrete buildings from the 1950s and 60s across the 17 acre site were demolished.
Some public art was lost, but one important piece has been preserved and will be used in the new development.
William Mitchell’s Grade II-listed concrete mural, which once decorated the frontage of the popular Three Tuns pub in what was the Bull Yard, will be incorporated into the new scheme.
The iconic Grade II-listed concrete mural that formed part of the city’s Three Tuns pub has been saved and will be included in new buildings.
Stuart Bale, project director for developers Hill Group UK, said the demolition work had uncovered more of the city’s lost history in the form of the former army barracks for which the Barracks car park was named.
"We've had a scope of archaeological work that we've now completed to uncover that, record it, understand how it was built, and actually a lot of the barracks itself now is going to be preserved," he said.
"We're working with our consultants to make sure that heritage for the city is not lost."
The plans include new pedestrian-friendly routes linking Coventry Market to the city centre.
However, the ongoing work is proving difficult for traders at the listed Coventry indoor market.
The hoardings surrounding the development run along the edge of the building, blocking it from the rest of the city centre, they said.
Footfall has fallen, with 17 stalls closing as a result, although the city council has cut rents for existing stallholders and put signage on the hoardings telling potential customers that the market is open.
Christopher Charley, who runs a perfume and cosmetics stall at Coventry Market, says more needs to be done to support traders while the work continues.
Christopher Charley, the stallholders’ committee secretary who also runs a perfume and cosmetics outlet, said trading conditions have been very difficult.
"It has been very, very tough. We did lose a lot of traders in 2025," he said.
"We have rebounded and gained a few traders back because of the rent deal, but we really need to be working with the council to try and actively promote, help and engage with the public to get them back into the market."
According to the developers, the hoardings are due to be removed when the first phase of construction is finished in late 2027.
That should make the market more accessible and a central part of the wider redevelopment, which is expected to be completed and fully open in 2034.