The Wigley Group has submitted an outline planning application to Coventry City Council for a huge mixed-use development on Sandy Lane in the Radford area of the city.
The seven-acre brownfield site is next to the Coventry Canal and is currently a business park and industrial estate. It is designated for housing by Coventry City Council.
Central to the proposals is the integration of the site — to be known as Daimler Wharf — with the existing community by reconnecting the area to Coventry Canal and creating a public common. The outline planning application includes up to 480 new homes.
Wigley intends to sell the site on, subject to outline planning consent being approved, so financial details of the scheme are deemed to be commercially sensitive at this stage.
The first phase of the Daimler Wharf scheme has already been completed, with the refurbishment of the Daimler Powerhouse building, the only part of the car factory to survive Second World War bombing, into offices and workshops for arts companies.
Wigley Group chief executive James Davies said: “When we acquired this site in 2006, we saw straight away the potential that it had for redevelopment and the contribution that a high-quality northern quarter could make to the wider regeneration of this part of the city and how it will link through the Canal Basin the heart of the Coventry.
“This site has been designated for housing by Coventry City Council for a number of years and this scheme presents the opportunity to now bring this site forward to realise its full potential in helping to address local housing needs, but also to reinvigorate the area through the creation of a northern gateway to the city centre that celebrates Coventry’s industrial past and cultural future.”
Land and development director Mike Vining said: “Our vision has always been to build on the site’s great heritage. We have already started to deliver on that by investing in the only remaining part of the Daimler car factory to once again make this important heritage asset a real focal point as a state-of-the-art creative hub.
“The wider plans that will build on phase one are for a new and vibrant neighbourhood that addresses local housing need and offers visual improvements alongside environmental benefits that will contribute to the city’s aspirations for a cleaner and greener future.”
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