Hill Group and Shearer Property Group are the development partners for the first two phases of the £450m council-backed project 

The Hill Group and Shearer Property Group (SPG) have submitted a planning application to build the first of two phases of a council-backed regeneration project in Coventry, called City Centre South.

Coventry_I_final View from Coventry Market Roof towards Chistchurch Spire

Source: Moka Studio

CGI of what Coventry City Centre South will look like once completed

The development partners have put forward plans to deliver 991 new homes, of which 200 will be affordable, as well as 8,000 sqm of new commercial space, and 17,000 sqm of public open space in the first phase of development. The second phase will provide up to 584 more homes and additional commercial space.

Subject to obtaining planning permission, construction work on the first of the two phases of the project is expected to start next summer, and the first homes are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2026.

See also >> Delivering homes through partnerships: A conversation with Hill Group and Coventry City Council

Proposals to regenerate the south of the city were first put forward in 2012. The council appointed Shearer Property Regen, part of SPG, a development and investment group, as its development partner for the project in 2019.

The £450m mixed-use development received outline planning consent in January 2022.

SPG brought The Hill Group on board as its principal development and funding partner for City Centre South in July 2022. The regeneration scheme has received almost £100m in funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). 

The scheme’s homes were designed by architecture firm Allies & Morrison, and will range in height from five to 19 storeys. Following the government’s introduction of the second staircase requirement for buildings over 18 metres or higher, phase one of City Centre South had to be redesigned, which caused delays.

The redesign resulted in the removal of a substantial number of proposed residential apartments and the availability of floorspace at ground floor level was reduced to accommodate second staircase entrances.

The project team includes the commercial real estate company CBRE, who produced the planning and environmental statement, Camlins Landscape Architects, Meinhardt the civil and structural engineers, and RSK Group, who worked on the air quality assessment. 

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands and Chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority, said: “City Centre South will help completely transform Coventry City Centre, and I’m delighted we could put significant cash on the table to make it happen. Not only will this project bring about major regeneration, but it will also provide significant numbers of homes and jobs for the people of Coventry. I’m particularly pleased therefore to see the number of affordable homes coming forward as part of Phase One, something we were insistent on as part of our funding agreement.

“Our near-£100million investment is one of the biggest we’ve ever made as a Combined Authority, showing just how much we believe in this scheme and the city of Coventry.”