Coventry city centre to get £300m revamp, says council

Queen Victoria Road is one of the streets included in the proposals

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A £300m revamp of Coventry's city centre could be completed in four years, according to the company behind the project.

The city council has been working with other landowners and project managers Queensberry on the plans.

The plans, which cover Bull Yard, Shelton Square, the City Arcade and Hertford Street, aim to bring new shops and hotels and a cinema to Coventry.

The council said Coventry's range of shops lagged behind similar cities.

'Shadow of Birmingham'

Officers said latest figures suggested shoppers spent £510m in Coventry, compared to to £1,030m in Cardiff and £1,810m in Nottingham.

Paul Sargent, from Queensberry, said: "Coventry suffers from having quite an average retail offer.

"It needs to move out of the shadow of Birmingham and get more stores in.

"That's our objective and we will look to bring in new department stores and some new brands that currently aren't there."

He said he hoped the project would be completed by 2017.

The development would also include new apartments, a new public square and a 1,200 space multi-storey car park.

The council said the proposal would take place alongside other plans to redevelop the city centre.

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