Coventry City Council's planning committee green lit the £11.8 million scheme to improve the Upper Precinct and the £82 million Coventry Station Masterplan.
Shearer Property Group submitted plans for a framed courtyard in the Upper Precinct along with planting, landscaping, water features, seating areas and timber terraces. The work also involves the demolition of the existing escalator and footbridges connected to West Orchards Shopping Centre, and the creation of a 75-room student accommodation block in the district.
Preparation work will start on Monday 19 November to get the area ready for the major work after Christmas.
Phase one of the council's masterplan for Coventry Station is already underway, which aims to construct a new footbridge and canopies and an access tunnel under Warwick Road.
The second phase will involve building a multi-storey car park for 633 vehicles, a new station concourse with access to all platforms and Warwick Road, and a new pedestrian route via an access tunnel under Warwick Road to a new bus interchange.
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This project is being funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority, the CWLEP, the Department for Transport and other borrowings.
Coventry City Council is working in partnership with Network Rail, Virgin Trains and other rail operators, Transport for West Midlands, Friargate Coventry LLP and other stakeholders to deliver the scheme.
Councillor Jim O'Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration at Coventry City Council and CWLEP board director, said: "It's been a while since we had this level of investment in our city approved in a single planning committee – but now we have the green light to crack on with these two important city centre projects.
"Our work in the Upper Precinct will help to reinstate it back to something much closer to Donald Gibson's original plan. We will ensure we retain the very best of the old whilst creating an environment appropriate for the way people want to enjoy their city centre today.
"The railway station is the fastest growing outside London with passenger numbers increasing year-on-year so we need a station that can cope with increased demand and provide the right kind of Coventry welcome."
Zamurad Hussain, CWLEP board director, added: "As 2021 nears when Coventry is proud to be the UK City of Culture, these investments will help to showcase the city in a positive light to regional, national and international visitors.
"The Local Growth Fund is designed to help drive forward economic growth, support businesses and create jobs and having modern infrastructure in place will help to achieve that.
"Connectivity from Coventry to other parts of the region will be improved once the new station is completed and it is important to create the right first impression to the city since the number of train passengers has tripled since 2003 and it is expected to double again by 2043.
"Now the plans for both schemes have been approved, work will start immediately to push forward the building programmes to ensure they are completed on time ahead of 2021."
(CM/MH)
