Coventry To Be Built-Over..?

Glad Coventry will survive, – but…..

Anyway, the relative merits of reinforced concrete carbuncles aside, I’m glad to hear that Coventry Airport will survive. For now. The wider issue of councils regarding every single aerodrome as a ‘Brownfield development site’ is probably the bigger issue. So many airfields have been destroyed, mainly because greedy property developers see an easy buck to be made. In that situation, the back-handers start flying around.
Councils are notoriously inept.
I’d certainly agree with an earlier comment about it being very difficult for aerodrome operators to make a profit, which makes aerodromes very vulnerable to attack. One tactic is also for speculators to buy aerodromes, and then deliberately run them into the ground as justification to build-over them.
Aerodrome operators deserve – and need – every bit of support they can muster.

dant, another post deserving of a ‘like’ button. I agree!

I agree, and IMO Coventry Cathedral is simply the best building in the country. It is poignant, moving, exudes symbolism & gravitas and the best post war building in Britain without exception, if not the world. From the Spence architecture, Lee windows, Sutherland tapestry, Epstein sculptures and Coper candlesticks it reads as a work of genius. It is sublime and I can think of no other building in country which is so emotive or moving.

Yes, Coventry city centre is very, very ugly in places and serious mistakes were made but I can think of few places that are now being extensively corrected and littered with such a concentration of design excellence.

A visit to the Stanton Williams designed Belgrade theatre, award winning Herbert Gallery, 2004 Stirling prize shortlisted Coventry Phoenix Initiative & Spon Street may change your mind. Sorry I’m drifting off topic, go visit, seek out the gems and you’ll love it 🙂

Anyway it doesn’t look like they’re building over the airport to me http://planningdocuments.warwickdc.gov.uk/online-applications/files/E53142332F32AA1442ED5F2618D951A3/pdf/W_12_1143-SUPERSEDED_-_DEVELOPMENT_PLAN_ZONE_B-538296.pdf

re;

The modern cathedral is not to every ones taste but its what it stands for that matters and the important items housed in it. I know the family of the Standard bearer whose colours are in the cathedral – he brought them back from Dunkirk and he was in the thick of it. The Cathedral is essential to house the treasures that were saved from the ruins.

Plus check out the Trinity – absolutely beautiful.

Coventry has a fantastic museum and the Cathedral is stunning

I totally agree! Including Avro Shackleton WR963 which I am planning to go and visit asap early next year.

First of all, there is only one “G” in Baginton. :p

I rather thought the economics (note other regional airport expansions went the same way about 2008) did for TUI, rather than the NIMBYs. Plus the inability to develop much e.g. a terminal due to the mail depots being built on the old factory site (north side)

The STAR would have mandated something higher than 1000ft. Also to my knowledge, all roofing tiles in Stoneleigh remained undamaged from any wake vortex. 😉

Living in Catthorpe under some of approachs to Cov from the south we used to get frequent overflights at night at a thousand feet or maybe less. These were i believe mail flights in free airspace.
No one in this or to my knowledge other local villages ever complained.
However Thompsons planned expansion of controled airspace out to the east as far as Stanford Hall/Stengun lake would have harmed Cov GC (Hus Bos).
Cov airfield looks a perfect brown field site.

Happy landing (Somewhere else)

I seem to remember test flights were tried and had not one complaint was recieved, so they announced a day they were going to do some and got several, even though the trials had been running for sometime.

No one who moves near an airport that is active should have any rights to complain about activity…. Try that living by the M6 complain about the cars and see if it holds water… Same thing really

The NIMBY’s certainly canned Thompsons plans (much to my disgust) – the disturbance was minimal for me living under the finals turn so it was all a crick of shot.

The problem was Thompsons wanted to develop it when they bought it, but the locals kicked up poo, it was a viable site for commercial operations for them, they wanted to develop it further with a terminal etc and would have been good for the region, creating jobs, something the area needs, one of the alternates slated when they sold up in despair was gravel extraction which the locals definately wouldn’t have liked….

I can see the debate over the do they need another commercial airport having merit though, you have Birmingham a stone throw away and East Mids 30 miles away which is a major freight hub open 24/7 and just as well connected if indeed not better to the major road hubs.

As with much of life to-day, it boils down to a question of ‘supply and demand’. The future of commercial airfields that rely on a mix of use is affected by ‘too much supply chasing too little demand’.

It is next to impossible to generate enough income from flying related activities to obtain even a modest commercial return.

As much as I love my flying, if the chance came along to make a million or so out of a struggling airfield asset that I owned – could I resist temptation? Which of us would say differently?

With uncontrolled immigration adding impetus to the drive for affordable housing, any large open space such as an under used airfield is very ripe for development. Look at all the shenanigans at Sandown !

I’ve commented before that apart from those few wealthy individuals who can afford to keep and maintain their a/c at busy commercial airports, the future for the rest of us lies in farm strip flying. There are some outstanding examples of extremely pleasant farmstrips, beautifully kept and maintained by enthusiastic, aviation minded landowners that are a joy to visit. One such example that perfectly illustrates this, is Deanland, Sussax, just north of Seaford on the South Coast.

I can give only an educated guess that Coventry Airport is doomed or, at any rate a large part of it.

Hmm, Coventry town centre seems to be more Pound shops than anything else.

Coventry is going through a pretty rough time at the moment

Richard

Hmm, Coventry town centre seems to be more Pound shops than anything else.

The post war architecture is a disgrace but to be fair the powers that be are trying to make it right.

Here you go, facing onto one of the largest Village Greens in Cumbria, no concrete in sight and full of character on multiple levels, look at the height of the front bedroom windows and those at the rear side and you will get what I mean……. Sigh

Looks like Houghton to me – just outside of Tombstone upon Eden – sorry Carlisle.

I agree about the Museum but not about the Cathedral.

re;

Coventry has a fantastic museum and the Cathedral is stunning

For me Coventry town centre is not alone – I can think of few if any UK town/city centres, which are post-war concrete and glass, of any architectural or aesthetic merit at all.

Not sure what to think about the airport as it is unclear what its future might be.

You don’t want Coventry to close as the other plan for the place was Gravel extraction as it is built on the stuff, those in Bagington would not be happy with that, I live in a village near Nottingham, so that is the nearest large metropolis..

As for post count, it has no relevance, mine has 4 more years on you and the ” other guy ” is a moderator and i think a staff member of the site owners, so his will be high.

Not wishing to stray from the thread in any way, all i would say is the sooner Coventry international !!!!!! is closed the better. Its runway is directly at 90% to BHX which is about to be expanded over the A45 to be a really useful proper Midland international airport. Once more Tony T where in the Midlands do you live? Carlisle is fine, your previous home is fine.
Coventry is fine, not a God awful place. I note you and the guy who is concerned i am going off piste have thousands of posts.
I dont have that much time to spare.

Happy landings.

There’s supposed to be new roads and a few new buildings going in off Rowley Road where the rugby pitch and Electric Railway Museum currently are. Most of the new development is over the other side near CFS, with some rather large buildings planned.

As of last week the airport chaps we were dealing with were seeming very upbeat about it all.

*Just popped over to the AIX forum to see the message mentioned by Snoopy, and its a month old. It was posted on there on 18th NOV. *