Quote:
Originally Posted by cathidaw
Iwas so disappointed when I heard that the old Fire station was going to be yet another restaurant.
Iwas hoping that it would be used as an area for exclusive and individual shops and boutiques- maybe 'crafty' places that 'normal ' people could afford to rent. There is nowhere like that in Coventry.
In places like Leicester and Banbury these kind of places add to the interest of a town.
Ithink that was the idea at first ,and the council let it out--little units, about the right size but in their great wisdom they weren't at all selective, instead very greedy and allowed it to be filled with market tat. Not even nice tat either- just stalls with people selling banks of toilet rolls and bin bags and the like. Not quite a new Coventry image!.
I wonder what planet these councellors live on, where forethought and imagination does not exist.
So, in view of my thoughts above, this restuarant has to be a good thing.
I think I remember the firestation in use but it may be my imagination
My mum used to tell us that the tower was for the firemen to climb up so that they could slide down, when there was a fire.
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They were supposed to be doing something like this around Palmer Lane/Burges, but I don't think there's any market for it.
The trouble is, Coventry has a very low retail footprint. There is wealth in the city, but the people with that wealth deserted the city centre years ago - people don't like it. It's ugly and awkward, and places like Leamington are practically next door and are fare nicer environments. Furthermore, Coventry consists of a bunch of dead ends and has no pedestrian footfall, which is why there is nothing on the streets outside the precinct - the ringroad has pretty much destroyed the flow of pedestrian traffic into the city centre.
I doubt Coventry will ever have the same retail scene as Leicester, Nottingham, and even small places like Leamington.
The new developments like Friargate and Belgrade Plaza will bring a lot of big chain bars/restaurants in, but nothing small and independent.