Coventry city centre (5 Viewers)

[clint van damme]

St. Mary's Guild Hall is a cracking building too. It's where I got married in June.

2 minute walk from the flying standard too so I managed to sink a couple beforehand.

is that the one with the small bar upstairs?

 

---

[NorthernWisdom]

Grammar schools?

Old Grammar School Open Days - Coventry Transport Museum

 

[hill83]

is that the one with the small bar upstairs?

Yep. About 5 feet long.

 

[clint van damme]

Yep. About 5 feet long.

no, the one I'm thinking of is about 60 inches.

 

[Covstu]

I have no problem with student accommodation, but do fear it has been overloaded in their favour and should in fact be more of a balanced mix.

Glad the Co-op building is going to be upmarket appartments and the CT office a boutique hotel.

I think there is a balance, you can probably site about 7 student accommodation developments at the moment which will just swamp the city. With that comes cheap pubs, takeaways etc. Equally most student dorms are for first (maybe second year) so does that mean intake is increasing which will have another effect. If I was in my third year I wouldn't want to be in dorms, you just couldn't concentrate. Equally this will have an effect on the rental market inner city. I just hope our council haven't put their eggs in one basket, I fear this is another Lucas legacy

 

[Otis]

They're bloody useless with the heritage venues (although by no means alone in that!). Take Whitefriars, open for Heritage Open Days, but only if booking. To begin with... you couldn't book, because the link to the website they gave didn't work.

Now it works and... it's fully booked.

So there's obviously a demand...

But will anybody give the cash to allow that demand to be met?!?

Little titbit here, I performed at Whitefriars and it was a big success, but they then banned all performances there after that because the audience were eroding the walls as they stood and watched the show.

Shame. It's a lovely old place.

 

[Otis]

St. Mary's Guild Hall is a cracking building too. It's where I got married in June.

2 minute walk from the flying standard too so I managed to sink a couple beforehand.

Yay, I go married at St Mary's Guildhall too.

 

[clint van damme]

I think there is a balance, you can probably site about 7 student accommodation developments at the moment which will just swamp the city. With that comes cheap pubs, takeaways etc. Equally most student dorms are for first (maybe second year) so does that mean intake is increasing which will have another effect. If I was in my third year I wouldn't want to be in dorms, you just couldn't concentrate. Equally this will have an effect on the rental market inner city. I just hope our council haven't put their eggs in one basket, I fear this is another Lucas legacy

are they putting them in one basket or have they just failed to attract anything else?
I'm sure that Belgrade Plaza became a student orientated development when other potential tenants failed to materialise, I think their was supposed to be a casino there at one point.

 

[Otis]

She might be interested in this too then

Wilko says nearly 4000 jobs at risk of redundancy | This is Money

She does know about it. They are cutting the wages of the team leaders.

That's really going to be good for motivation of staff isn't it!

 

[clint van damme]

Little titbit here, I performed at Whitefriars and it was a big success, but they then banned all performances there after that because the audience were eroding the walls as they stood and watched the show.

Shame. It's a lovely old place.

I did hear that your Widow Twankey was a triumph.

 

[Otis]

I did hear that your Widow Twankey was a triumph.

I was a blind poet.

Don't get many of them in pantomimes.

 

[hill83]

no, the one I'm thinking of is about 60 inches.

 

[Nick]

Yay, I go married at St Mary's Guildhall too.

In town together and both married there.

 

[Brylowes]

Little titbit here, I performed at Whitefriars and it was a big success, BUT THEY THEN BANNED ALL PERFORMANCES THERE AFTER THAT BECAUSE THE AUDIENCE WERE ERODING WALLS AS THEY STOOD AND WATCHED THE SHOW.

Shame. It's a lovely old place.

Hmm, is that what they told you

 

[Sick Boy]

was in Brighton at the start of the week. Greta place to visit and a town with loads going for it but the amount of homeless people was unbelievable. It's a national problem and I doubt many citys are exempt. and homeless charities are predicting a 75% rise in the next decade.

It's pretty shocking isn't it? On my walk to work I must walk past at least 10 people either asleep on the street or in a tent in a park. Still, at least the Tories are cutting tax for the rich.

 

[Covstu]

are they putting them in one basket or have they just failed to attract anything else?
I'm sure that Belgrade Plaza became a student orientated development when other potential tenants failed to materialise, I think their was supposed to be a casino there at one point.

But isn't their job to attract the type of clientele? Other cities have a better balance in the city centres albeit I think they have addressed this to a certain extent with the development at cathedral lanes.

 

[clint van damme]

But isn't their job to attract the type of clientele? Other cities have a better balance in the city centres albeit I think they have addressed this to a certain extent with the development at cathedral lanes.

definitely their job to address this issue, but maybe the student market is the only one they're having any success with or maybe it's the universities agenda to expand and they are just accommodating it.

I have very little faith in them to be honest.

 

[skybluetony176]

It's pretty shocking isn't it? On my walk to work I must walk past at least 10 people either asleep on the street or in a tent in a park. Still, at least the Tories are cutting tax for the rich.

Every cloud...

 

[wingy]

She does know about it. They are cutting the wages of the team leaders.

That's really going to be good for motivation of staff isn't it!

#inittogether.
Asda looking to shed many jobs.
Tesco too.
Bring back the people, get rid of those god awful self serve systems.
Remove item in the Bagging area.

 

[Nick]

#inittogether.
Asda looking to shed many jobs.
Tesco too.
Bring back the people, get rid of those god awful self serve systems.
Remove item in the Bagging area.

By the time they help you every 30 seconds they may as well scan it

 

[wingy]

By the time they help you every 30 seconds they may as well scan it

Watched Click on the Beeb this morning.
Going to get worse by the looks of things.
I used to shop there till around 4yrs ago and they were brilliant.
Popped in for the first time around 3months back and it's undergone reorganisation about twice in that time so I was lost. Was in there for over an hour and didn't see one Colleague anywhere in the aisles where you could make a query, and they've got rid of a few ranges distinctive over others Stores that made them unique on choice and price.
Half of its change for the sake of it and almost a total disregard of a certain demographic.
Their choice and the figures back up the evidence and now employees face the consequence.
Of course price Is the driver in most of our choice, they seemed to decide back then not to compete with Aldi and go a bit more premium as Tesco and Sainsbury do.
Oh well.

 

[Otis]

Watched Click on the Beeb this morning.
Going to get worse by the looks of things.
I used to shop there till around 4yrs ago and they were brilliant.
Popped in for the first time around 3months back and it's undergone reorganisation about twice in that time so I was lost. Was in there for over an hour and didn't see one Colleague anywhere in the aisles where you could make a query, and they've got rid of a few ranges distinctive over others Stores that made them unique on choice and price.
Half of its change for the sake of it and almost a total disregard of a certain demographic.
Their choice and the figures back up the evidence and now employees face the consequence.
Of course price Is the driver in most of our choice, they seemed to decide back then not to compete with Aldi and go a bit more premium as Tesco and Sainsbury do.
Oh well.

Popped in where, Wingy? Where you talking about?

 

[wingy]

Popped in where, Wingy? Where you talking about?

Sorry was referring to Asda Otis.

 

[Otis]

Sorry was referring to Asda Otis.

Okay, right.

What these companies forget about is the much older generation who struggle with change.

I know a lot of people who are the same as my parents and they don't trust modern technology or understand much of it either.

My parents will never use a self service machine and now at the council house for council tax payments, they only have machines, so I have to go with them and punch all the details in and pay through the machine for them.

Self service can be great, but you lose that personal interaction.

 

[Nick]

Self service is great if you have 2 or 3 things, would never even try for a big shop.

 

[Otis]

Self service is great if you have 2 or 3 things, would never even try for a big shop.

I usually use it, but a big shop for me is about 15 items or so.

 

[chiefdave]

The Asda in Cheylesmore only has self service. Its a small store and not usually very busy but the queues to checkout are always massive.

 

[Macca]

It's pretty shocking isn't it? On my walk to work I must walk past at least 10 people either asleep on the street or in a tent in a park. Still, at least the Tories are cutting tax for the rich.

I pay less tax this year and very grateful for it. Far from rich and every penny helps

 

[Macca]

I have to say I wonder how well travelled many Coventry bashers are. Get around the UK all the time and you will find it reflects the general decline of people and places all over. Big cities and small towns alike. It's very easy to take some of the ugliness that remains and use that to label the whole place but dig deeper and it isn't a bad place to be.
Rather be in Coventry than in great swathes of the north east and north west ,South Wales, grotty south coast and the hell holes of Birmingham and London anytime. And if you took Glasgow at face value when arriving at the station you would turn straight around and leave

 

[Otis]

As I said before, I travel all over and usually spend whole days in city centres and I see a trend all over and hardly anywhere at all escaping.

Coventry bashing though has become like a national sport in these parts and we are a very, very lazy, easy target for people.

Case in point was when it was announced Creams were opening an ice cream Parlour by the Swanswell. Laughed at one here, derided, admonished, dismissed, made out to be foolhardy and ridiculous.

Been there now at least two years and very, very popular, often full.

No-one for a minute is suggesting that Coventry doesn't have many problems, but let's not try and make out it is so much worse than anywhere else.

 

[clint van damme]

As I said before, I travel all over and usually spend whole days in city centres and I see a trend all over and hardly anywhere at all escaping.

Coventry bashing though has become like a national sport in these parts and we are a very, very lazy, easy target for people.

Case in point was when it was announced Creams were opening an ice cream Parlour by the Swanswell. Laughed at one here, derided, admonished, dismissed, made out to be foolhardy and ridiculous.

Been there now at least two years and very, very popular, often full.

No-one for a minute is suggesting that Coventry doesn't have many problems, but let's not try and make out it is so much worse than anywhere else.

superb post Otis.

 

[skybluetony176]

As I said before, I travel all over and usually spend whole days in city centres and I see a trend all over and hardly anywhere at all escaping.

Coventry bashing though has become like a national sport in these parts and we are a very, very lazy, easy target for people.

Case in point was when it was announced Creams were opening an ice cream Parlour by the Swanswell. Laughed at one here, derided, admonished, dismissed, made out to be foolhardy and ridiculous.

Been there now at least two years and very, very popular, often full.

No-one for a minute is suggesting that Coventry doesn't have many problems, but let's not try and make out it is so much worse than anywhere else.

Been to Cov a couple of times now with the kids solely to go to Creams on a Saturday. Really like the place and like you say always seems to be busy. The location has both good and bad points but it does help improve the area to some degree and hopefully it does well and sticks around.

 

[Otis]

Been to Cov a couple of times now with the kids solely to go to Creams on a Saturday. Really like the place and like you say always seems to be busy. The location has both good and bad points but it does help improve the area to some degree and hopefully it does well and sticks around.

Yep. Said a load of times, they should extend the city centre and incorporate the Swanswell in to it. Would improve the area immeasurably.

 

[skybluetony176]

Yep. Said a load of times, they should extend the city centre and incorporate the Swanswell in to it. Would improve the area immeasurably.

That whole area has some potential really with the transport museum one side of the park and creams the other. With the water park coming also on the doorstep there must be scope to do more to encourage people to the area. Not sure what's happening with the Coventry and Warwickshire hospital site, maybe there's some scope there to bring visitors in? In some respects the Herbert gallery is in the wrong location and if it was nearer to Swanswell could have made a museum/tourist centre for the city.

 

[Otis]

That whole area has some potential really with the transport museum one side of the park and creams the other. With the water park coming also on the doorstep there must be scope to do more to encourage people to the area. Not sure what's happening with the Coventry and Warwickshire hospital site, maybe there's some scope there to bring visitors in? In some respects the Herbert gallery is in the wrong location and if it was nearer to Swanswell could have made a museum/tourist centre for the city.

There is something happening on the old C&W hospital site. Can't quite remember now what it is.

A wild guess would be ........... student flats.