Friargate Hotel (5 Viewers)
- Thread starter Nick
- Start date
fernandopartridge
Well-Known Member
TBH I don't have a problem with this, if it helps kickstart the development then good. Also, it doesn't help Wasps and their quest to build one at the Ricoh.
shepardo01
Well-Known Member
I have a problem in the fact that the council are giving a company land at a discounted price (or something like that)... some guy on twitter has commented on Gilberts post about the company being listed offshore with no accounts available and that there is no way this company should be receiving discount.....
Would the council do this to help CCFC.... would they b******s!...
Why are we saddled with a council like this!!!!
fernandopartridge
Well-Known Member
Hmm, the council contradicting themselves on the 4* hotel bit. The new hotel at the old Telegraph building is going to be a 4*
The point about the Castlebridge Group is a bit moot really, as they're just agents.
The point about the Castlebridge Group is a bit moot really, as they're just agents.
chiefdave
Well-Known Member
Didn't the council already bail out the company building Friargate? And then lose the main tenant as it wasn't going to be finished in time?
Now they're discounting land and handing over parking spaces at the train station. Whole project seems to have been very badly managed.
Now they're discounting land and handing over parking spaces at the train station. Whole project seems to have been very badly managed.
OffenhamSkyBlue
Well-Known Member
Sadly this would probably be exempt from the European State Aid treaty, as they could very much justify it was necessary expenditure in connection with regeneration of the area.
Sky_Blue_Dreamer
Well-Known Member
When this plan was first put through I contacted them saying it was far too big and had too many offices to be filled. I'm not sure if the council would've legally been able to block it on those grounds though. If they had someone would've been complaining about a lack of council ambition and not creating jobs. Also since that time HS2 has been confirmed and that will push even more developments towards Birmingham and the argument used by the HS2 developers of it freeing up capacity on the WCML and increase the number of trains into Coventry has been shown to be a lie with their intention to reduce the number of services to Coventry.
Given how long this has been going on and the fact the first thing people see of Coventry when they arrive is a perpetual building site with nothing seemingly happening I can understand why the council want to keep some sort of movement going on the project, hence the bus interchange and new car park which weren't part of the original proposal. Trouble is even doing this it's not going to lead to more movement on the rest of the project and it's a bit kicking the can down the road on dealing with the issue that this much office space isn't required in Coventry, especially when you consider a number of the out-of-town office parks are seeing closures and empty units.
Given how long this has been going on and the fact the first thing people see of Coventry when they arrive is a perpetual building site with nothing seemingly happening I can understand why the council want to keep some sort of movement going on the project, hence the bus interchange and new car park which weren't part of the original proposal. Trouble is even doing this it's not going to lead to more movement on the rest of the project and it's a bit kicking the can down the road on dealing with the issue that this much office space isn't required in Coventry, especially when you consider a number of the out-of-town office parks are seeing closures and empty units.
Sky_Blue_Dreamer
Well-Known Member
It's this kind of thing that really goes against your assertions on who's to blame for the stadium issue, despite claiming to be impartial and all sides are to blame. Of course the council needs to be held accountable for its actions and to be monitored closely, but you seem to be very keen to jump on the council at every opportunity. It certainly doesn't come across as someone who's impartial.
Sky_Blue_Dreamer
Well-Known Member
If that were the case pretty much every development in every city outside of London (and even most of those in London) would be guilty of being state aid.
Nick
Administrator
It's not as if the council make mistakes away from the Ricoh stuff is it?
You seem a bit eager though
Sky_Blue_Dreamer
Well-Known Member
Of course they do.
I've stated on this very thread that I felt this project was doomed to failure and hadn't been thought through carefully enough as to if the demand was actually there - it was more of a hopeful punt because their plan to improve shops etc hadn't worked (again a plan that didn't seem particularly well thought through giving online shopping was increasing) . As this is a joint venture with the council it has to be put on their doorstep as they were clearly all too ready to agree with it. But again as I said earlier if they hadn't it'd be criticism from some quarters over them not showing enough ambition or doing enough to create jobs and regenerate the city.
You just seem to be overly eager to notice any little thing that could be perceived as an error by the council, even when there are arguments for their actions. It just comes across as a slight anti-council bias rather than the impartiality you claim you have.
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I've stated on this very thread that I felt this project was doomed to failure and hadn't been thought through carefully enough as to if the demand was actually there - it was more of a hopeful punt because their plan to improve shops etc hadn't worked (again a plan that didn't seem particularly well thought through giving online shopping was increasing) . As this is a joint venture with the council it has to be put on their doorstep as they were clearly all too ready to agree with it. But again as I said earlier if they hadn't it'd be criticism from some quarters over them not showing enough ambition or doing enough to create jobs and regenerate the city.
You just seem to be overly eager to notice any little thing that could be perceived as an error by the council, even when there are arguments for their actions. It just comes across as a slight anti-council bias rather than the impartiality you claim you have.
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Nick
Administrator
I don't like the council, point out to me where I've said otherwise?
Who's eager in this thread?
D
Deleted member 5849
Guest
Near Stratford, Warwick, Kenilworth. Easy to get to Birmingham, London.
City of Culture
JLR, and 300,000+ people work *somewhere*
Many cathedrals
Two universities.
Those 300,000+ also have family and friends.
Grendel
Well-Known Member
Not one guest visiting JLR to our department stayed in Coventry - we had a policy to avoid it. One from Korea booked himself in some city centre Hell hole and we quickly moved him
clint van damme
Well-Known Member
There's a massive shortage of hotel rooms in Cov.
You'd be surprised how much trade the NEC brings in to the city.
clint van damme
Well-Known Member
House prices and rents in Whitley have shot up due to the amount of JLR workers moving into the area
A lot of them are,fairly young foreigners who don't drive
LastGarrison
Well-Known Member
Which is why we need decent hotels in the city.
I bring many people to the city for work and it is embarrassing the lack of decent hotels we have.
I think you’ll find this and the telegraph hotel will do very well.
And hopefully signal the death knoll of the putrid eyesore that is the Brittania!
fernandopartridge
Well-Known Member
Just heard a clip of CWR interviewing Jim O'Boyle (oft pictured on freebies at Wasps) , when asked why the council could help find a location for a hotel firm but not the city's football club he came out with "that's a matter for the football club not the city council"
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Sent from my ELE-L29 using Tapatalk
chiefdave
Well-Known Member
But it seems developing hotels is not a matter for hotel developers.
Amazes me how they can drop out any old soundbite and it doesn't get questioned. Fair enough Gilbert asking the question in the first place but why is there no follow up when such a poor answer is given?
OffenhamSkyBlue
Well-Known Member
Then they can always go and stay in the same brand of boutique hotel (retch!) in Stratford!
shmmeee
Well-Known Member
To be fair to Gilbert he did ask twice and then go something like “guess we aren’t getting an answer”.
Politicians know they can just run down the clock in interviews. They all do it. Not sure what the answer is other than long form interviews which no politicians would agree to.
Sky_Blue_Dreamer
Well-Known Member
To be fair they weren't 'finding a location' for the hotel - there has always been at least one hotel down to be part of the development and it's been that way for a number of years, possibly a decade, so location was already decided. The issue is whether it's a good idea for the council to put the money towards the developer to build it - is that cost worth keeping the project ticking over and development going on. I'm not sure but it does seem to be a big pet project for the council that they think will kickstart many of the other redevelopment plans on the table. Once actual building work on a development stops it tends to be very hard to get it going again because those providing the money are more jittery on the development as a whole.
O'Boyle and a few others in the council circle really don't help themselves at times though.