I have been recently. Take a circular journey starting from where Woolworths was and walk round past the Litten Tree and back up. It's so poor and downtrodden. Empty shops, pawn brokers, money lenders.
It's dire. What's the point in having bars and cafes - the whole culture preaches poverty. Anyone with purchasing power just will not go. Solihull and leamington are a million times more preferable.
Too right.
I love Warwickshire. The towns of Warwick, Kenilworth, Stratford and Leamington are charming. Historical castles, some terrific architecture, idle by the Avon river, the RSC, some excellent cafes, restaurants and bars. Brilliant countryside. Geographically it's convenient with many fine areas within a day trip radius. Birmingham and all its entertainment is 15 mins on the train and London is only an hour away direct.
To that extent I'll always talk up Coventry the area as a hidden gem: reasonable propertry prices, a world class university, and all the above attractions. But the town centre? It's shameful, and displays a complete absence of inspiration. Sometimes it's actually worth investing in things as seemingly trivial as greenery, water features, hell...even gothic-style lamp posts. They can elevate the spirits, aspirations and behaviour of an entire community.
But that won't happen. The city is, sadly, a hole. All we can expect is the next business park with Boots, Currys, Poundland, TK Maxx etc. TBF, the Cov community doesn't help much - in a recent CWR poll the majority of respondents said they loved the ring road!
