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Major plans announced for key Midlands site

Plans are being drawn up to transform an industrial park in Coventry into a vibrant living, work and leisure development.

Warwickshire-based developers and property owners The Wigley Group have master-planned the Sandy Lane Industrial Estate and plan to create around 200 new homes on the site which borders the Coventry Canal.

Daimler Wharf would include a mix of houses, apartments, employment spaces as well as cafes and outdoor leisure spaces and would also open up the canal-side for local residents.

The site is home to the Daimler building – one of the first car factories in the world – which is being transformed into the Daimler Powerhouse arts complex for artists, engineers, architects and other creative industries by Imagineer Productions.

The new Daimler Wharf plans will be showcased at MIPIM - the world’s biggest property development and investment show this month.

The Wigley Group is a member of the Coventry and Warwickshire MIPIM Partnership made up of companies and organisations who represent the area as part of the UK Midlands presence at the event which attracts 30,000 delegates.

James Davies, Managing Director of the Wigley Group, said the Daimler Wharf site perfectly complemented the adjacent Electric Wharf live-work development and other recent improvements in the area.

He said: “This is a key site with great potential, sitting as it does alongside Coventry Canal. A great deal of regeneration has been undertaken in recent years with the creation of Electric Wharf next door and City Wharf on the opposite bank of the canal, and we see this as the next step in helping to transform the area.

“It is within easy walking distance of the Canal Basin and the city centre, and would complete an environment which has been massively improved in recent years.

“Plans are still at a very early stage but we want to maintain employment on the site but then create a mix of housing and also provide some leisure including café bars and open public spaces, both of which are lacking in the area.

“We have had some initial discussions with Coventry City Council, which were very positive.”

The Wigley Group has been working with development consultant Mike Vining on Daimler Wharf, and he will be part of the company’s delegation at MIPIM where they will further discuss their plans with Coventry City Council.

He added: “The nature of the canal setting has really allowed the area to develop a character of its own which is different from anything else in the city and Daimler Wharf will continue that evolution.

“We are still at the start of the design process but will be bringing our plans forward over the next few months.”

The Wigley Group own an extensive portfolio of commercial property and landholdings across the Midlands and is the company behind the regeneration of a 40-acre industrial site at Edgwick Park in Coventry, which has transformed the area over the last four decades.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .