Coventry will hand the management of its heritage over to a charity the Historic Coventry Trust (HCT) in the first arrangement of its kind in a British city.
image HCT website
HCT writes:
What is thought to be one of the largest ever single transfers of historic buildings from a local authority to a community heritage organisation has been welcomed by Historic England.
This week, Coventry City Council’s cabinet approved the transfer of 22 individual properties, and five adjoining sites, to the Historic Coventry Trust. The buildings range from two Grade I listed, 14th-century monasteries to a row of 19th-century shops in a conservation area.
The action will kick-start an ambitious five year, £30 million programme which will see the buildings repaired and found new, sustainable re-uses – many of which will receive funding from Historic England through the Coventry Heritage Action Zone project.
The 27 historic buildings and sites cover 500 years of Coventry’s history. They are:
- 13 properties, mostly shops, in The Burges conservation area
- The Charterhouse Heritage Park, Coach House and Charterhouse Fields
- Drapers Hall
- The Anglican Chapel in London Road Cemetery
- The Non-Conformist Chapel in London Road Cemetery
- 3 to 5 Priory Row (three properties known as the Lychgate Cottages)
- Swanswell Gatehouse
- Cooks Street Gatehouse
- Whitefriars Gatehouse and adjoining land (comprising three properties
- Whitefriars Monastery and adjoining land
Some of the buildings have an on-going economic use, such as the row of shops in The Burges. This transfer of economic use, as well as the buildings themselves, is what makes the initiative ground-breaking.
For more on the HCT see historiccoventry.org.uk and read the article
