Petition calls for rebuild of demolished building

A building in a conservation area of Coventry should be fully rebuilt after being partially demolished, campaigners say.

Led by Gary Ridley, leader of the Conservative opposition on the city council, the group has launched a petition calling on developers to restore 34-36 Earlsdon Street, "to its original state".

In January, the council intervened by serving a temporary stop notice, prohibiting any more work, and said no planning permission was sought before the demolition began.

An investigation into the demolition work is currently ongoing, a council spokesperson said.

The petition, which has been signed by 235 people, calls on the council to take "decisive action" on the issue.

"I was just absolutely gobsmacked when I saw the drone footage of this place that had been completely hollowed out," Mr Ridley said.

"I think it sends an absolutely shocking message of what some developers are willing to do in our city."

He said that a "strong message" should be sent to the developers, who have not been officially named, behind the demolition.

"The council have got to take a robust response to this and that does mean restoring the building to how it was," continued Mr Ridley.

"One of the reasons I'm bringing this petition is to make sure the issue is at the top of the political agenda."

The stop order sent by the council states it believes there has been "unauthorised development and/or demolition" in the conservation area.

The property, once home to a branch of NatWest, is in the Earlsdon conservation area, which was designated two years ago.

A council spokesperson said at that time: "We can confirm the works at 34-36 Earlsdon High Street did not have planning permission.

"As a result, our Planning Enforcement Team served a Temporary Stop Notice on 1 January 2025 and we will investigate in line with our normal procedures."

The council has been contacted for further comment.

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