New restaurant plan for former bank approved

Plans for a new Indian restaurant on the site of a former bank in Coventry have been approved by councillors, despite opposition from residents.

The proposal will see the former Natwest building in Earlsdon Street rebuilt as an Indian restaurant.

The building has stood empty since the bank closed in 2020, and was partially demolished without planning permission four years later.

Coventry City Council planning officers backed the scheme and said the revised designs would improve the appearance of the site and the project would reuse materials from the demolished building.

People opposing the scheme said the plans being approved would mean the applicant had been allowed to get away with knocking down the bank without permission at the end of 2024.

The unauthorised demolition within the Earlsdon Conservation Area was stopped by the council, with the developer then lodging an appeal and saying the work had to be carried out because the roof was collapsing.

A petition of 43 signatures asked the council to refuse the plans because the owner of the building had "repeatedly failed" to comply with council orders to cease any and all demolition, rebuild the two buildings exactly as they were, and stop preparatory work on clearing the site.

The applicant's agent, Ritesh Parekh, of Design Formula Studio Ltd, told the committee they had worked with the council's planning team and had now achieved an "acceptable design approach."

He said: "We all want to bring this building to life again. It's been shut for around seven years. I think it will bring more jobs to Earlsdon Street."

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