œ30 million Coventry leisure centre to start

Taylor Woodrow is expected to begin work on Coventry Council's œ30 million leisure centre in September. Taywood is the preferred contractor in the consortium picked by the council to take the 46,000m2 project forward. The developer, United Realty Crowngate, is to present its proposals to the client and its project manager Sterling Management this week.

If URC's proposals are approved, a planning application will be lodged at the end of the month. If there are no hitches, planning permission should be granted around the end of July, enabling work to start on site in September. The complex will be built on the City Centre West site and is to be known as 100 Motor Plaza.

Proposals include a 3,000 seat arena and exhibition area, a conference centre, a nine-screen cinema, a 160-bed hotel and other leisure facilities. Also included is an historic car museum to mark 100 years of car production in the city, but this element needs some form of public funding.