We are very excited that the plans for the proposed innovative Radford Under Park, which will be a new pedestrian and cycle route passes under the raised section of the ring road, which has never been used before. It will bring to life a new urban space with a new climbing wall, performance amphitheatre, feature lighting, brick pedestrian / cycle path, street lighting, trees, shrubs, grass landscaping and timber benches.
The aim of the proposal is to break down the barriers created by the ring road to re-connect communities with the city centre. The Coventry Society sub committee were shown around the old Gas works site and shown the proposed route of the new pathway.
We first reported about the ambitious plans on 2nd April to create this continuous long green cycle and pedestrian link from Naul’s Mill Park, under the ring road then carrying on through to Belgrade Plaza and the city centre. The route follows the line of the Radford Brook which will be recreated as a natural habitat through the former Gas Works site in Abbotts Lane, which the developers are proposing to create a new residential community of more than 700 apartments by Complex Development Projects (CDP).
Naul’s Mill Pool has been empty for many years due to a leak that lets the water drain away. The local residents and friends of Naul’s Mill have been campaigning for a while to get it made in to a wild life pool. But when asking for grant money they found they could not because it had no wild life at this moment so they were caught in a difficult situation and could not move on with their plans.
Now the pool, which was originally made as a children’s boating lake, could have a layer of compacted sand which will be coved with Bentotex® geosynthetic clay liner. This has a unique ‘self-healing’ property. Once the product is hydrated and under a cover of soil material; if it is punctured by an object or root penetration it heals itself. It’s ideal for reed beds and wet systems and the creation of aquatic habitat for amphibious creatures such as frogs, toads, newts, dragonflies, damselflies and water beetles etc.
With the creation of the new park there will be a continuous long green walkway all the way from Bridgeman Road through to Belgrade Square, a distance of nearly a mile.
You can see more detail by looking on the Coventry City Council Planning website ref: OUT/2019/24, new pedestrian route from Abbotts Lane to Middleborough Road.