COVENTRY city centre can be the envy of every other city across the UK, Ann Lucas has claimed.
The council leader said it could be a top ten city nationwide if the right decisions were made in the coming years.
She outlined ambitions to take a ‘city centre first’ approach in a bid to encourage more shoppers and businesses.
Coventry is considered to be the 13th biggest city, but ranked 47th in a retail league table last year.
“This city is at a crossroads,” Coun Lucas said.
“And now is the time to take the right – but sometimes tough – decisions on our journey to become one of the country’s top ten cities again.
“Remember, we’ve done this before – in fact, we’ve done it many times over the centuries. Our devastated city rebuilt itself after the war – expanded, developed, built new homes for the skilled workers we needed.
“Our new city centre was once the envy of every other city in the country. And now we will do it again.”
Coun Lucas made the speech at a council meeting on Tuesday.
She added: “In a compact city like Coventry, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t make the centre the living, breathing hub of Coventry, where citizens and visitors alike want to spend their time and money.
“We will develop a city centre first approach that will put the services people want to use here in our centre, alongside restaurant, new shops, better spaces for everyone to enjoy.”
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