A once popular Italian restaurant could soon be demolished to make way for apartments and a new shop.
Ristorante Etna shut its doors recently after over 35 years serving up pizza and pasta classics as well as homemade ice cream to Coventry customers in the pedestrianised Hertford Street.
Now an application has been submitted to Coventry City Council for its demolition.
If it is approved, the building will be knocked down and replaced with a five to six storey building containing 23 serviced apartments and a shop.
What do the plans include?
A design and access statement submitted with the application states a 102sq/m retail unit would remain on the ground floor.
But some of the ground floor would be lost to one of the 23 one-bedroom serviced apartments which would be spread over the ground, lower ground and four floors above.
There are no plans to include car parking at the development.
Skyes Planning is acting as agent for the proposals and a decision is expected to be made by Coventry City Council's planning committee by August 30.
City centre redevelopment
The document adds: "The serviced apartments would provide self-contained bedroom, shower/WC and living space with flexible short-term lengths of letting for public and professional people.
"The accommodation would be managed off-site with all check-in and check-out, servicing of rooms, laundry, cleaning of rooms and communal areas.
"The proposed building is a modern contemporary block which had been designed to stand out and help lift the character of the immediate shopping precinct, setting the standard for new development that is helping shape Coventry City Centre."
Part of city's 'collective history'
Members of the Coventry Society, which aims to promote the environmental, social, economic and cultural improvement of Coventry for the benefit of its residents, asked if Ristorante Etna should be saved as it was was part of Coventry's "collective history".
"A plan to demolish and replace a modest Victorian building with a modern block of little or no architectural value is clearly a controversial one," the latest newsletter from the Coventry Society said.
"The conundrum arises with a recent planning application to demolish the Ristorante Etna in Hertford Street.
"The building appears to have lost an upper storey, perhaps in the last war, so what is left is something of a mish-mash; the rear facing Methodist Hall is unsightly and needs attention.
"However the building planned has no architectural merit and appears to be a poor fit with neighbouring properties.
"However the developers know that this is a shopping street and to ensure that they get planning permission they have included a small shop unit downstairs facing Hertford Street. However the shop unit is tiny and is unlikely to attract a retailer, particularly as it can't be served from the rear because of the flats.
"Etna restaurant will be very familiar to many Coventry people and will hold a small, warm place in their hearts.
"It's part of Coventry's collective history. Is this important enough to argue for its retention?"
Up for sale
Meanwhile, the building is still listed for sale on the Holt Commercial website .
The 353sqm restaurant is up for offers in excess of £850,000.
The listing states the restaurant can handle around 100 diners and adds: "The property is situated in the busy pedestrianised trading location of Hertford Street in Coventry City Centre , being situated with other restaurant users and national retailers in close proximity.
"The property comprises restaurant premises with ground and first floor seating areas, having kitchen facilities and stores to the rear of the property. The property benefits from WC accommodation on both ground and first floors.
"In its current layout, the existing restaurant can provide approximately 100 covers. The property also benefits from a former take-away area which has now been converted to provide additional seating during busy times."
Recent planning applications show the upper floor of the restaurant was given permission to be turned into eight flats with shared facilities in April 2017.
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