Springboard Festival approaches

It is now only a couple of weeks to the opening of the Springboard Festival, one of the most exciting events we have ever held at the Criterion Theatre.

More than 30 performances, involving over 60 performers, actors and artists will be presented on our stage over 8 evenings from 25th March to the 1st April.

There is poetry, spoken word, music, multi-media performance, new writing and drama of many genres, including four in-house Criterion plays. Each evening’s offer is a different combination of at least three different performances, so there is something to appeal to every taste. There are multiple runs of selected shows, so you don’t have to miss anything!

The full programme is up on the theatre’s website now.

In addition, all week there will be art exhibitions in the bar and foyer; the Festival poetry workshop The Word from the Floor will be producing material; and we have a number of artists-in-residence documenting and responding to the Festival, including a poet and a sketch artist.

The festival brings together amateur, community and professional artists from Coventry and Warwick into the same creative space. We are looking forward to some fantastic collaborations unfolding live on stage, conversations that lead to future work and continued development of our theatre.

Please come and share in this exciting experience. We have a limited number of season tickets left at only £40, which allow you entry to any performance across the whole festival. Please note that these will only be on sale until 18 March. Individual tickets can also be bought for each evening at the usual prices.

The Criterion Theatre

SPON END NIGHTTIME CLOSURES

The latest phase of work on the Spon End road widening project will involve significant evening / overnight road closures between 20 and 24 February.

Contractors Balfour Beaty have informed local residents that Spon End / Butts Road will be closed on the city-bound side between the junctions with Hearsall Lane and Windsor Street between the times of 7pm and 6am on 5 nights, Monday 20 – Friday 24 February inclusive.

The notice states “Signed diversion routes will be in place and access to business and homes will be maintained at all times”, although it is difficult to see how that will be possible except on foot.

Balfour Beaty also say they will guarantee minimum noise, and noisy works outside the residential properties between the Railway Bar and Grill and Upper Spon Street will finish no later than 11pm.

Queries can be addressed to Onika Morgan by phone on 07715 615163 or email: AQPenquiries@balfourbeaty.com or on the nights work is actually taking place call Joshua Blair on 07756 503386.

BUTTS ROAD CLOSURES

There are more road closures affecting Butts Road over the next 9 days.

Every night 8pm – 6am from Monday 16 January to Friday 20 January, there will be no access from junction 7 of the Ring Road onto Butts Road westbound. Access onto the Ring Road from the Butts Road citybound carriageway will be northbound only during these times.

Butts Road will also be closed in BOTH directions between junction 7 and Albany Road between 8pm on Monday 23 January and 6am on Tuesday 24 January.

Signed diversion routes will be in place and access to homes and businesses will be maintained.

BLACK HORSE DEMOLITION IMMINENT

The long-anticipated demolition of the former Black Horse pub is to take place over the coming weekend, 7th/8th January.

Spon End will be closed between Hearsall Lane and Melbourne Road while this work is in progress.

This is part of the Air Quality Plan proposal to create a 4th lane through Spon End / Butts Road.

Photos below show the front of the pub from when it went on sale in 2012 and the side view, showing the line of the new inside lane through where the front of the building currently stands.

CHAPELFIELDS BUSES UNDER THREAT AGAIN

National Express Coventry has announced changes to its timetables from 1 January 2003.

Whilst they have tried to play down the significance of these changes, the reality is that the historic no.1 Chapelfields route, already butchered almost beyond recognition by previous cancellations and restorations, is being dropped again.

The explanation given on the NX website is “This service is withdrawn at the end of the Transport for West Midlands contract. An alternative service is expected to be provided by TfWM.”

What such an alternative may look like is open to speculation, but it should not be forgotten that currently the no.1 is helping fill gaps in the no. 2 service to Earlsdon which is listed as not changing, so in other words not only is the Chapelfields route facing an existential threat, but the service to Earlsdon would also probably be degraded unless the ‘expected alternative’ is an exact like-for-like replacement by another provider.

More details at:

https://nxbus.co.uk/coventry/service-updates/timetable-changes-from-sunday-1st-january-2023