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Like many cities Coventry could perhaps be described as a work in progress.
It is constantly evolving and changing and right now there is much work going on to reshape the city centre.
Some of the old familiar features might be missed by many but others not so much.
Questions remain as to what might happen to some present landmarks that might not be around in the future.
Here we take a look at places that have changed, be that the once bustling Ikea building that is now empty and without its familiar signage, or the huge Royal Mail sorting office that has been replaced by the Bishopsgate student accommodation and retail complex.
The former Ikea is one of the most recent changes in the city centre.
The huge store closed its doors earlier this year and in June the familiar yellow signage was taken down.
The building still remains for now – but will it be retained and be used for another purpose, or be demolished and replaced by something else?
Ikea might be in a state of limbo but many other once well known sights in Coventry have gone for good – to be replaced by something else.
Some of the recent transformations in the city centre have been marked, most notably the opening up of Hertford Street and the demolition of Coventry Point.
Hertford Street and Broadgate were once connected but a branch of the Nationwide Building Society got in the way.
Recent improvements to the city centre have seen the Nationwide branch removed and Broadgate and Hertford Street are again connected.
Whether you liked it or not Coventry Point was a landmark city centre building which had stood since the seventies.
Work to demolish the 14-storey Coventry Point began last year with the divisive office block finally down by mid-September.
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It is seen as a crucial stage of the city centre’s redevelopment and the first part of the £300m City Centre South regeneration scheme, which is expected to progress in the coming months.
Talking of Broadgate, it’s a place that has had a range of incarnations over the years.
As recently as 2008 it was partially covered by a large canopy.
It was also busy with traffic before it was pedestrianised.
The canopy came down in 2008, opening one of the city centre’s busiest and best known open spaces to natural light.
It was in 2011 that work began on the £7m refurbishment of Broadgate which would see the area become pedestrianised.
