A new public square is set to be created in the centre of Coventry by early 2010 if plans for the £4m redevelopment of Ironmonger Row and the Burges are given the green light by the local authority.

The project, which is set to go before Coventry City Council's (CCC) cabinet on 28 July, includes a revised and improved square, while local cafés and restaurants will be encouraged to open out onto the square. Plans for the new square, which will also be used for markets and fairs, had been put at risk after a technical study revealed that an underground structure behind a nearby retail outlet needed to be strengthened to allow buses to pass overhead.

The initial cost of the strengthening works had been expected to cost £1.5m, leaving no money for the refurbishment of the square. However, the council has now revealed that the repairs cost just £400,000, enabling the square scheme to progress. CCC cabinet member for city services, Hazel Noonan, said: "Unless we could have solved this issue, we couldn't deliver the kind of transformation to the area that we had always been clear it needs and which have always been committed to delivering for traders and local people alike.

"Now this revised scheme will transform it into somewhere that people feel safe and want to go to shop or even just enjoy a sit down. I think we have kept all of the best features of the original plan and improved on it. We have also ensured that it is set to join up to the Jerde masterplan in the future."