A car park on a "major gateway" into Coventry is set to be transformed with the building of apartments, a community centre and a restaurant.

Plans have been approved for the site at 1 Lincoln Street, which has been used by the Gurdwara Guru Nanak Parkash temple as a temporary car park for its visitors since 2014.

The temple had submitted plans at the start of last year to turn it into a mixed-use scheme “for the wider community”.

The edge of city centre site is deemed a “major gateway” into Coventry, and as such included in the council’s City Centre Area Action Plan 2017 and designated as a health and education area.

While the temple’s initial plans included a 540sqm all-weather artificial grass pitch in the middle, that has been removed as part of the revised bid due to concerns over light and noise pollution.

The new plans will create one three-storey building to the corner of Harnall Lane West and Foleshill Road which will contain 12 two-bed flats, and a second two-storey building to the south containing a community centre and restaurant.

Granting approval, planning officer Emma Spandley said: “The site is in a prominent location, on one of the major roads into the city.

“The city council has an aspiration for the site to be developed further.

“Taking all of the above into account, and on balance, it is considered that the proposal will provide a satisfactory living environment.”

The site formerly housed a Salvation Army hostel but is now owned by the Sikh temple after purchasing the land from the city council.