In the midst of headlines about the Haiti disaster, the snow and the possible recovery from recession, a planning meeting in Coventry did not rate highly on the news agenda.

Yet the gathering of councillors in committee room three of the city’s council house was proof that in many ways the region’s second city has been bucking the property trend.

Like any city in the UK, Coventry has its fair share of projects which are sitting on the shelf awaiting the gloomy economic skies to clear.

But that meeting showed that Coventry is planning for those sunnier times better than most as it considered schemes valued at a total of £2 billion.

And as the city again heads to MIPIM with a consortium of private sector partners, several projects are moving forward.

The planning meeting not only underlined the size of the projects moving forward through the process but also the diversity.

Cannon Kirk’s Friargate scheme, which went before the committee, is arguably one of the most important developments to emerge in the city in the last decade.

It will cover 37 acres and see enough high-quality office and retail space to attract around 15,000 jobs to the new quarter. The masterplan by Allies and Morrison features 14 Grade A office buildings, two hotels, new homes, restaurants, bars and retail around public spaces.

But, just as significantly, it will provide a much-needed gateway to the city and totally transform the station quarter.

The decking of the ring road will extend Greyfriars Green up to the station boundary and provide a link across what is largely regarded as the city’s concrete collar which in turn should provide a magnet for other schemes.

The second scheme before planners was a £10 million residential care centre for the Salvation Army which will also offer training and education facilities. It has attracted more than £6.5 million of capital funding.

The final project decided upon at the marathon meeting was the redevelopment of part of the former Courtaulds site in Foleshill to create around 450 new homes in the north of the city. Business and industrial units will follow.

This triumvirate of applications may have been large but was certainly no freak. In the same week as that meeting, the new million Qualifications Curriculum and Development Agency (QCDA) building was occupied by around 500 staff, many of whom have relocated from London.

And all that came just a couple of weeks after the topping out of the new Severn Trent business centre which will bring 1,700 staff into the city centre to occupy the new seven-storey 170,000 sq ft BREEAM excellent building created for Stoford.

Councillor Ken Taylor, leader of Coventry City Council, believes that the pipeline of development is proof that, in development terms, the city is progressing.

He said: “Attracting investment is a highly competitive business. Not only are you competing against cities within your region, but nationally and internationally.

“Of course, isolated investments are welcomed but we believe that we have conditions which are exceptionally favourable. Not only are we superbly located and have sites of real potential, we have tried to develop a positive culture.

“We will work closely with developers and individuals who want to bring the right sort of developments to the city. Severn Trent, for example, achieved planning consent in just eight weeks, while QCDA had a whole host of competing cities beating a path to its door.

“Maintaining a pipeline of development in these economic conditions is very difficult but we feel our timing – with our city centre masterplan – has allowed us to map out what should be a positive future.”

David Holt, of commercial property agents D&P Holt, is one of the most experienced professionals in the city and has worked on Friargate, Severn Trent and QCDA.

“Anyone in property will tell you that working with people who possess a positive attitude is key to getting things done and that is what Coventry has increasingly adopted in recent years,” he said.

“While I have worked in London and Birmingham I have always been connected to Coventry and therefore not only have a vested interest in its success, but also believe in its potential. That’s why this can-do attitude is so welcome.

“The city’s presence at MIPIM sums that up. Some of the companies who go under the Coventry banner could easily view each other as competitors but we all go with a common aim – the betterment of the city.

“That has paid off not only at the show but also here, on the ground, where real changes are becoming evident.”

Coventry’s MIPIM partners are: Friargate Coventry, Complex Development Projects, D&P Holt, Jaguar, Martineau, Oakmoor Estates, Shortland Horne, Stoford Developments and Coventry City Council.