i really dont need to explain this now do i!?!?!?

Explain what ;)

We couldnt get a recap of everything thats happening in and around the city could we, everythings all so confusing at the moment :cheers:

nope.

As I was about to post in 7...

'It's just the rumour millin overdrive birminghamculture - there's nothing to say really.'

Explain what ;)

We couldnt get a recap of everything thats happening in and around the city could we, everythings all so confusing at the moment :cheers:

wasnt saying nope to this btw

Damn rumours, maybe something will come to fruitation in the near future, starting with Mailbox soon:)

Talking of development recaps, the brum development summary thread could do with being updated. Although Dee never seems to be around anymore, so i don't know who would do it.

Ok, been quite encouraging so far this year....well the last few months.

RECENT NEWS
Park central Tower A new glass spirral residential tower at 27 floors and upto 90m
Mailbox Extension Option of new 28 storwy tower by Glenn Howells Architect about 85m
New City Park Gate Tower Planning permission applied to increase height of resi tower from 14 floors to 23 floors (around 70m)
Peat House New 14 storey office tower in business district replacing a horrid 1980's block

COMMING SOON
Masshouse First phase now under construction
Rotunda reclad to start any day.

...AND GOODBYE
Post and Mail Tower Demolition started to build replacement
Natwest Tower ...sometime soon
Haddon Tower to be replaced with bigger and better things!

Haddon Tower? Do you know what its being replaced with or again are they just rumours?

Its been a quicker last few months but we still need some Arena Central News, or something to make our hearts flutter ;) :)

BTW, was skimming through this weeks estate gizette and it had a section on the old science museum site.

it looks huge and will act as a gateway into the jewellry qtr and is at max 8 floors tal....... it will be mainly offices but also hotels, restaurants, shops and 280 apartments..... this is pretty much the other side of the canal to islington gate..... this area sohould be wicked and feel like an extension to brindley place!

gothicform - reference to gothic forms in architecture by the way half the people mispell like that.

ummm, stuff is starting. the willis building is u/c now, ontario tower at new providence wharf, there's gonna be a lot more action before the end of the year, projects we've spent so long talking about are coming online such as columbus tower, broadgate i hear is set for a late 2005 early 2006 start. remember there's only 32 buildings over 100m complete in london right now and that includes ones like the london eye and battersea power station.

some skyscrapers are in competition for height, not all. when the bank holiday is over, a great example will be on my site for birmingham. with resis they want the tallest penthouses in the area which is a great selling point.

Very interesting :cheers:

Yep very intriguing, gothicform tells me of good things to come for Brum!

BTW, was skimming through this weeks estate gizette and it had a section on the old science museum site.

it looks huge and will act as a gateway into the jewellry qtr and is at max 8 floors tal....... it will be mainly offices but also hotels, restaurants, shops and 280 apartments..... this is pretty much the other side of the canal to islington gate..... this area sohould be wicked and feel like an extension to brindley place!

I loved the old science museum, but the state of disrepair the old building has fallen into is depressing. Good to see something is being done with the site at least.

well it was meant to be happening to the site about 2 years ago but the developers fell out with the council i think!

Yep very intriguing, gothicform tells me of good things to come for Brum!

Lets hope so, I know Richardsons, (if thats true) has always wanted to build tall, they once planned a 2000ft tower for the Black Country believe it or not, but it never came to fruitation, hopefully this will be something big and not a 10 storey 30m pansie building ;)

Saw a piece about that weaver site on granville street on the planning site. It is to contain 52 flats, doesn't sound much I know but the site isn't very large so we could be looking at 6 stories. although not a scraper it should have more hight than some of the residential builds around there.

There are two developments diagonally oposite on Holliday Street / Granville Street. One is by Image Homes (whom I have never heard of) the images on the hoarding for this are those by BLB Architects http://www.blb-architects.co.uk/. The other site is by David Wilson Homes and we should expect fairly classy modern but not a real landmark (see the visuals for George Street as an example).

On a slightly different subject the Skyline scheme by KingsOak is definitely the Old Gala Club site on Bath Row as a board has now gone up.

Finally there appears to have been a start on phase II of Postbox (they have a small piling rig on site and there is also a notice closure of the parking bays oposite for 18 months and they are fabricating concrete barriers in preparation for closing the pavement). Has anyone seen any visuals for this new phase, should we expect more of the same slightly bland but inoffensive design scheme?

Talking of development recaps, the brum development summary thread could do with being updated. Although Dee never seems to be around anymore, so i don't know who would do it.


Yeah sorry about that, i will do a update at the end of next month when things clear up for me and i think by the looks of things we could have a decent amount of development news over the coming weeks.


it looks huge and will act as a gateway into the jewellry qtr and is at max 8 floors tal....... it will be mainly offices but also hotels, restaurants, shops and 280 apartments..... this is pretty much the other side of the canal to islington gate..... this area sohould be wicked and feel like an extension to brindley place!

any pics Neil??? Hopefully we could get some progress on the old science museum site as its a big project but its been quiet for too long now.

Originally Posted by gothicform


some skyscrapers are in competition for height, not all. when the bank holiday is over, a great example will be on my site for birmingham. with resis they want the tallest penthouses in the area which is a great selling point.


what all this about then????

what all this about then????

The old Tramps Nightclub site! Gothics been playing us all weekend although the site is suppose to be a major mixed use scheme, and considering the size of the plot we could expect something in comparison to HCT me thinks (but the way Gothic is talking about it, I personally think it will be bigger)

Im hopefull

as are most of us

[QUOTE=woodhousen]Ok, been quite encouraging so far this year....well the last few months.

RECENT NEWS
Park central Tower A new glass spirral residential tower at 27 floors and upto 90m
New City Park Gate Tower Planning permission applied to increase height of resi tower from 14 floors to 23 floors (around 70m)

These 2 seem to have slipped past me completely. Is Park Central the one near HCT? and is City Park Gate the proposal in East Side?

yep

Opposite the MacDonalds on Bristol / RingRoad Confused.

heres a theory

we all know that revurban is approved on the site in the gay village.... the very site that was as a result of the gay pride celebrations grassed over and used ay the village green..... do we think it might be at all possible that the developers were waiting for this to happen and then they can press ahead and build??????

Why? Haven't they taken the turf up then, so cars are still banned? I can't wait for this project to start - half of the Gay village looks very grubby and needs sorting. Why don't any of the poor buildings get the Rainbow colours treatment to spruce up the area?

no but i mean that the developers may have been holding off building work to allow pride to use the car park before construction starts!

i think the idea is that these 3 scheme will really improve the area!

Erm, well its possible but would they put of a multi million pound development for a festival?

well when ur build a development in a tight community such as the gay community and targetting your product (in this case flats) to the gay community....the last thing you wana do is anger your market!

good point

hey, was there the weekend, good fun, the fair was on the revurban site, the grassed over car park is the europark on bromsgrove street ( or its was on sunday night) x almost threw up on one of the rides

yuk x

has anyone got the pevsners guide, really good and very informative

Here we see how far a developer will go to ingratiate itself with its perceived market...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/midgeblackandwhite/Picturefile344.jpg

forgot to add, there is a talk on at Waterstones books tomorrow by the author, its £3,

[QUOTE=MIDGEBLACKANDWHITE]Here we see how far a developer will go to ingratiate itself with its perceived market...


I think Crosby Homes were a main sponsor of the festival....I also know a fair few gay people have brought apartments in there or want to rent there, personally i think this area will be great in five years time x

i just hope that the shops and restaurants that live their are atleast gay friendly and acknowledge the local gay community!

apparantly rents on the hurst street side of the arcadian have been reviewed by the arcadian owners due to the southside development, and have gine up 70%......great to encourage small enterprises x

i just hope that the shops and restaurants that live their are atleast gay friendly and acknowledge the local gay community!


no sadly the indications are that all gays will been banned from entry form any of them

Visit Britain seem to have noticed our growing skyline :cheers:

BIRMINGHAM’S RENAISSANCE HEADS SKYWARDS
April 2005

BIRMINGHAM’S RENAISSANCE HEADS SKYWARDS


Already home to new and stylish shopping centres, restaurants, hotels and attractions, Birmingham, England’s ‘second city’, has started to develop a skyline to match. More than £7 billion has been invested and it is growing in popularity as a short break destination. High-rise highlights include:

*Holloway Circus Tower by Ian Simpson will be a shimmering 39-storey glass tower, the tallest building in the West Midlands, when complete later in 2005. It will contain both luxury apartments (including a penthouse with a £2.5-million price tag), as well as the city’s first-five star hotel – the 218-bedroomed Radisson SAS Hotel.


*A short distance away stands another dramatic statement for Birmingham – The Orion Tower, also set to complete this year, with 200 John Rocha-designed apartments for city centre living. Rocha has recently spoken about Birmingham's "positive energy". It is, he adds, "full of young people who want to create something special for the city."

*The Orion Tower stands close to The Mailbox, a canal-side development filled with designer-label stores and restaurants. Other high-rise landmarks for the city include the only Hyatt hotel in Britain, and the transformed Rotunda close to the multi-million pound Bull Ring with its space-age Selfridges department store building.


*A new Eastside development will transform hundreds of acres of derelict land into green parkland linking Millennium Point and ThinkTank (a science museum revealing the city’s industrial past – it was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution) with much of the rest of the city centre.

i forget that the biringham Hyatt is the only Hyatt in the country!

Park Central is according to CityOffices 30 storeys+ is there any mor enews on this scheme?

Park Central is according to CityOffices 30 storeys+ is there any mor enews on this scheme?

sure that was the pahntom scheme, its just a 5 storey development for focus housing with several similar size buildngs planned in a business quarter opposite the peace gardens x

although there is the tall residential tower planned for the corner of Bristol Street and Lee Bank Middleway x

i forget that the biringham Hyatt is the only Hyatt in the country!

London has one too and rumour has it they are lined up for Eastgate in Manchester.

well that artcile is wrong then

City Park Gate - Is this still going ahead, or do we ahve to wait for Masshouse to be completed first?

http://www.richardrogers.co.uk/Asp/uploadedFiles/image/4100_birmingham_city_park_gate/4100_0002_1_W.jpg

http://www.richardrogers.co.uk/Asp/uploadedFiles/image/4100_birmingham_city_park_gate/1to1000-white_stage_image.jpg

yes it is going ahead, this is the scheme that has just applied for planning permission to be increased from 14 floors to 23 floors... probably the ehight the spire would ahve gone up to!

its in the advanced stages and all we're doing now is waiting for it to be approved and then work can get underway........

after recent news, here an upto date version of our recent news (over last 2 months)

RECENT NEWS
Broad Street Tower currently a 400 apartment tower proposed for Broad street as is expected to be on the scale or HCT >130m >40floors
Park Central Tower A new glass spirral residential tower at 27 floors and upto 90m
Mailbox Extension Option of new 28 storwy tower by Glenn Howells Architect about 85m
Redesigned Martineau Galleries New Leisure complex in the city centre now due to include a new 25 storey (approx 75m) resi tower.
New City Park Gate Tower Planning permission applied to increase height of resi tower from 14 floors to 23 floors (around 70m)
Peat House New 14 storey office tower in business district replacing a horrid 1980's block

COMMING SOON
Masshouse First phase now under construction
Rotunda reclad to start any day.

...AND GOODBYE
Post and Mail Tower Demolition started to build replacement
Natwest Tower ...sometime soon
Haddon Tower to be replaced with bigger and better things!

yes it is going ahead, this is the scheme that has just applied for planning permission to be increased from 14 floors to 23 floors... probably the ehight the spire would ahve gone up to!

its in the advanced stages and all we're doing now is waiting for it to be approved and then work can get underway........

Oh thats cracking news, an increase of 9 floors. with spire including im guessing roughly about 90m+. Correct or Wrong? :dunno:

no it isnt!

after recent news, here an upto date version of our recent news (over last 2 months)

RECENT NEWS
Broad Street Tower currently a 400 apartment tower proposed for Broad street as is expected to be on the scale or HCT >130m >40floors
Park Central Tower A new glass spirral residential tower at 27 floors and upto 90m
Mailbox Extension Option of new 28 storwy tower by Glenn Howells Architect about 85m
Redesigned Martineau Galleries New Leisure complex in the city centre now due to include a new 25 storey (approx 75m) resi tower.
New City Park Gate Tower Planning permission applied to increase height of resi tower from 14 floors to 23 floors (around 70m)
Peat House New 14 storey office tower in business district replacing a horrid 1980's block

COMMING SOON
Masshouse First phase now under construction
Rotunda reclad to start any day.

...AND GOODBYE
Post and Mail Tower Demolition started to build replacement
Natwest Tower ...sometime soon
Haddon Tower to be replaced with bigger and better things!
Things are certainly taking off! 2004 was a somewhat slow year in terms of new projects but 2005 looks to be much better :)

no it isnt!

well it looks roughly about 40m at 14 storeys with at least a 20m spire so another 9 storeys should take it up to about 70m + a 20m spire.

yes but there is no spire on the new tower BC!

I know what you mean accura...infact the beggingin of this year looked no different but in the last 2 months or so, everything has just come to light!

yes but there is no spire on the new tower BC!

I know what you mean accura...infact the beggingin of this year looked no different but in the last 2 months or so, everything has just come to light!

Oh right I get you now :cheers:

Yeh, last couple of months have been a bit more promising, I just cant help but feel though that Brums dry patch now, will soon turn our city into a sea of cranes when all these buildings start to take of.

there are lots of residential developments (like postbox) that are not going tall ? instead they are wide and flat........guess we have so much undeveloped space and its cheaper to build low ?

sure that was the pahntom scheme, its just a 5 storey development for focus housing with several similar size buildngs planned in a business quarter opposite the peace gardens x

although there is the tall residential tower planned for the corner of Bristol Street and Lee Bank Middleway x

I e-mailed Cityoffices.net to see why that had this down as a 42 storey tower (5 floors of office and 37 residential) on their skyscraper page but they never got back in touch. If its a mistake seems really strange that its still on there its not as if there lots of other proposals on there.

there are lots of residential developments (like postbox) that are not going tall ? instead they are wide and flat........guess we have so much undeveloped space and its cheaper to build low ?

There is a lot of resi developments around the 250 unit mark that are being built but due to the large amounts of land available there is no need to build tall, Jupiter development contains around 700 apartments yet its only 8/9 floors max.

I e-mailed Cityoffices.net to see why that had this down as a 42 storey tower (5 floors of office and 37 residential) on their skyscraper page but they never got back in touch. If its a mistake seems really strange that its still on there its not as if there lots of other proposals on there.


Umm interesting. Cityoffices are normally very upto-date aswell.

re. 'Visit Britain April 2005' article, and Hyatt hotels UK.

The Hyatt Regency Birmingham is the only purpose built Hyatt hotel in the UK presently, which was built in 1990. The Churchill Intercontinental hotel in Portland Square, London, was bought by the Hyatt group, and re-branded accordingly as the Churchill Hyatt Regency.

The Visit Britain article is incorrect also in that it claims that the Raddison SAS hotel, based in HCT, will be Birmingham's first five star hotel. This accolade went to the Swallow Hotel, Hagley Road/ Five Ways, made famous by US President Bill Clinton's stay in Birmingham for the 1998 G8 World Leaders summit, during the UK's presidency of the G8. The hotel was sold some years later, and is presently known as the Marriott Birmingham, and is currently a 4-star deluxe hotel, undergoing improvements to upgrade to 5 stars. Birmingham will therefore have two 5 star hotels in the city centre.

What stage of planning is Park Central in right now?

the end of an era........... they were quick with this one!

Pebble Mill demolition signals start of new era
Jun 3 2005




By John Duckers, Business Editor


Work has started on the demolition of Pebble Mill to make way for a £100 million science and technology park expected to create 800 new jobs.

Regional development agency Advantage West Midlands, which has a 95 year lease on the site from freeholders Calthorpe Estates, has appointed Birmingham-based specialists DSM to undertake the demolition of the former home of the BBC.

It is a specialist job because of the extent of dangerous asbestos in the building.

The park is expected to create 36,000 sq m of world-class research and development facilities for the medical and healthcare industries.

The development links into the Central Technology Belt, a high-technology corridor running along the A38 between Aston Science Park and Malvern Science Park which was identified as a priority for value-added business following the first Rover crisis in

DSM has already started demolition which should be complete by November, following which roads and infrastructure works will be put into place.

Advantage West Midlands and Calthorpe Estates are currently receiving expressions of interest from potential occupants on the first phase of the park after the site was among the portfolio of development opportunities showcased at the Mipim conference in Cannes earlier this year.

Pebble Mill was the home of the BBC in Birmingham for 33 years before moving to new studios and offices at the Mailbox last year.

It most famously staged the Pebble Mill at One lunchtime chat show from 1973 to 1986 and popular dramas Dalziel and Pascoe and Dangerfield.

The development has been made more urgent as a result of the collapse of MG Rover.

AWM chief executive John Edwards said: “The recent situation at MG Rover makes the progress made with our infrastructure projects in the Central Technology Belt all the more encouraging.

“The demolition of Pebble Mill is the first step on the way to creating what will undoubtedly be a world-class facility, building on Birmingham’s excellence in medical technologies.

“Meanwhile, down the A38 at Longbridge, work is now underway on a Technology Park there.

“This marks the end of one era with a building that has defined Birmingham in many ways, but also marks the dawning of a new high-technology era for the city.”

Richard Allen, chief executive of Calthorpe Estates, said: “This is a significant step in the development of a project which will ultimately reinforce the importance of the knowledge-based industries to the region and generate many new jobs.

“The site will provide a high-profile location for the biomedics industry and will offer an opportunity to secure advances within the scientific and medical sectors.”

Central Technology Belt chief executive Alan Folwell said: “Birmingham’s universities offer world-class research, development and technology transfer to start ups, existing companies and inward investors.

“The facilities and excellent location of Pebble Mill will enhance the ability of the universities to interact with industry and so bring about sustainable knowledge-based economic regeneration.”

Birmingham City Council director of planning and regeneration, Clive Dutton, said: “This is the kind of ambitious scheme we need to bring forward if we are to secure the economic future for Birmingham and the region following the MG Rover crisis.

“Developing this key site will help to create the high technology and science-based employment we need.”

just calculated that 36,000sqm is only just under 400,000sqft....not that much really....then again, how much hi-tech office space is there in the likes of the aston science park!?!?!??

....just answering my own question....just found out the aston science parks has just over 350,000sqft of office space so its like a totally new aston science park........ good news then really!

....just answering my own question....just found out the aston science parks has just over 350,000sqft of office space so its like a totally new aston science park........ good news then really!

Very good, we need to change the way Brum and the West Midlands make's its money and this is gonna be great, Ive known about this for a long long time and hopefully it will become a mini silicon valley especially with the news im hearing about the type of companies who want to loacte in the area.

P.S This also means more homes, more towers and more shops ( a real boost for Birmingham, although we wont see the real benefits for years to come)

http://www.lookingatbuildings.org.uk/default.asp?document=3.B.3

people might find this interesting

haha and one of them is being demolished as we speak!

Thanks for the link.

Thanks for the link.

no worries, if you love architecture & brum go and buy the pevsners guide, its £9.99 and fascinating

I bought it . hes dislike of Selfridegs almost put off readign the rest - which woudl have been as shame its ebry good.

his comments on pst war buidlung are a bit odd though- he slteas soem buildign then sasy things like the Hill Street Gala casino are merely "uninspired"

he's an architectural historian, so i guess he is using a set of academic critical values on all the buildings,

it is very interesting though, he says he is torn down the middle regards selfridges....but he said its great that birmingham was talked about in architectural terms for the first time in 30 years !!!

the depth of research is amazing and sheds light on stuff you walk past everyday

Oh yes I agree with the last part its very esy to overlook things.

When I was about 18 I ued to hate all concret adn brutlism. teh nwhen i was about 21 i saw thigns in the best of those buidigns fot ht eforst tiem and now cant imagine how I ever neglected to appreciate them

As for Foster on selfridges his comments on the esclators are beyond the pale IMO and give the impression of someone wanting to dislike sonethingrather thna judging iit on its merits, then again hes observations on the Arcadian anfd Brindley Place are on the money.

I've been meaning to get a copy of this ever since I heard about it. Something my grandfather designed got a mention in the original Pevsner, want to see if there is an updated comment!

I have now discovered that the David Wilson Homes site on Granville street is actually the old Q8 garage overlooking the peace gardens. The smaller corner site next to CBSO was owner by Antler Homes but may have been sold on

New 105 room luxury high-tech hotel to be situated on ground floor of Centenary plaza. Affordable rooms with no windows, but will have the choice of viewing Birmingham on a 45 inch plasma TV which will act as a window aswell as a television.

Sounds good, first one in the country aswell. rooms to be priced at £45.

That story's in the Post BC but the website (yet again) hasn't been updated for the weekend. It's still a great idea - almost Japanese in it's thinking. Each room is half the size of a standard hotel one but of a very luxurious standard, and are designed to be a place to sleep only - no restaurant or gym etc.
Had a great day with Highriser who came down today. We had a drive around and then a walk around (with him carrying my son on his shoulders for periods of time!) and I think he was impressed with the changes since he last saw Brum 3 yrs ago. Top bloke!

Great idea as long as it's in the right place. There is an initial rollout of three sites - Birmingham, Heathrow, Manchester.

The concept is sound and is being aimed at individuals who need somewhere to sleep simply because they are there - primarily on business - however there is a suggestion that rooms could be hired by the hour, and this is the problem. Since being initially proposed as a low cost, windowless, vend machine hotel, the mid market hotels have dropped their costs significantly, inadvertently making the night night concept less economically viable. People would rather have a window if given the choice and it's here that the night night concept has been squeezed and resulted with 'rented by the hour'.

Although this is aimed at businessmen, the main concern here is from the local residents of Centenary Plaza as is it could be exploited by unsavory 'one night standers' and prostitutes in the Broad Street location. It doesn't bother me though I can see why they are getting slightly concerned seeing that they have paid a lot for their apartments and it's their basement!

If they want to say true to the concept, then the location for the Birmingham Night Night is in completely the wrong, it should be out by the NEC and airport. This is the firm responsible http://ww.tibbatts.com

Hourly rates??????
Ha ha, sounds like a brothel to me

exactly

While having my my morning coffee and reading the local rag I was heartened to see a photo and article about Selfridges building and a couple of buildings in New York.It was in the magazine supplement of 'Diario de Sevilla'.It's good to see Birmingham can now get into glossy pages too!

Had a great day yesterday,with MSP,and i was very impressed with Birmingham,so much as changed since the last time i was there, the Selfriges building is so fantastic,i wanted to steal it and take it back home to Manchester,and the same goes for HCT,photo's sometimes dont do building's justice ,seeing them for your own eyes is something else.

I loved that little park area (forgot its name) with that gorgeous church in the middle of it.
And the Orion building looks like its going to be another stunner for your skyline,
Anyway cheers Ian for being a great host,even though i have a stiff neck cos of your son :laugh: thanks again Dave

He means St Philips and our little Cathedral lol!

Had a great day yesterday,with MSP,and i was very impressed with Birmingham,so much as changed since the last time i was there, the Selfriges building is so fantastic,i wanted to steal it and take it back home to Manchester,and the same goes for HCT,photo's sometimes dont do building's justice ,seeing them for your own eyes is something else.

I loved that little park area (forgot its name) with that gorgeous church in the middle of it.
And the Orion building looks like its going to be another stunner for your skyline,
Anyway cheers Ian for being a great host,even though i have a stiff neck cos of your son :laugh: thanks again Dave

glad you enjoyed yourself - I would have liked to have made an appearance as well, but by the time I saw Ian's post about your visit I'd already made plans. Maybe next time eh?

I've been staying in Manchester this weekend whilst working the Elton John Concerts in Hudersfield, Stoke and Bolton. I stayed in Blackfriars road. I forgot to take my camera but there are some very interesting developments going up. The difference between our skylines is Manchester has a lot of intersting looking buildings going up, but Birmingham has definetily got the more in your face skyline although a bit more boxy. As I came back into Brum at 2.00 this morning after the Birmingham Skyline still really struck me as I pulled off the M6 onto the Aston Expressway and I felt proud to be a Brummie.

If anyone has a copy of the Post you will see a letter from Coun Ken Hardeman talking about tall buildings in Brum (in response to a letter from Mr Smithson 23rd May). He says Arena Central will have a tall building as its centre piece. He also mentions the CAA restrictions but says these apply to all cities not just Brum. Worth a quick read but doesn't really add much.

also people may notice that Lin Homer, the councils chief executive has resigned, or more likely has been pushed out by the new administration.....expect more stagnation in the council house as it is effectivly now leaderless....why did we vote these muppets in !!!

off to manchester in 4 weeks, will remember to take the camera and see if i can get some shots, staying in a hotel so can hopefully get skyline shots etc, its been a good five years since there last

If anyone has a copy of the Post you will see a letter from Coun Ken Hardeman talking about tall buildings in Brum (in response to a letter from Mr Smithson 23rd May). He says Arena Central will have a tall building as its centre piece. He also mentions the CAA restrictions but says these apply to all cities not just Brum. Worth a quick read but doesn't really add much.

Mr Smithson's letter did not mention AC at all as far as I can remember. It was a very simple question - why did the CAA limit Beetham B'ham to 39 floors vs. Beetham Manchester 47 floors? The simple answer is, Brum's built on higher ground than Manchester, not withstanding local considerations due to the airport. Hardeman chooses to bring up AC in his answer. Take from that what you will.

According to the council website the large student scheme by Elphinstone Group just off Bath Row has taken another step forward. This the land behind the Beer Keller and next to Park Central. Some pictures of the hardly high rise scheme on the website:
http://www.elphinstone-group.co.uk/news2.htm

According to the council website the large student scheme by Elphinstone Group just off Bath Row has taken another step forward. This the land behind the Beer Keller and next to Park Central. Some pictures of the hardly high rise scheme on the website:
http://www.elphinstone-group.co.uk/news2.htm

If that's the distinctly derelict bit then I know it well. Those stooodents will have a great view of HCT from there.

I don't remember where this is? Behind the Beer Keller?

This bit - I hope

http://tinypic.com/21otpi

Fantastic! That pdf ariel / 3d model, showing all those blocks on Bath Row / Holloway Head proves it's going to take time to fill the gaps, and I don't mind them being 6-10 floors as long as they're designed with thought and innovation.

Great pic there MK.

http://tinypic.com/5owfpx

When I was a kid I always thought the Bull sign on the side of the Bullring was a dinosaur, like a brontasaurus or Diplodocus,with the tail as his head and the horn as the tail, am I the only person who thought this, I was just having a pissed up talk about it with my Mrs and my mate and his Mrs and their all looking at me like I'm mad. Please someone else tell me they thought this too.

Don't know about a dinosaur but I've got it as a tatoo on my neck. no really I have

http://tinypic.com/5owlli

also people may notice that Lin Homer, the councils chief executive has resigned, or more likely has been pushed out by the new administration.....expect more stagnation in the council house as it is effectivly now leaderless....why did we vote these muppets in !!!
...some of us didn't..! :)

How come you chose it for a tattoo Foxtrot????

lets face it with the possible exception of AC these restrictions mean we'll never see anything higher than HCT (the Richardson's tower will be much smaller as its on higher ground). Im surprised they dont knock down the BT tower.....;)

...some of us didn't..! :)

no neither did I

there is another election in 11 months, maybe the lack of inmformation regarding major developent schemes will become a flood if information nearer to the election

maybe they are keeping things under wraps now, so nearer the election next May it seems like the council are doing wonders for the city ??? expect majot ann0uncements early next year on the libabry, New Street, Metro/Undeground and anything else they can stick there fingers in

Don't know about a dinosaur but I've got it as a tatoo on my neck. no really I have

http://tinypic.com/5owlli

think its a beautiful piece of scultpure, cant believe they scrapped them all !!!

Anyway enough bull, I always get the name of this site wrong.....I think it's the Holiday Wharf or something.....anyway here's a pic from this morning
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Construction%202/HolidayWharf7thJune2005.jpg

Holliday Wharf I think it be called.

Cracking pics all round Roberto. Me and the missus are gonna get a decent camera from Florida when we go over so I might be taking some meself one of these days!

Yeah but are you gonna spend a few hours slaving over a computer resizing, hosting and posting them up

Took a few more pics around town, I think this one once and for all really shows how hilly the city centre is. Looking up Great Charles Qyeensway towards Paradise Circus....there's more than half a wheel missing there
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/GreatCharlesQueensway3.jpg

...and Bank House looking up Ludgate Hill
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/Ludgatehill.jpg

They'll all be sidewards and shite, but I'll get some up one day. been wanting to go on a photo spree for yeeears now...

St Pauls Square....always looks good
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/StPauls3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/StPauls1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/StPauls4.jpg

They'll all be sidewards and shite, but I'll get some up one day. been wanting to go on a photo spree for yeeears now...

We always need more photographers on here...when are you off to Florida, don't forget to post any pics you take over there on the Global Gatherings thread

^ I'd love to live round there. Cracking place.

Off at the end of July to see me bro getting hitched.

I've had enough of weddings, since coming back from Aus I've had stag night, wedding, Stag night and another wedding last weekend on the South Coast....in fact my mate who shares your surname Blunther got married..

This pic shows how enclosed and cut off St Chads is at the moment
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/StChadsQueensway.jpg

and this is taken from near the Kennedy memorial
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/StChadscircus.jpg

Don't get many Broad Street photos on here
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/Broadstreet1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/Broadstreet2.jpg

I've had enough of weddings, since coming back from Aus I've had stag night, wedding, Stag night and another wedding last weekend on the South Coast....in fact my mate who shares your surname Blunther got married..

I ain't been to a wedding since I were about five. Got me missus' sister's first though in a few weeks. Posh do... :no:

Me bro's'll be alright though. Just us lot on some grass, informal ceremony then pissup in the inevitable hurricane.

I've got photo's of me in a suit from two different weddings but no one here's is seeing them....no no.

Anyway here's Queen Vic hoping they'd hurry up and finish the Town Hall
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/Victoria2.jpg

Another signpost pointing the way to the toilets
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/StPauls5.jpg

and some nice and overlooked buildings on Great Charles Queensway
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%203/GtCharlesQueensway.jpg

^ that building on the right of that terrace I worked in for a day and a half doing telesales. Awful work :nono:

All those buildings need a scrub. The years of queues of traffic have taken their toll...

When I was a kid I always thought the Bull sign on the side of the Bullring was a dinosaur, like a brontasaurus or Diplodocus,with the tail as his head and the horn as the tail, am I the only person who thought this, I was just having a pissed up talk about it with my Mrs and my mate and his Mrs and their all looking at me like I'm mad. Please someone else tell me they thought this too.



i always thought it looked like a tourtoise, with a thin neck

dunno why - but now you explain it i can see the bull!!

There were four of these bull sculptures made by Trewin Copplestone. Each was cast from a polystyrene mould and weighed nine tonnes. Copplestone also produced a large mural for the inside of the shopping centre but it was removed for advertising hoardings.

oh and he also did the very swinging sixties massive mosaic line things with illuminated glass blocks on Auchinleck House and the largest one was covered up when it was reclad. :(

I think this is so much better than what's there now. It now looks like the front cover of a crappy menu

http://tinypic.com/5pj5t0

2,000 jobs at business park site Jun 7 2005

By Steve Pain, Deputy Business Editor


Two thousand jobs are to be created at a new development located only a few miles away from MG Rover's mothballed factory at Longbridge.

Solihull councillors have given the green light for the new business park - called The Green - which is located on the former 57-acre TRW Automotive site off the A34 Stratford Road, Dog Kennel Lane and Blackford Road.

Partners Opus Land and Frontier Estates, the two Midland firms responsible for the huge Hub project in Birmingham, last night said they intended to start development of The Green later this year with financial backing from landowner Prudential.

It acquired the site for a figure in excess of £40 million last year. Solihull Council's planning committee has granted permission for the construction of 333,000 sq ft of office space at The Green, complementing existing buildings currently occupied by TRW Automotive and the Goodrich aerospace business.

An £8 million programme of infrastructure work needed to facilitate access to the business park from the A34 will soon begin.

It will be closely followed by the construction of a care home for the elderly - where, at least, 100 jobs will be created - and an Audi dealership and flagship regional centre, one of just five operated nationally by the German car manufacturer.

The scheme will also comprise a four-star hotel and conference centre and will have an end value in excess of £100 million.

Opus Land and Frontier Estates said that The Green will provide a "commercially viable and attracting working environment" for the growing number of firms looking for Grade A office space along the M42 high technology corridor.

But, with an estimated 2,000 new jobs in the pipeline, the scheme will also help to satisfy local employment objectives and aid the economic regeneration of the area.

Councillors hope The Green will reverse the decline of the site - a cause for concern among Solihull residents for some time.

Mark Burkes, of Frontier Estates, said: "Our application was supported unequivocally - the result of a rigorous public consultation exercise enabling us to accurately reflect the views of the local community in the composition of our final proposals."

Richard Smith, a director of Opus Land, added: "A variety of job opportunities will be created at The Green when it is completed - and it is conceivable that some of these positions could be filled by former MG Rover workers, who possess a wide range of the type of skills required by those firms who will be looking to locate to Solihull."

The Green will feature extensive landscaping, coupled with a fresh contemporary architectural style which will blend seamlessly with the existing buildings.

Tim Austin, of project managers Davis Langdon, added: "The Green lives up to its name with a design which optimises the retention of green space."

The Green is the second time that Opus Land Frontier Estates have formed a joint venture with Prudential.

In 2002, the partnership acquired the Hub, Birmingham, in the largest industrial deal that year.

The 95-acre former IMI site, between junctions five and six of the M6, will provide some two million sq ft of industrial and distribution development. Long term it will create some 4,000 jobs.

Excellent news,just what the area needs after the all the recent bad times

Has anyone seen this yobbo,last seen dancing in the fountain ,in Central Birmingham on saturday afternoon,do not approach,unless you have chocolate cake :laugh:


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y12/ANTEATPETE/hayden.jpg

Cheers Dave, my kid's now an SSC legend! I've just dried his shoes out at last!

Cheers Dave, my kid's now an SSC legend! I've just dried his shoes out at last!

Tight git, buy him some new ones.

Found something interesting regarding the five ways shopping centre at http://www.sch-architects.com/ if you go to urban design there is a design for the site.

Good find Stelios.

Looks crap though. £10-20m? :(

it does look shit, hope this isnt what is going to hapen...... total waste of the site!

Auchinleck House looks the same, but there's an 8 storey brown box... :crazy:

yeah i agree, I'm a bit confused as to why the existing building (Auckinleck House) is in the render still i thought it was being knocked down, all looks half hearted!

A feasibility study for 'totally redevloping' this site.

Great total redevelopment :crazy:

Ah well, I choose to ignore it for now. If it turns out like that I'm gonna kill woodhousen.

why u gonna kill me, i hate it tooooo

You'd better tell them to build Blunther a couple of towers then :)

i though Mars pension fund had now dropped out ?? which means this could be completely outdated ??

Did anyone see A Picture of Britain on BBC1 tonight? Benjamin Zephaniah spoke about his Birmingham upbringing and his love of everything Brum (although I think he lives in London now) Some great shots of HCT at the end.

Yeah I just watched it - great finish. Also the shots of Handsworth and the people really captured the urban feeling of Brum. Superb advert for the city. Shame about the Villa mind!

Just heard on the radio that the bull outside the Bullring has been vandalised!!! They didn't give much details, I hope it's not ruined.

Just heard on the radio that the bull outside the Bullring has been vandalised!!! They didn't give much details, I hope it's not ruined.

It might be - some scrote etched some words into it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2005/06/08/bull_vandalised_feature.shtml

On an entirely different subject - there's talk that birmingham might be the - or one of the - sites for a pilot scheme into Road Charging replacing road tax and fuel duty.

What say you?

I say - bugger that, instead, engage in a long term gradual decrease in fuel duty to continental levels, and invest in proper mass public transport for major urban areas where the peak congestion is. Somebody clever can probably prove me totally wrong, but I guess the increase in economic activity would pay for the investment and loss in tax revenue in spades.

The etched word looks like an Asian tag.

http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/cityliving/tm_objectid=13411209&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=new-bull-attacked-name_page.htm

This happened b4 in 2003.

sick really. Maybe the answer is etching some words back into the perpetrators. Like 'TWAT', maybe across their foreheads or something. grrr!

this is so fucking awful ....do people have no pride?

On an entirely different subject - there's talk that birmingham might be the - or one of the - sites for a pilot scheme into Road Charging replacing road tax and fuel duty.

What say you?

I say - bugger that, instead, engage in a long term gradual decrease in fuel duty to continental levels, and invest in proper mass public transport for major urban areas where the peak congestion is. Somebody clever can probably prove me totally wrong, but I guess the increase in economic activity would pay for the investment and loss in tax revenue in spades.

wow - icbrum is reading my posts. I will say that the farcical way cllr Gregory reacted and then backtracked basically says all you have to know about the clowns in the council house.


Brum's chance of traffic millions

Jun 9 2005

By Campbell Docherty, Transport Correspondent


Birmingham has been promised millions of pounds for public transport if it becomes a pilot area for congestion charging.

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling on a visit to the city yesterday said there would be "a lot in it" for whichever area trialled the controversial scheme.

However, Birmingham City Council's transport chief yesterday branded the Government's satellite-based 'pay as you drive' scheme as "unfair".

Coun Len Gregory later back tracked from the comments and declared the city ready to listen to any proposals but called for Mr Darling to make clear all financial implications to the motorist.

Birmingham's professional sector described Coun Gregory's comments as sending the "wrong message" to Government and called for the pilot to be in Birmingham so the city could shape the system to meet its own needs.

Mr Darling told The Birmingham Post that several conurbations had already informally approached the Government expressing a desire to pilot the scheme.

"A lot more work has yet to be done on this but I can say there would be a lot in it for the area that piloted the scheme," he said.

"There would be money for public transport and traffic management.

"We encourage conurbations to come forward with proposals and the Government will make a lot of money available."

In a keynote speech today, Mr Darling will set out his desire for a public debate on the satellite-based scheme.

A peak-hour figure of £1.34 per mile for the most congested roads has been floated although Mr Darling has distanced himself from any specific figures and costs.

Coun Gregory (Con Billesley) initially described the plans as "unpopular and almost certainly seen as unfair".

However, he later modified his stance and told The Birmingham Post: "If you abolish road tax and the tax on petrol you would be looking at an average charge of £1 an hour just to claw back the lost revenue.

"I would call on the Government to explain exactly how this money will be found if rival motorists pay something like 2p per mile?"

Passenger transport executive Centro, which represents all seven district authorities in the West Midlands conurbation, said the road pricing policy for the region would be part of July's Local Transport Plan submission for Government cash.

"Doing nothing about congestion is not an option in the West Midlands but exactly what public transport and traffic management schemes we want have yet to be decided."

Last month, the DfT told officials to rewrite the West Midlands LTP to include demand management schemes. The first draft failed to mention road pricing, despite it having high Government priority.

Simon Murphy, Birmingham Forward chief executive, said Birmingham as the second city must be given the chance to pilot the scheme.

"This is a problem that simply isn't going to go away and Birmingham has to be at the forefront of things," said the head of the city's professional sector lobby group.

They should simply do the same to him if/when they catch him.

He wont do it again.

I've just put the news about the Bull being vandalised in the Bullring thread....I didn't notice it in here, that'll teach me to read through all the threads first before posting

shame...i hope they catch him and make him realise what he has done, selfish little Tw'T

Centro - Government green light for Birmingham city centre trams
Thu, 09 Jun 2005

Government green light for Birmingham city centre trams

Public transport bosses in the West Midlands have welcomed the Government's approval for trams to run through Birmingham streets, saying it represented the best way forward for the city centre.

An Order is to be made under the Transport and Works Act (TWA) giving powers to extend the Midland Metro light rapid transit system through Birmingham city centre, Transport Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman announced today. He said the decision to make the Order, which was applied for by Centro, accords with the recommendation of the Inspector who held a public inquiry into the proposals last year.

The Inspector, Mr A S Jeaps, was persuaded that the scheme would bring transport, regeneration and socio-economic benefits; that it was supported by transport and planning policies at all levels; and that its impacts on local people and the environment would be acceptable.

"This positive decision is a welcome reward for many years hard work by our staff, Birmingham City Council colleagues and specialist consultants," says Rob Donald, director general of Centro, the West Midlands public transport body that is developing Midland Metro.

"The street running Metro is a key part of a future city-wide tram network to meet the growing needs of Birmingham city centre. Centro now hopes the city council will reaffirm its support for this Metro extension, enabling us to introduce it along with the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill line approved last year."

His comments were echoed by Cllr Gary Clarke, chairman of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority (PTA) which sets policy for Centro. The PTA boss was due to meet with Birmingham council leader Mike Whitby to discuss the way forward.

"The city centre Metro is a long-awaited scheme that can now become reality," says Cllr Clarke.

"Passengers, businesses, the economy and the image of the city can all benefit from a vast improvement to mobility in Birmingham city centre; the Metro extension has passed the highest level of scrutiny; its economic and environmental benefits are clear; and the Government is all but poised to sign the cheque. The opportunity is there to be seized," he adds.

In today's announcement, the Transport Minister said Centro would be granted the powers to build and operate a tram line from the existing Midland Metro line one at Snow Hill via New Street Station to the ICC, BrindleyPlace and Five Ways.

Last year's public inquiry was told the scheme had a price tag of £72m and Centro had already secured provisional Government approval for this. The public transport promoter will now need to submit a final business case to confirm the funding.

The 3.2km tramway through the centre of Birmingham would enable people to journey from Snow Hill to Hagley Road in just 13 minutes. There would be ten, easy-access stops at street level and the route would serve the main shopping and business areas, as well as provide easy interchange with other forms of public transport.

The first Midland Metro line opened six years ago. It now carries a growing number of passengers and has the enviable record of being the region's most reliable public transport system - but it was always envisaged as part of a much wider and integrated network. Another route from Wednesbury, through Dudley, to the Merry Hill Centre was approved six months ago following a similar public inquiry process to that for Birmingham city centre.

ENDS

Note to editors: Trams could be running through Birmingham city centre in six years time, according to the following timetable.

By Dec 2005
Finalise agreements with Birmingham City Council and submit Outline Business Case to Government

Spring 2006
Department for Transport approves funding, Centro commences tender process

Summer 2006
Advance construction works

Early 2008
Award of main construction contract following successful tender process

2011
Construction complete, trams start running

To read more about the views of Centro click here.

Great news but what happened to the Underground investigation? How much was spent? Is this extension the route that will completely clog up Corporation St and have to turn tight corners (I once read the Waterstones opp the ramp will have to have the corner cut off) and eventually go up steep Pinfold St and straight through the Iron Man?
If so, it's completely the wrong route - it should follow the Masshouse road and go under the Rotunda via New St station and then up Hill St.
Transport innovation is hardly the council's forte.

innovation is hardly the councils forte at all lol!

great news though!

the post mentions the council have had the feasability study back !!! and it would have cost billions, so they sent the surveyors back to the drawing board...in the meantime they risk losing the tram and having no underground....!!!! and they are always banging on about waste, unless its thier own of course

they are also not publishing the findings of the first feasability study, which was meant to be made public to prove the merit of the underground !

you know i think this is entirely separate from the council. There is no mention of them here, centro applied to the government and the government agreed. The council have to let it through, they have the final say, and they've said in the past that they dont want the metro (indeed it seems they would rather have nothing). I agree with this sentiment, the planned extension would be a disaster.

From todays Post
Brum under pressure to support tram plan Jun 10 2005




By Campbell Docherty, Transport Correspondent


Birmingham could be left without a light rail system until 2020 unless it drops plans for an underground and renews its commitment to a £72 million city centre tram line.

The six other West Midland district councils – through Centro and the Passenger Transport Authority – are to press ahead with tram lines in the Black Country if Birmingham does not agree to build the Snow Hill to Five Ways extension by next month.

Further pressure was applied to Birmingham City Council when the Government finally approved the two-mile Midland Metro extension through the city centre yesterday, 18 months after a public inquiry first looked at the scheme.

Transport Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman announced a Transport and Works Act Order for the scheme, effectively granting it planning permission.

Provisional private sector and Government funding has also been secured, pending confirmation later this year.

Rob Donald, director general of Centro which is developing the Midland Metro network, said the Government’s “positive decision” was a welcome reward for nine years hard work.

“The street-running metro is a key part of a future city-wide tram network to meet the growing needs of Birmingham city centre.

“Centro now hopes the city council will reaffirm its support for this metro extension, enabling us to introduce it along with the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill line approved last year.”

However, city council leader Mike Whitby said: “The city council, PTA and Centro are now in a position to discuss the street running option and how it links into tunnel proposals currently being investigated. A report on the technical and financial aspects of using tunnels rather than streets at key locations will be completed next month.”

However, any modifications to the now Governmentapproved tram line will require a new Transport and Works Act – involving public consultation and another public inquiry.

Work first started on the city centre metro extension in 1996 and trams would not run on the line until 2011.

In June 2004, a new Conservative-Lib-Dem council administration declared the street-level tram line would be too commercially disruptive and said it wanted an underground system instead.

Despite being due in May, the city council has still not published the results of a feasibility study into building tunnels under parts of the city centre.

The Birmingham Post has learnt that an initial study by consultants Jacobs came up with a scheme which would cost “billions” and would not meet Government cost-benefit criteria for funding.

Coun Gary Clarke, chairman of the PTA, will now meet with Coun Whitby to press for Birmingham’s renewed support for the ten-stop tram line.

A few Brum pictures here taken by Jonesy

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=4417588#post4417588

heres an update...pretty impressive now considering most of this has been from march 2005..

RECENT NEWS
Tramps Tower A large new resi scheme on Broad Street with the potential of 400 new apartments in a tower of 30 storeys+ and 120m+
Ludgate Towers 3 new triangular towers ranging upto 120m on the edge of the jewellry Qtr wuth the nickname the "Rpouogh Diamond"
Park central Tower A new glass spirral residential tower at 27 floors and upto 90m
Mailbox Extension A new iconic/landmark 17 storwy tower standing at around 70m
New City Park Gate Tower Planning permission applied to increase height of resi tower from 14 floors to 23 floors (around 70m)
Peat House New 14 storey office tower in business district replacing a horrid 1980's block

COMMING SOON
Masshouse First phase now under construction
Rotunda reclad to start any day.

...AND GOODBYE
Post and Mail Tower Demolition started to build replacement
Natwest Tower ...sometime soon
Haddon Tower to be replaced with bigger and better things!

Thats 8 new towers!!!!!!!!

heres an update...pretty impressive now considering most of this has been from march 2005..

RECENT NEWS
Tramps Tower A large new resi scheme on Broad Street with the potential of 400 new apartments in a tower of 30 storeys+ and 120m+
Ludgate Towers 3 new triangular towers ranging upto 120m on the edge of the jewellry Qtr wuth the nickname the "Rpouogh Diamond"
Park central Tower A new glass spirral residential tower at 27 floors and upto 90m
Mailbox Extension A new iconic/landmark 17 storwy tower standing at around 70m
New City Park Gate Tower Planning permission applied to increase height of resi tower from 14 floors to 23 floors (around 70m)
Peat House New 14 storey office tower in business district replacing a horrid 1980's block

COMMING SOON
Masshouse First phase now under construction
Rotunda reclad to start any day.

...AND GOODBYE
Post and Mail Tower Demolition started to build replacement
Natwest Tower ...sometime soon
Haddon Tower to be replaced with bigger and better things!

Thats 8 new towers!!!!!!!!

What about that 75m tower proposed for some where, cant remember it now, it came with the news of the Tramps site?

martineau galleries (toys are us site) Still in very early stages of planning i think

aarrgghhh yes, the martineau galleries tower

heres an update...pretty impressive now considering most of this has been from march 2005..

RECENT NEWS
Tramps Tower A large new resi scheme on Broad Street with the potential of 400 new apartments in a tower of 30 storeys+ and 120m+
Ludgate Towers 3 new triangular towers ranging upto 120m on the edge of the jewellry Qtr wuth the nickname the "Rpouogh Diamond"
Park central Tower A new glass spirral residential tower at 27 floors and upto 90m
Mailbox Extension A new iconic/landmark 17 storwy tower standing at around 70m
Martineau Galleries Redesign of existing scheme to incorporate a new 25 storey resi tower approx 75m
New City Park Gate Tower Planning permission applied to increase height of resi tower from 14 floors to 23 floors (around 70m)
Peat House New 14 storey office tower in business district replacing a horrid 1980's block

COMMING SOON
Masshouse First phase now under construction
Rotunda reclad to start any day.

...AND GOODBYE
Post and Mail Tower Demolition started to build replacement
Natwest Tower ...sometime soon
Haddon Tower to be replaced with bigger and better things!

ok, sorry, thats 9...yes NINE towers in less than 3 months.......

Hi guys, i wonder if you can help me?


I'm looking for the Birmingham Sub Forum, in the Projects and Construction Thread. It wasn't particularly exicting as there was little news or progress but what there was posted was interesting nonetheless.

I like this subforum with lots of new proposals and exciting new buildings, you guys are very lucky.

Well if you do happen to stumble across the Birmingham Forum then please let me know :)

lol, i had to read that a few times to understand it lol....and how r u dee?

welll to anyone who is interested, my mother who workings in the building next to the edgbaston shopping centre has been handed a handout showing artist impressions of the edgbaston redevelopment...... looks good and i have posted the relevant picture son skyscrapernews so if u wana search for them on there you can!

http://www.makearchitects.com/

make have updated there website and it now has current projects, some great pieces and gives aqn idea of what they might come up with for Digbeth, great news that they want to open an office here x

wow, thats a big improvement in edgbaston, looks a lot more interesting than hoped for....must be residential as well, i hope they do something with the round about, its quite scary to walk through at night, it could be a great square, with cafes around the edge, even bars !! give it some life ?

well this scheme is only developming the site of the edgbaston shopping centre unfortunately so 5ways island wont have any improvements done for this!

yeah i know, just wishful thinking, although with two majot developments right on the island, hopefully the council will use the 106 cash for some major environmental improvments !!!

I love the name Woody's given to the Broad St proposal - Tramps Tower. I suppose this would be Donald Tramps?

I love the nickname that he's gave to the Ludgate towers.....the "Rpouogh Diamond" I think he's been drinking again.

Birmingham is being whooped by Warsaw in City V City - I think it needs you lot to stick up for it

Birmingham is being whooped by Warsaw in City V City - I think it needs you lot to stick up for it

Birmingham's being whopped by Walsall, sounds fair.

I'm not a fan of those city vs city threads.....unless I've visited both cities I don't see how I've got the right to vote

I agree - the city vs. city threads are pointless.

Is this the final desing for the final phase of Post & Mail? :dunno:

http://www.sitewiz.co.uk/v2/sites/parlisonpropertiesltd/images/birmingham_postmail.jpg

I don't even think it's the first design for the first phase!

no it isn't!

Bit of interesting news - Might effect developments in the Birmingham and Midland area.


Lend Lease in £270m swoop for Crosby Homes

Bovis set to re-establish link with housing as Australian parent buys regeneration specialist from Berkeley Group.

Bit of a cookie - could work either way I guess with regeneration in Birmingham.

Just did a quick google search for digbeth coach station, and came across this. Couldn't find the right thread...

We all know MAKE are redesigning the coach station, but i'd be very interested to see what Gehry would of made of it...


Shuttleworth beats Gehry to Birmingham station

Ken Shuttleworth’s firm Make has seen off a shortlist that included some of the world’s best known architects to win a transport project in Birmingham.

Well i'm looking forward to what they come up with judging by their excellent proposals for Mailbox Phase two. The only problem is that there is only a budget of around £7million i think. How much can you do with that??

National Express has appointed Make architects, headed up by internationally-acclaimed, Birmingham born and bred architect Ken Shuttleworth, to start work on initial designs for the development of a world class coach station for Birmingham, on the site of the existing coach station at Digbeth. National Express hopes to complete the £7m regeneration project by 2007. It will involve the complete transformation of Digbeth coach station into Birmingham's newest landmark and gateway to the city. It will be a modern, attractive facility, providing outstanding service and comfort for customers.

Sounds interesting.

Well if national express had chosen gehry, and "just" increased the budget by fifty times, we could get something like this...

http://www.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/past_exhibitions/new_guggenheim/

obviously with less emphasis on art gallery and more emphasis on coach bays...

There's an official website for the ENT statue planned for Moseley

It has a fair amount of detail, and although they're still consulting, you can buy an engraved bronze leaf for £2000. Don't worry though, smaller cheaper, stainless steel leaves will be on Ebay soon.

http://www.davidisgrove.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/TolkienStatue/statuehome.htm

be sure to check out the model!

This site next to the Mailbox - are there no plans for any redevlopement here?

http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/birmingham/bmc35.htm

NewfavouritewebsiteBC?:)

NewfavouritewebsiteBC?:)

:)

Has your space button broken Blunther or are you just being lazy ;) :cheers:

Bastard thing'splayingup.,

It'salways the spacebarthat goesfirst :\

;)

Judicial review to delay HOK student flats

Architect HOK’s student village in Birmingham is on hold after a legal challenge was launched into its construction.


20 May, 2005

The Curzon Gateway scheme in Eastside has been held up after lawyers acting for a chemical factory next door to the proposed site successfully applied for a judicial review.

The MacDermid metal finishing plant has argued that Birmingham council, which is backing the scheme, failed to pay enough attention to a report by the Health and Safety Executive.

This report expressed concern over building residential accommodation near a facility for storing toxic chemicals.

MacDermid said occupants of the flats would be at risk in an emergency. Last year homes close to the factory had to be evacuated after a chemical accident.

The student village would provide 260 flats, shops, bars and apartments. The council granted approval in January, despite the HSE’s advice that the application be considered at a public inquiry and then passed to the deputy prime minister.

The judicial review will be heard in July.

Peter Stretton, project consultant for developer the Eastside Partnership, said the delay could last until the end of the year. “We would expect it be resolved,” he said. He added that the scheme could create up to 5000 jobs.

bollocks!

I wouldnt worry, its just a plip, it will be sorted out in no time - Id expect to see that starting work late this year.

Just did a recap after thinking about what people have been saying about Birmingham being over taken by other cities, well to be fair Birmingham has 21 towers, Approved, Under Construction and Proposed over 69-70m which is a hell of a lot when you think about it -- quite an encouraging statistic aswell.

whats the point of the IMAX screen in Birmingham when they never show anything?? Manchester,London,Bristol and others are showing the new Batman Begins but our own screen is not bothering to show that or the new Willy Wonka film, just about sums this city up

whats the point of the IMAX screen in Birmingham when they never show anything?? Manchester,London,Bristol and others are showing the new Batman Begins but our own screen is not bothering to show that or the new Willy Wonka film, just about sums this city up

Ehh ...

Try Star City or UGC

duh, i want to watch it on an IMAX screen not a normal screen, all the other IMAX screens are showing it round the country why aint we

duh, i want to watch it on an IMAX screen not a normal screen, all the other IMAX screens are showing it round the country why aint we

Because we have "bugs" instead. ;) :cheers:

Does it really matter weather or not its on an IMAX screen or not. You seem very picky. Think its gonna be a pile of poo anyway.

un no its not really a pile of poo, as show by a view at rotten tomatoes, it seems to be getting great review, my point is not about batman being on screen simply that if they want to attract more people to millenium point then surley they should be showing more films

BTW you cant compare a normal screen to the imax screen

un no its not really a pile of poo, as show by a view at rotten tomatoes, it seems to be getting great review, my point is not about batman being on screen simply that if they want to attract more people to millenium point then surley they should be showing more films

BTW you cant compare a normal screen to the imax screen

To be honest I'm not really that bothered in, where and where not Batman is being shown. Obviosuly there is reasons why IMAX arent shwoing it in Birmingham. But I dont think it anything to get worked up about :cheers:

is the IMAX acrtually at birmingham?

i know wehave and IMAX screen but i think IMAX pulled out for some reason...millenium point tried getting back but i dont know if they succeded?

who said i was getting worked up about?? having been reading posts on this forum for six months, i have seen in many a thread you yourself get worked up, when people dont agree with you, over trivial things

yes there is an imax screen, although if they did pull up its no suprise

who said i was getting worked up about?? having been reading posts on this forum for six months, i have seen in many a thread you yourself get worked up, when people dont agree with you, over trivial things

Mate, Sorry but I dont think many poeple care about which cinema screens will be showing Batman - Its just not relavent.

P.S I think Woody is right - There isnt an IMAX cinema in Birmingham its an IMAX screen and only shows productions that arent mainstream.

duh i wasnt concerned about if they were showing batman or not i simply concerned that millenium point is not pulling in the punters as evident by most people you ask, i even know people who have gone and they have said that it is not very enlighting

duh i wasnt concerned about if they were showing batman or not i simply concerned that millenium point is not pulling in the punters as evident by most people you ask, i even know people who have gone and they have said that it is not very enlighting

Wait till Masshouse and Eastside is built :cheers:

only wish we could add the libary to that list, it would look so awesome there!!

As much as i love millenium pint as a building, i think certain aspects of it could of been done better. I thought that think tank was trying too hard, with little success. I want to know what happened to half the stuff from the old science museum. Can anyone explain to me the reasons for that place closing?

Being one of the largest Millennium Commission's Lottery Projects, Millennium Point in Eastside was built, with an IMax theatre-cinema too. From the outside of MP,this is represented by the typically circular drum-like shaped outwardly sterile looking construction attached on the one side of the grey recto-linear MP. This is the only IMAX in the Midlands region.
After a very successful opening in September 2001, where it showed films in both 2D and 3D for all tastes, numbers started to dwindle, and eventually after a couple of years I believe, the American company which ran it folded, and then it closed for many months . Several consortiums then became interested in running it apparently, encouraged by, and spurred on by BCC to get the place open again, as it was proving something of an embarrassment to MP, as a whole. At one point one of these, which was seemingly interested in showing only films of an Asian origin were close to obtaining Brum's IMAX. This did not come to fruition, and ThinkTank now runs the IMAX, which it has been doing now for over a year apparently.

I visited the place two weeks ago, since I was last there on opening day, and noticed that the box office area for the IMAX had now been closed, and all tickets now have to be purchased from the ThinkTank reception area. There is seemingly little information about ticket prices and screen showings throughout MP, and even the information kiosks on floor M0 (!!) did not have any info. I gather after much customer consternation, the entrance to ThinkTank is being planned for removal to the ground (M0) floor, so that at least visitors from the Curzon street entrance will be able to find it without difficulty, and information on films will be more readily available.

I was told one of the reasons the old science musuem closed, was because the building was too small to exhibit all of the items it had in store. Ironically MP is showing only half, if that of what was displayed before, and the remainder is in store, sadly. To the visitor, there seem to be great swathes of unused space in MP..

As for 'Batman' not being shown yet @ the IMAX, I think that it is an opportunity missed definitely. Brum is blessed however with an abundance of cinemas in the city and the suburbs, and we still have the UK's largest multi-plex @ Star City with a facility which offers over thirty screens and nearly six thousand seats.

Though watching a film in large format on a huge screen in an IMAX does make conventional cinema look tame by comparison, IMO.

It might be that the film makers only have a limited amount of 3D films available. A few months ago, IMAX Brum lost out to another screening, because Manc, Bristol and LDN snapped up the 3 copies. We don't shout loud enough!
BrumCulture - that site next to the Mailbox: it's an old school and is being restored right now with apartments being added. See on Mailbox Extension thread.
Also, Neil Rami as leader of Marketing Birmingham made a little cock-up in today's Brum Post Business pull-out - he said ventures like New St Station and Great Charles St Coach Station are very important and time is now of the essence! He's going to wait a long time for a National Express! And he's our marketeer - heaven help us!

Thanks for clearing that up - Its a shame though, its prime loaction for another big mix used or residential development :(

I want to see Batman in Imax too

I really liked seeing IMAX films, but the thinktank imax has has the same films for years it seems. with so many big blockbusters this year, it's a shame they don't get them as it would bring people there.

War of the Worlds in IMAX, now there would be a awesome event.

Bloody IMAX ;)

oh well there's plenty of other things to do in brum to keep us entertained, still a shame though

It's last orders for Brum's old boozers Jun 15 2005

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


By Jessica Shepherd


It was once the cosy cornerstone of a Birmingham suburb.

But today the traditional pub is more than likely to be boarded up or demolished.

At least 100 have disappeared from the city's periphery in the last decade and local historians predict dozens more will be swept up by the claws of mechanical diggers in the next few years.

Only in the last six months two favourites have closed, The Richmond in Stechford and The Traveller's Rest in Northfield, both of which had architectural features dating back more than 70 years.

It was recently announced The Old Union Mill in Birmingham city centre, which dates back to the 1950s, is to be turned into offices as part of Aston Science Park.

Andrew Maxam, historian and author of Time Please - A look back at Birmingham's Pubs, believes the future is bleak for the city's traditional suburban meeting spots.

He said: "In the last ten years at least 100 have been closed down out of about 1,000.

"They are historic landmarks which we are lucky to have. Not long ago Brummies boasted that you could navigate the city by mentioning the name of a pub near to the place you were trying to find.

"Now they are set for demolition and eventually just disappear from our memories. Part of our history is being erased.

"In rural Worcestershire and Warwickshire they seem to have realised that if they don't act, entire villages are in danger of being lost forever because a lack of pubs detracts visitors and home-buyers."

Mr Maxam urged pub enthusiasts to go back to using their locals to catch up with friends, drink a few pints and play darts, pool and dominoes.

He also said people should write to MPs and breweries in protest at the demolitions.

He said: "Unless we stand up for ourselves and actually use the facilities pubs offer, they will disappear."

Local historian and Birmingham Post columnist Chris Upton believes the demise has been triggered by ever-dwindling custom from young people, propertyhungry developers and pricey pints.

He said: "The number of people going to pubs has declined. The suburban pubs are becoming more and more places that only the older generations go to. The young flock to the city centre.

"In addition to this, breweries have been pricing themselves out of the market.

"Most of the companies that run pubs nowadays want themed places. Often unusual architecture and historical significance go out the window or are considered more trouble than they are worth."

Many of the pubs that have closed down were built in the 1920s and 1930s. They include The Yew Tree Inn, Yardley, which first opened in 1926 and closed in 2000, The Norton, Erdington, which was built in 1927 and closed in 2000, The Bell on the Bristol Road, which was built in the 1920s and closed in the 1980s, and the Maypole, Kings Heath, which was built in 1936 and closed in

2002.

Mr Maxam said: "Most of the pubs that have been demolished still had their original features, such as old brass plaques on the doors, fireplaces and wooden panelling."

Colin Sadler, from Pathfinder Pubs, which has a strong presence in the West Midlands, said: "There has been a strong sign that many customers are now preferring to drink and eat locally rather than travel into town. If our customers can get all they need at their local they stay with us."

But managers at Mitchells and Butlers, which owns the Green Man pub in Harborne and the Red Lion in Kings Heath, deny that Birmingham's traditional suburban pubs are on the decline.

A spokeswoman said: "Our Ember Inns, for example, are going from strength to strength. They are a group of local suburban pubs which appeal to people of all ages."

Having no major brewer in the city has accelerated the demise of these boozers as pub chains are just after maximum profit and have no connection with the local community. The Black Country has several independent brewers and subsequently has a wealth of superb unspoilt traditional pubs.
There a few gems left in Brum but for how long?

Lend Lease goes for Crosby Jun 15 2005
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By John Revill, Business Staff


Australian construction giant Lend Lease has launched preliminary discussions to acquire Birmingham-based city living developer Crosby Homes in a £270 million deal.

Lend Lease, which built the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, has lined up a deal to buy the firm, which numbers Symphony Court among its Midland developments.

Crosby, which has offices in Edgbaston, has built its reputation around city living, with Birmingham schemes including the Royal Arch development in the Mailbox and the Orion Building, a collaboration with fashion designer John Rocha in Navigation Street.

It spun off from its parent company Berkeley in an incentivised management buy-out in 2003.

The new Crosby management team were, as part of a £500,000 share deal funded by Berkeley, given seven years to achieve £450 million of operating cash flow, after which they would receive 50.01 per cent of the company.

But Berkeley, which would keep the remaining 49.99 per cent, kept the right to negotiate with potential buyers.

It said yesterday that it had received a number of approaches from interested buyers, including Lend Lease Corporation.

Berkeley would not reveal the identity of the other interested parties yesterday, but said it was in the preliminary stage of negotiations with Lend Lease, "which may or may not" lead to a sale of Crosby. Berkeley said the incentivised management buy-out had been a success, with operating cash flow of £74 million in the year to April 2004, the last figures which are available.

A spokesman for Berkeley said Crosby had continued to do very well.

He said: "We are delighted that Crosby is ahead of its business plan. It continues to be successfully executed."

Lend Lease is undertaking due diligence but it is understood that the deal to buy the Crosby regeneration specialist has been approved by the company's investment committee.

It is claimed that Berkeley aims to announce the exchange of contracts at its annual results meeting on June 24.

It is the latest example of a developer attempting to buy a housebuilder to cash in on the Government's ambitious plans to build more houses in the UK.

Last month property investor and developer Gerald Ronson was forced to walk away from a deal to buy housebuilder and regeneration specialist Crest Nicholson.

The Staffordshire firm refused to open up its books to Ronson's company, Heron International, because it said that its indicative offer of a maximum of £480 million was too low.

It is thought that the rationale behind the deal for Lend Lease is to strengthen its urban communities business, which is run by Keith Perry, in the North and the Midlands.

Crosby, which employs about 250 staff, sold more than 1,000 units and had a land bank of more than 5,000 plots last year, a rise of six per cent on the year before.

Berkeley chairman Roger Lewis would not comment on the details of a deal, but added: " When we restructured Crosby in 2003 we were effectively saying there was a 'for sale' sign on the company and if an offer came in at an appropriate level we would consider it.

"We are having some discussions."

Had an interview tonight on the top floor of McLaren building - what a view! Inspirational to say the least. Needless to say, after getting a good image across, I bounded out of the place, in a nice whistle and a smart shirt thinking about all the good things coming up!
Forget about Natwest and Post & Mail. They're being replaced with a gorgeous tower over 2/3 the height of the original, and a very welcome grade A office 13 floor block, again almost the same height.
We're getting: Park Central Tower, Student block opposite, John Bright, Masshouse, Hagley Road blocks and in the pipeline:- Pyramids of Great Charles St, Garden T, Martineau T, Broad St T, The Cube, City Park Gate T, Snowhill T, Paradise Ts, FiveWays Ts, AC (Ok - it's a long shot!).
I'm totally confident tonight!!

Had an interview tonight on the top floor of McLaren building - what a view! Inspirational to say the least. Needless to say, after getting a good image across, I bounded out of the place, in a nice whistle and a smart shirt thinking about all the good things coming up!
Forget about Natwest and Post & Mail. They're being replaced with a gorgeous tower over 2/3 the height of the original, and a very welcome grade A office 13 floor block, again almost the same height.
We're getting: Park Central Tower, Student block opposite, John Bright, Masshouse, Hagley Road blocks and in the pipeline:- Pyramids of Great Charles St, Garden T, Martineau T, Broad St T, The Cube, City Park Gate T, Snowhill T, Paradise Ts, FiveWays Ts, AC (Ok - it's a long shot!).
I'm totally confident tonight!!

Confident of what? - do you no something we dont, was this a meeting about skyscrapers in Birmingham ;) I hope I could share your confidence. I just want something to rival Manchester's bigges. We have them in mid-rises we just need some real storage scrapers. AC, Broad Street Tower and Snowhill would be a nice suprise.

Other then that I guess we will have to settle for a 130m, 95m and 7, 50-70m towers at the moment ;) :cheers:

P.S What about Richard Rogers residential next to Masshouse - 14 storeys at the moment - increase maybe to 23 :dunno:

Major development schedule

1.SOUTHSIDE. *£85 million, *Started, *200 jobs
Developer: Crosby Homes

2.BEETHAM TOWER. *£50 million, *Completion 2005, *300 jobs
Developer: Beetham Organisation

3.WEST END- ARENA CENTRAL. *£500 million, *Starts2006, *5,000 jobs
Developer: Miller/Bridge House

4.WEST END- BASKERVILLE HOUSE. *£75 million, *Started, *1,000 jobs
Developer: Targetfollow

5.WEST END- PARADISE CIRCUS. *£900 million, *Starts 2007/8, *2,000 jobs
Developer: Argent/UCE/BCC

6.BIRMINGHAM GATEWAY-NEW ST STATION. *£350+ million, * Starts 2007/8, *1,000+ jobs
Developer: Network Rail

7.SNOW HILL. *£400 million, *Started, *200 jobs
Developer: Ballymore

8.COLMORE PLAZA-POST & MAIL. *£125 million, *Started, *1,200 jobs
Developer: Abstract Land

9.ROTUNDA. *£25 million, *Starts 2005
Developer: Urban Splash

10.EASTSIDE- MASSHOUSE. *£500+ million, *Started, *12,000 jobs
Developer: Mclean Developments

11.EASTSIDE- OVERALL DEVELOPMENT. *£6 billion, *Started, *12,000 jobs
Developer: BCC+AWM/Land Securities Plc/Eastside Partners Ltd/Countryside

Thanks for the list Birminghamculture.


Second city status is safe Jun 16 2005
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There is no way that Milton Keynes will be able to swipe second-city status from Birmingham, says the chief executive of Milton Keynes council.

John Best said that "wild estimates" predicting that Milton Keynes will supersede Birmingham in size over the next ten years were "complete nonsense".

He said: "Our population will only rise from a quarter to a third of a million over the next 30 years - there is no way we can challenge Birmingham as the second city, not in 30 years or 130 years."

Mr Best's comments come at the start of a twoday visit to talk to Birmingham business leaders about possible collaborations between the two cities.

The events, organised by Birmingham Forward, will involve a meeting today between Mr Best and 25 members of the Birmingham business community at the Hotel du Vin followed by a breakfast event tomorrow for 80 city business leaders.

Sean Hickey, chief executive of Milton Keynes Chamber of Commerce and Juniper Strong, head of strategy and growth at Milton Keynes council, will also be part of the discussions.

Simon Murphy, chief executive of Birmingham Forward, said he hoped the meeting would dispel the "bizarre fear" that Milton Keynes would threaten business in the city.

He said: "We and the professional community are worried about the negative noises about the development of Milton Keynes.

"We want people to realise the huge opportunity that Birmingham has to service the development of the south.

"We're really well placed to give property, marketing and construction advice quickly, with good service and at better value- for- money than London."

Both Mr Best and Mr Murphy agreed that Birmingham and Milton Keynes had a number of shared interests on which they could collaborate - namely the continued development of the West Coast Mainline for trains and Birmingham International Airport.

Mr Best said: "I am looking forward to having

good open conversation with the Birmingham business community.

"I don't have all the answers and I'd like to hear ideas that I haven't thought of."

James Watkins, executive director of the West Midlands Business Council, also welcomed the dialogue between the two cities.

However, he said that the wider Milton Keynes area would still significantly impact on the West Midlands and called on the Government to conduct a quick assessment of the issue.

"The area from Milton Keynes to Northampton has been earmarked for residential development, and it will be twice the size of Birmingham in population terms."

Rotunda Blip

The Rotunda has hit a bit of a blip as Urban Splash has fallen out with the contractors. The orginal price of the cladding was £19m but it is now estimated to cost in excess of £28m - Currently new contractors are being sort with one local company at the forefront.

Rotunda Blip

The Rotunda has hit a bit of a blip as Urban Splash has fallen out with the contractors. The orginal price of the cladding was £19m but it is now estimated to cost in excess of £28m - Currently new contractors are being sort with one local company at the forefront.



:doh:

Well i suppose after the last few months we've had we should have expected some bad news.

Remember the Orion site went through something similar and the work was halted for a whole year!!! i hope we don't have to wait that long, that would be so frustrating seeing the Rotunda as it is all ready for a facelift and nothing happening.

thought as much, it was taking ages for it to move forward. however, a blip is just that, if anything rarther it happened now instead of after starting....like what happened with orion

surley no one will be stupid to waste time beginning this project, just look at the location and the fact that it has the potential to look aweseome!!

'Kept in dark' over library

Jun 16 2005

By Neil Elkes, Evening Mail


BRUMMIES are being kept in the dark about the future of the city's Central Library, it was claimed today.

Labour councillors have urged the authority's Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders to make public a hitherto secret report into the future of the troubled building.

Consultants were recently called in to look at various options for a new library after council leader Coun Mike Whitby put on hold plans by the previous Labour administration.

It had drawn up proposals for a modern library at the heart of a new park, opposite Millennium Point in the Eastside district.

But the trendy design, by leading architect Sir Richard Rogers, carried a price tag estimated at anything from £150-200 million.

Coun Whitby instead called in consultants Gardiner and Theobold and asked them to look at other options, including using Baskerville House, in Centenary Square, or building a new library on the present site in Paradise Forum.

Although they have completed their report, the recommendations have yet to be made public and Labour believes it is because the document may favour their original Eastside scheme. Labour deputy leader Coun Ian Ward said: "It's time the Tory-Lib Dem leadership came clean and published the library report.

"The taxpayers of Birmingham deserve to be told the facts because they will be required to make a financial contribution towards the new library.

"There has been nothing but silence and prevarication from the leadership since February."

He added that Labour still backed the Eastside option which they claim has the best chance of securing additional Government funding.

"The lack of vision and innovation shown by this current administration is in danger of putting at risk the regeneration of Eastside," he added.

Coun Whitby was today in Chicago and unable to comment but recently refused to outline his favoured library option.

He said: "I am not going to say anything that would jeopardise the library we all want to see'.

He added: "It will be a cabinet decision on the basis of sound advice.

"It will be funded sensibly and will not be a drain on the resources of this city and at the same time will be a modern resource of which we can all be proud."


just make your minds up you bunch of old farts!!

:doh:

Well i suppose after the last few months we've had we should have expected some bad news.

Remember the Orion site went through something similar and the work was halted for a whole year!!! i hope we don't have to wait that long, that would be so frustrating seeing the Rotunda as it is all ready for a facelift and nothing happening.

Yeh I wouldnt worry, like Woody and I have said its just a blip. from what I know theres a meeting next week with some contractors and all should be sorted with in the next month or so :cheers:

Hey Pirlo, I think we should all take that as a good sign - Paradise Forum just isnt the right place for a new major library, I think this is a little hint in favour of Eastside :)

I think realistically aswell, Central Library in a new park is alot more attractive then in the city centre. Only one way this bastard is going in my eyes - To the east :cheers:

Regards the new library maybe its not too bad a thing that there seems to be uncertainty with the Lib Dems/Conservative plans for the Library. It may just leave the back door open enough for the Eastside Library to make a comeback.

any chance that libary design could be changed it into office space??

Dee - I think you're needed on the Brum Development summary ;) :cheers:

Don't worry at the end of the month it will be sorted.

I'm partly waiting for the Egi focus on Birmingham which will be out a week on saturday and hopefully will give us some updated info on Birmingham development scene for also i have a couple of days off and i ain't got anything planned so it seems the perfect time to do it.

Who knows how many more towers we'll have by then :)

Don't worry at the end of the month it will be sorted.

I'm partly waiting for the Egi focus on Birmingham which will be out a week on saturday and hopefully will give us some updated info on Birmingham development scene for also i have a couple of days off and i ain't got anything planned so it seems the perfect time to do it.

Who knows how many more towers we'll have by then :)

Sounds good, I dont think were be seeing any more towers for a good month though. We have been to busy lately. The council planning department are going to have a well deserved rest ;)

Interesting news about the library, i had a feeling this was going to be said, i cannot see how building a library at paradise forum was going to be any cheaper than the eastside location.

Nice to see our council leader is at the heart of the action (fannying around in Chicago).

significantly scaling back on the capabilities of the proposed library would save a bob or two. Catch is, the Labourites say that the Eastside library would benefit from magical government grants because of its location, whereas elsewhere it wouldnt. Finding the funding - from whichever source - is obviosuly proving to be a bit of a bitch.

Wow, I cant believe how much our city has changed in just 5 years!
By 2010 it will be almost unrecognisable to people in 2000.

Brum's twin city in the United States is Chicago, and hopefully Councillor Whitby will be using his time there to drum up some American interest, both financial and architectural, for our city, and Eastside in particular. Chicago's Millennium Park is an accomplished open public space, and as Frank Gehry's work is represented in that city, it would be a wondrous thought if Mr Whitby might just be influenced by his work a tad perhaps?

Just wondering about something......the city centre is so high above sea level that (ignoring Arena Central) under CAA regulations no tower can be built above 130 ish metres. Where in Greater Bham is the lowest point above sea level.....eg is there anywhere in the West Mids we could get permission, again under CAA regulations, to build above 130 metres.

yes, it is supprising because areas of the blackcountry are only 60-80m above sea level, birmingham and birmingham city centre are located right on the top of a hill making things very irritating......

stourbridge could build a 182m tower with no objection from the CAA....though was all know that aint gona happen!

According to Aedas review April 2005 - Curzon Gateway is due for construction at the end of this year :banana: ... But do they even have any input to this tower? :dunno:

Curzon Gateway Tower

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/556CurzonGatewayTower_pic1.jpg

Just wondering about something......the city centre is so high above sea level that (ignoring Arena Central) under CAA regulations no tower can be built above 130 ish metres. Where in Greater Bham is the lowest point above sea level.....eg is there anywhere in the West Mids we could get permission, again under CAA regulations, to build above 130 metres.
Anywhere outside of the 15km radius of BHX. So Wolves could build as high as they like.

Wolverhampton....a skyline to die for.......nah!

Hey BC - whats the Aedas review? How reliable is it? I only ask because Curzon gateway tower is totally beyond the horizon as far as I knew, especially with this high court judgement pending in the case of curzon gateway and typhoo wharf.

I thought curzon gateway was halted by the courts. i read on here i think.

i thinks thats true

Hey BC - whats the Aedas review? How reliable is it? I only ask because Curzon gateway tower is totally beyond the horizon as far as I knew, especially with this high court judgement pending in the case of curzon gateway and typhoo wharf.

Pretty reliable. Its in very small print though so you have to really look at it :cheers:

http://www.aedas.com/2005_aedas_review.pdf

thanks for the link there.

'Expansion helps our standing in science' Jun 17 2005

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Expansion at Aston Science Park is strengthening Birmingham's role as a key 'Science City' in Europe, according to Coun Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council.

Paying his first visit to the Science Park since being appointed as the new chairman of Birmingham Technology Limited (BTL) - the science park's managing company - Coun Whitby said: "Technology and the knowledge-based economy is the way forward as we stride towards further diversification.

"And Aston Science Park, with its internationally-renowned reputation, is most definitely in the vanguard of such change."

Coun Whitby, who made a tour of the facility together with other members of the BTL board of directors, said visiting Aston Science Park at such a time was particularly relevant in view of his recent trip to Lyon - Birmingham's twin- city - where he had been keynote speaker at the annual dinner of the Lyon Economic Society and a guest at a major lighting exhibition.

"Birmingham and Lyon are ambitious, internationally-minded cities and both are in the middle of major regeneration programmes to develop the jobs of the future," he added.

"I look forward to exchanging ideas with Lyon's business community and being able to work more closely together in the future.

"In fact, I believe there are synergies between Lyon and the science park which could be explored."

This image is from the crown plaza hotel site, is it me or is the view screwed up somehow, I cannot get my head around the fact that according to that photo.. as you walk out of paradise forum towards centenary square baskerville house is on your left? with broadstreet on your right? am I going mad...

http://www.puffins-brixham.velnet.co.uk/nick/crownplaza.jpg

Is this better?
http://tinypic.com/65px6b

stupid trickery, was that pic taken in a mirror then?

A nice aerial of our new park

http://www.**************************/php-cgi/gallery/albums/Aerial-Images/DJB_0648.jpg

Here we Spain we had a documentary last night where a lot was filmed in Birmingham.There was some good skyline views and a bit of a tour of the city taking in Big AL,The Hyatt ect..

what was the documentry about?

Crown plaza are being a bit cheeky - that pic is blatently taken from the hyatt!

Believe it or not ,the documentary was about forged 100 dollar notes!It may have been a BBC production.It was dubbed into Spanish.

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/ELibrarySearchServlet?LIST=All&E_LIBRARY_END_USER_ACTION=10006

this is an intersting link, full of interesting stuff !!!

More developers need to bite the bullet and build speculatively!!

Encouraging Signs in Office Market
The Birmingham office market looks set to receive a boost, thanks to a growing number of inward investors actively seeking accommodation in the city centre.
According to CB Richard Ellis, Birmingham is attracting more and more professional businesses, such as solicitors and accountants, looking to relocate from other parts of the country or set up secondary operations in the city centre.
Other factors contributing to the increased number of significant office requirements include stable office rents, which have remained constant at £ 296 psm (£ 27.50 psf) and the recommendations put forward to the Government in the Lyons Review, which could see more than 20,000 civil servants moving out of the capital by 2010.
Martin Guest, a director in CB Richard Ellis’ office agency team, said: “All in all, 2004 was a year of consolidation in the Birmingham office occupier market, with little in the way of business expansion, no pre-lets and no significant lettings to inward investors.
That said, demand has been very encouraging among legal, financial and professional services companies, and with a number of Grade A refurbishments set for completion in the next 18 months Birmingham will be able to attract its fair share of inward investors.
The recommendations put forward in the Lyons Review are also very encouraging for the city’s office market and we can expect to see number of government departments and associated organisations setting up camp here in the near future.
Birmingham has already been earmarked by the Gambling Commission as its preferred city for the relocation of 200 jobs from London, creating an office requirement of up to 2,787 sq m (30,000 sq ft). Add to this another Government Department requirement for a further 4,645-5,574 sq m (50-60,000 sq ft), and you have just shy of 9,290 sq m (100,000 sq ft) of office space needed to accommodate those moving into the area.
The presence of such high profile organisations in the city will hopefully attract others to follow suit.”
But Mr Guest argues that whilst demand is high, the reality is that there is not enough Grade A space available to meet it at present.
“The amount of space available in Birmingham is now at its lowest point since the turn of the twentieth century,” he said.
“In the city centre, just 30,555 sq m (328,900 sq ft) of office accommodation is ready for occupation, compared with the ten year average of 39,102 sq m (420,000 sq ft). This represents a 20% drop from the previous year.”

There were meant to seveal towers here one over 20 storeys, but the local residents kicked off, so not sure if the towers got permission, but the site is starting !!

Work has commenced on the Tally Ho! site to prepare for the construction of the prestigious mixed-use development, opposite Edgbaston Cricket Ground.
The first phase of work is underway on the infrastructure and access to the nine-acre site to enable the next stage of development, which will see the construction of an impressive 41,000 sq m of office, residential, retail and leisure facilities.
Cordwell Property Group, who have been appointed as development partners by Calthorpe Estates, will manage the development of the mixed-use complex, which will provide a range of new facilities and amenities for the local area and residents.
Redrow Homes West Midlands Ltd are working with Calthorpe Estates to develop the residential scheme, which will supply 343 apartments and offer outstanding homes, designed by leading architects Ruddle Wilkinson.

Great news - Edgbaston CG needs some development opposite it. It's another one of those empty plots that has been there since the Ice Age.

well i know an 18 storey tower that was proposed for the site was refused PP but then again, im not sure this would have been the right place for it though!

City Living Revolution Reaches Another Landmark
June 20 2005

As another ambitious project comes to fruition, the driving force behind much of Birmingham’s city living revolution reveals that its redevelopment vision is far from complete.

This week saw the official ‘topping out’ ceremony at Crosby Homes (Special Projects) Ltd’s Southside development – a low-rise mixed-use scheme alongside the bustling Chinese Quarter and Arcadian Centre in Hurst Street, constructed by Shepherds Construction Ltd.

For Crosby, the ceremony marked yet another success story for the developer, which has delivered 11 prime city centre schemes in the last 10 years, beginning with its ground breaking Symphony Court scheme in Sheepcote Street in 1995.

Far from exhausting the city’s capacity for vibrant new projects, managing director Keith Pepperdine believes Crosby is entering a new and exciting development phase:

“The success of Southside has opened up a new field of opportunity,” said Mr Pepperdine. “Firstly it underlines the potential of the area and the attraction it offers for investors, as the scheme breaks new territory, opening up a new side to the city, so conveniently located within walking distance of the Bullring and Selfridges.

‘And Secondly, Southside reinforces the demand for good mixed-use schemes which combine quality residential accommodation with prime retail or commercial usage.”

Commercial

The commercial element of Southside comprising 20,000 sq ft divided into seven ground floor units on Hurst and Inge Street, was bought by local purchaser Company Developments (Finance) Ltd in November of last year, with several of the units finished and already let.

Mr Pepperdine continued: “Now we can look with renewed confidence to further projects in this area, with a scheme on Essex Street planned for later this year.”

This second substantial multi-million pound scheme is on land formerly owned by Property and General (Developments) Ltd. The one-acre site on the corner of Essex and Bromsgrove Street was acquired by Crosby through Debenham Tie Leung (DTZ) who acted on behalf of the owner.

The new development will replace the existing 1960’s former BT office block with a contemporary mixed-use scheme, comprising apartments set around a central courtyard with a water theme and prime commercial units.

“As a company we have been pivotal to the changing face of Birmingham,” added Mr Pepperdine. “Time and again - with schemes such as Symphony Court, Royal Arch apartments at The Mailbox, Liberty Place and the collaboration with John Rocha on The Orion Building - we have opened up new possibilities and discovered new markets for urban professionals, retailers and businesses seeking quality property in the heart of the city. With the imminent completion of Southside and its strong sales performance, we can now promise an exciting new era of activity in this part of the city.”

Frank Hanson, Shepherd construction director added:

"The timing of the ceremony marks a significant stage in the construction programme with the handover of 214 of the 461 apartments and the completion of the main structure. The project has brought many challenges, all of which have been met by the strong working relationship between Shepherd and Crosby Homes."

Constructed

Constructed in four phases around a central ‘new street’, Southside comprises 461 high quality studio, one and two-bedroom apartments. Prices start from just £110,000 for a studio apartment