Fantasy Birmingham & etc

[DBadger]

But Snow Hill is a through station with important through lines. Plus they've just kinda built the metro viaduct over it too.

[djay]

yeah metro bridge ia a little confusing but as i said... this is the plan.

[BlackCountryAl]

Hi all, been lurking around skyscrapercity for a while so I thought I’d give some input.

My idea is for the area around Bullring and New Street Station, it involves demolishing the exchange building, Odeon, the apartments next to the rotunda, all of big top (including the building to the right of the Britannia hotel) and the Pavillions.

Firstly, I’d reconstruct the corner of new street station to match the rest of the station, maybe with the addition of another eye. This would allow for the removal of the link bridge as there is now access to the station where the Odeon once was. Personally I would keep the link from Smallbrook Queensway to Stephenson Street and have a new oval shaped tourist information centre below the new eye to replace the one on New Street, with floor to ceiling glass walls like we have already seen on Stephenson Street. With the removal of the exchange building, the kink in the tram line on Stephenson Street can be realigned (making an easier turn for the trams) and an interchange created to connect the HS2, Curzon Street line to line 1. There would be steps like those in Chamberlain Square to fix the change in elevation between New Street and Stephenson Street.

I would then dismantle the Marks and Spencer building and relocate it to where big top was facing the High Street, with a bit of reconfiguration to remove bricks from the lower façade that is currently on Carrs Lane to form additional shop windows (using these to make alterations to the corner of the building currently on the High Street to match the rest of the building). I would also dismantle King Edwards House and move that next to Marks and Spencer, facing New Street. (Speaking of relocating buildings, I think Birmingham should have their own version of the Black Country Museum for any buildings blocking regeneration plans that may require demolishing, maybe in Perry Barr once BCU has moved to Eastside). This would leave a gap between the Britannia hotel and Kind Edward’s House to provide a seamless, open link between the Arcadian and New Street. The area behind the M&S building and King Edwards House will contain retail units on the ground floor and offices above with pedestrian access around all sides of the building. If possible, given enough room, I would relocate the Waterstones building to link to the Britannia hotel, although I do think this will look better between two shorter buildings as it is now.

Along New Street from the shop fronts to the void outside New Street Station would be the pedestrian walkway that is already present, followed by the tramline that was previously mentioned (this itself set between rows of trees similar to those that tracks run either side of in Piccadilly gardens, Manchester), and finally futuristic glass pods (coffee shops etc) and seating areas outside the void and the station themselves.

The Bullring will be extended and linked directly to the building that replaces the Pavillions. This extension will have its own metro station below, similar to that of the Piccadilly Metrolink stop which is in the undercroft below the rail platforms. The tram line will then exit onto Moor Street Queensway.
It is probably easier to show an image of this than explain it but I hope you got the idea.

It's a lot of money and a bit complex so i can never see something like this happening but in my opinion it would really improve the image of the area and bring more visitors out of the Bullring and down new street and the surrounding areas.

[DBadger]

Latest idea for Wolverhampton.

- Make Cleveland Street a continuation of Dudley Street. Do this by demolishing a section of the Wulfrun Centre (extending it the other end to make up for it, with new ramps for the car park).
- Create several large, big box stores, which are desperately needed.
- Intersperse these with small units for independents, including two arcadey streets.
- New anchors: larger Primark, larger Marks & Spencer, Matalan, Debenhams.
- Pedestrianise Cleveland Street.