Victorian philosophy of diversity still holds true
human enterprise is allowed to flourish freely within a spatial framework that is flexible and affordable, and responsive to change. New buildings mostly do not do this well.
It is perverse that the city council should be threatening the future of the enterprising tenants of Montgomery Street. It should instead be celebrating and supporting them. They are the essence of the Birmingham economy, and collectively they contribute to the quality of life in the city.
Business is thriving there, but the place itself is neglected by its landlords (despite the collection of service charges), and is looking shabby. The canal arm is overgrown and inaccessible, the boundary fence to the Grand Union is dangerously derelict. Broken windows go unmended.
Alex McDonagh suggested to me that the co-op might organise an open day. This is a very good idea. The red brick municipal depot buildings on the street are very attractive, but they give no clue to the passer-by about the mixture of activities which lie behind. There is nothing of what the urban design theorist Kevin Lynch termed “transparency” – the ability to be in a public street and understand what is happening next to you inside the buildings.
I hope there will be an open day in the new year. It would be good if city councillors went to see for themselves what economic richness the council has generated through the provision of affordable workspaces, and were encouraged to allow the tenants of Montgomery Street Business Centre to continue to prosper.
Joe Holyoak is a Birminghambased architect and urban designer