Towering mistake as history repeats itself
DEAR Editor, It all sounded very exciting when it was announced there would be a ‘Games Village’ built to replace the old City University site at Perry Barr, with the units sold-off after the Games had gone.
So, what do we see so far? A disappointing array of monolithic, repetitive and utterly bland styles of buildings going up.
They are cramming in as many units into each block as possible, and the question must be asked is do people want to live in boxes with limited personal spaces anymore?
I know these were designed well before this Covid 19 era, but these, like so many other similar developments around the city, will do nothing to create a better, healthier environment.
I remember with some satisfaction as an architectural employee some years ago that it was required to use local materials and mirror the building styles around the area as instructed by the planners. Has this ethos gone out of the window now?
We now know the huge mistake it was in the sixties to knock down many fine old buildings, build ring roads and make cars the priority by forcing people underground in drab subways all around Birmingham’s centre.
The construction of tower blocks was seen as a solution to a housing shortage but these were later found to be damaging to a healthy lifestyle and many now have been demolished.
Thankfully, the subways have gone, but the tower block ethos is back in vogue.
Now it seems there is an endless succession of schemes to build as many generic, bland blocks of flats on each site that are permissible, many with very limited parking and no green spaces around them.
My final thoughts are echoed in the words of an old Cat Stevens’ song: ‘Where do the children play?
Kevin Grimes, Kingstanding, Birmingham