City history may be lost to another ‘bland mass’
Council heritage group chief slams plan to destroy 1960s icon
THE controversial redevelopment plans of Birmingham’s iconic Ringway Centre will bring ‘another bland but overbearing mass’ to the city centre, a councillor has claimed.
Cllr Philip Davis (Lab), chair of the council’s heritage strategy group, is the latest to condemn proposals for Smallbrook Queensway which will ‘wipe out a piece of Birmingham’s history’ if delivered.
In a letter to the city’s planning committee, Cllr Davis urged them to block the plans for almost 2,000 new flats.
Birmingham City Council received an open letter last week from heritage group Brutiful Birmingham which called for the conservation and adaption of the sweeping 1960s landmark designed by the Rotunda architect James Roberts.
The historic Ringway Centre is a defining piece of Brutalist architecture in the city, but developers want to replace it with three giant buildings with around 1,750 flats, a spa, cinema, gym and nightclub.
The towers will be made up of mostly one, two and three-bedroom apartments and will add the numerous other tower blocks crammed with flats popping up all over the city.
Cllr Davis is the chair of the council’s heritage strategy group which aims to preserve historically significant buildings and spaces within the city.
He told members blocking this application from developers Commercial Estates Group was an ‘opportunity to make a difference’.
In his letter, he wrote: “You do not have to favour a particular type of architecture to recognise that these 1960s buildings represent a significant period in the post-war
transformation of Birmingham (for good or ill).
“Where re-use is possible – as it is here – retention of the character of a historically significant building should be pursued.
“The proposed development scheme fails to do this. It will add
another bland but overbearing mass to the city centre while wiping out a piece of Birmingham’s history.
“As a council member charged with keeping a watching brief on built heritage, I fully support the open letter recently circulated
to you. Signed by a distinguished list of organisations and individuals with great collective expertise on architecture and heritage, it offers a constructive alternative to the destructiveness of the developer’s plans.”
The open letter, published in last week’s Post, was signed by 31 key figures in heritage and architecture from Birmingham including historian Professor Carl Chinn, and Twentieth Century Society director Catherine Croft.
Cllr Davis continued: “I urge you to block the current proposals to give time for a re-think. If we as councillors are serious about protecting both city heritage and tackling the climate emergency, we must act.
“Blocking the destruction and over-development of Smallbrook Ringway is your opportunity to make a difference. I urge you to take it.”
These 1960s buildings represent a significant period in the post-war transformation of Birmingham. Cllr Philip Davis