Birmingham City Council give go ahead to demolish Smallbrook Queensway The Ringway Centre - campaigners react

Save the Smallbrook Queensway Ringway Centre campaigners have shared their frustration and concern after Birmingham City Council’s planning committee decided to demolish the landmark building.

The planning committee at the Birmingham City Council narrowly approved plans to flatten the city centre site on Thursday (September 28) to make way for 1,750 flats. The  plans were passed by the city council planning committee in a vote of seven to six in favour of the development.

Campaigners had previously shared a counter-proposal with the planning committee to retrofit the building instead of flattening it.

Located in Birmingham city centre, the 1962 Brutalist landmark will make way for three new buildings reaching 56 storeys - which have been designed by the architecture company Corstorphine + Wright for developer Commercial Estates Group. The plans had received criticism with more than a hundred objections from residents’ associations, ward members, MPs and heritage groups.

Cllrs Colin Green (Lib Dems, Sheldon), David Barrie (Conservative, Sutton Walmley and Minworth) and planning chair Martin Brooks (Labour, Harborne) were against the apartment block plans going ahead, citing issues surrounding the lack of three-bed properties while also damaging Birmingham’s heritage.

Campaigners react to decision to demolish Smallbrook Queensway

Campaigners against the plan to demolish the iconic building include, Zero Carbon House’s John Christophers, the Twentieth Century Society, Brutiful Birmingham, and Birmingham Climate Justice Coalition.

In a final plea to Birmingham’s planning committee, city architect John Christophers, on behalf of the ‘Save The Ringway Centre’ group, said: “We care about the future of this city and this application must be refused for our heritage, our homes and climate. Its iconic, sweeping curves embody the confidence of this city, the centre of the motor industry in 1962. The 20th Century Society has it at the top of its at-risk list, nationally.

“Also, the proposed flats are nearly all one and two-bed but half of Birmingham’s needs is for three and four-bed. The public benefit on housing is not substantial, it is slight. As for climate, this mammoth demolition and construction project would release many more tons of carbon into our atmosphere right now. Put simply, the greenest building is the one that already exists.

“In conclusion, the public, heritage bodies, commentators and 31 eminent signatories have condemned these proposals. Mr chair, you have both the legal right and duty to reject these deeply-flawed plans. It is surely the wrong scheme at the wrong time and it is certainly in the wrong place.”

Mary Keating of Brutiful Birmingham told BirminghamWorld: “Inevitably we are very disappointed. We’ve spent 9 months telling the city and councillors what can be done differently.

“We produced a counter-proposal and we now learn that some of the planning committee didn’t even see that. So we worry that this decision is based on incomplete information. Overall we felt the quality of debate was disappointing. People’s personal dislike of concrete outweighed national heritage bodies saying this building is important.

“The whole debate about carbon and climate - it was like it didn’t exist in this city at all, that it isn’t relevant to how decisions are made in this city. And we know this [proposal] is going to place a huge carbon bomb in the middle of the city. The fight is not over, we’re looking at ways we can question this decision.”

Birmingham Climate Justice Coalition’s John Cooper said: “To me it just shows that they’re not serious about the climate crisis. It’s that question of whether Birmingham is committed to its pledge to reach Net Zero by 2030. To me their refusal to retrofit the Ringway Centre says they’re not.”

Arlene Adams, a member of the public who supports the Save the Ringway Centre campaign, said: “They’re not recognising the heritage of that time. I think they’re going to regret that in future.

“They don’t seem to appreciate Brutalist architecture. It’s like we are back to the 70s again when they knocked down the Victorian  architecture because it wasn’t ‘in’ at the time.”

However, not everyone was averse to the new development. Joint chair of the Birmingham Chinese Festival committee Geoffrey Yap spoke in favour of the demolition.

He said: “When I see the Ringway Centre I see a symbol of Birmingham, which was a car-dominated city. We no longer want this. In 2023, the city will be very different. It’s not super-diverse and we need to be safer, greener and easier to move around. My community is embracing this vision for Birmingham and we want to see the concrete barrier between the city centre taken down.

“This proposal will make Southside and Chinatown part of the city centre again. People will be able to safely walk to us day and night and families will be able to live in and support our businesses and our city’s economy. As a proud adopted Brummie of over 50 years, I want our city to look forward and not back and to have a legacy of change.”

Cllr Jack Deakin (Labour, Allens Cross) said: “This site at the moment is quite architecturally ugly. It’s unsustainable for living or office use and I think the site has a really fantastic offer for those needing or wanting to live near a central public transport network or in the city centre.”

Cllr Lee Marsham (Labour, Nechells), said: “I’ve never had much love for the Ringway, it improved once the [Commonwealth] Games wrap was added, however, I get that some people love Brutalism and I note that Historic England has no objection.

“It builds homes in a central location and opens up access to Southside, rather than using those horrible urine-smelling stairs next to the old Debenhams so, in balance, this is worthwhile.”

James Shimwell, head of residential development at CEG, who has worked on bringing this city centre development to life, said: “We are delighted with today’s decision to approve the redevelopment of the Smallbrook Queensway buildings as it allows us to deliver 1,750 new homes on Birmingham’s best-connected brownfield site.

“Our proposals will transform the gateway to Southside – creating safer public places and drastically improving the pedestrian links between New Street station, Digbeth and Smithfield. New public spaces will revitalise the area, attracting new visitors and boosting local businesses.

“Over the last decade, we have managed an investment of over £20 million into Birmingham, transforming our Alpha Tower and Tricorn House buildings and creating the highest quality business communities. We look forward to delivering another exemplary, innovative and sustainable development that will prove to be a catalyst for the wider regeneration of the area.”