Consultation is dead, big plans are deader | Pete Ashton – It seems the sad, neglected Curzon Street Station is to get a new lease of life as a high-speed rail link to London. No-one really knew about this until Gordon Brown came and pointed it out to us yesterday (literally, going by the above picture). Pete Ashton shows us how this will work in his neat little diagram:
Pete goes on to explains why, although this may be bad news for BCU, it may be a good thing for Digbeth (a Brummie Southwark?).
He also asks what’s happening to the planned Connaught Square development on Bradford Street/Rea Street, that has failed to materialise into anything more than a sorry pile of rubble. Carl has been keeping an eye on the Skyscrapercity forum thread about this and…er…no-one seems to know, really. The building site looks and acts like Digbeth’s very own Limbo.
I am most interested in hearing from anyone who is familiar with the above location. I am currently redeveloping the three victorian properties which form a substantial part of the main block where Rainbow pub is located. We are recreating old timber framed victorian shopfronts and would love to hear from anyone who has any history on this building. We need some old photos which we can display when the building re-opens as offices in a few months time.
I must say there seem to be some emerging common issues – Lighting, retention and reuse of historic buildings and Cash Points seem to be on most people’s list!
This morning myself and many other local types went along to the Digbeth Corridor Study Stakeholder Consultation meeting at The Bond, organised by Birmingham City Council’s City Centre Development Team. The Big City Plan’s Philip Singleton kicked off the proceedings, then we all boarded the Green Bus, on which a team from Atkins took us on a tour of Digbeth’s key features. Once we’d been gotten thinking we returned to The Bond, where we split into brainstorm groups covering Movement, Streets, Events, Development, Leisure & Environment, Creativity & Services.
Whilst there Atkins asked us to complete a Digbeth Consultation Questionnaire to help them with their study, and asked us to pass it onto anyone we thought might like to submit their ideas. Unfortunately it is not available online, so I’ve created a Google Form so you can complete it online if you like. I’ll forward the summary spreadsheet to Atkins, who I spoke to during the meeting and are aware of what I’m doing. You can comment on the dedicated Digbeth Consultation Questionnaire page I’ve created, so you can discuss your feelings about the questionnaire if you want to. Questionnaires must be submitted by mid-January (I’ll double check the exact date with Atkins, and be sure to close the form then).
“Essentially we’re trying to ‘rescue’ local people’s understandings of an area before it is redeveloped, just as rescue archaeologists go into an area to record archaeological traces which are threatened by new building,” says project leader Dr Phil Jones.
Phil Jones hopes the human data of photographs, recorded interviews and maps collected will ‘lead to more sensitive approaches to urban regeneration’ in the future. One can only hope.
I work for the Jewellery Quarter Regeneration Partnership, funded by Birmingham City Council, as Operations Director. I am supported by a small team and, before he left, Clive Dutton asked me to see if the lessons that we’ve learnt in the Jewellery Quarter and our delivery structure could be applied to Digbeth. Whilst this is an internal report, I will be recommending that its findings are publicised to organisations that I have consulted, not least as a matter of courtesy.
I replied asking what contribution he might want from DiG readers and he telephoned me and read out the following questions he’d like locals to answer. I did email him asking him to reply with his questions to make sure nothing was lost in translation but as yet he’s not responded, so here’s what he dictated to me over the phone:
What area do you see as being Digbeth? What do you feel Digbeth’s boundaries are?
Should there be a Digbeth brand with branded signage, etc. like the Jewellery Quarter? Andy suggested there could be Digbeth brand sub-sections (e.g. Irish Quarter, Custard Factory, etc.).
Is the a shared vision working within the Digbeth community? Do people want the same things for Digbeth?
What are the top three things you feel should be done for Digbeth?
Andy stressed that he is Birmingham born and bred and this study is not costing anything – it’s an informal report to get a ’snapshot’ of the area. Andy also said he does not have a great deal of time to dedicate to it, so if he does not get responses from people, he doesn’t really have the time to be chasing them. He told me that when he started he was given a list of 50 businesses to contact but has only had the time to contact about 10. So speak now or forever hold your peace, as it were.
Andy seemed unsure of what the implications of the study might be – he said it is unlikely to result in a Jewellery Quarter-type team for Digbeth given the costs.
In order to help Andy get an accurate snapshot of Digbeth, I’d urge everyone to comment on this Digbeth study and respond to his questions, either through the comments box below or emailing him on andy.munro@birmingham.gov.uk. I’ve emailed my local Councillor Yvonne Mosquito to try and get her involved in the study too.
The Stirrer – New Festival Street for Brum – Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture Martin Mullaney proposes that Digbeth High Street becomes Birmingham’s “Festival Street”, with regular road closures to host major arts events.
”Making Digbeth High Street into the City’s Festival Street would (a) regenerate both sides of the High Street (b) ensure that Digbeth becomes Birmingham cultural and creative quarter….the bars and shops are already in place, plus a road (Bradford Street) running parallel along which buses can run.”
Which is all very well, but I feel the need to ask the obvious – how will the council deal with noise complaints from local residents who find the festivals disruptive?
We got to watch a bit of telly during the meeting – Inside Out West Midlands discussed the Noise Abatement issues faced by The Rainbow and The Spotted Dog. The BBC reporters managed to get their hands on the elusive pre-development noise survey – which only looked at potential traffic noise issues and did not consider noise from local commercial businesses. This prompted Councillor Yvonne Mosquito’s response that there was clearly a mistake on behalf of the planners and a mistake was made by the council, in that checks that should have been done weren’t.
The planning application for a Backpacker’s Hostel on Cheapside has been approved (despite 54 objections) with conditions – but residents remain in the dark about what those conditions are. More worryingly, John Tighe raised concerns about the Birmingham City Council planning meeting where the proposal was discussed – each complainant present should have had 3 minutes each to speak but in the meeting all individual complainants there were lumped together into one 3 minute slot.
The next meeting will be on Monday 7th December at the Paragon Hotel.
Digbeth: Past, Present & Future :: Ikon Gallery – I know I’ve mentioned this before but I’m mentioning it again in a shameless act of self-promotion, as it seems I’m chairing the panel discussion due to take place after the screening of old found news footage. Speakers talking about what the future might hold for Digbeth include Philip Singleton, Assistant Director Planning & Regeneration, Birmingham City Council, Digbeth based architect Joe Holyoak and Dave Harte, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications at Birmingham City University.
It’s 6.30–8.30pm on 6th Oct at Ikon Eastside. Places are free but should be reserved by calling Ikon on 0121 248 0708.
I’ve always had a slightly romantic view of Digbeth, the part of the Birmingham forgotten by the developers, avoided by the corporations and not invaded by another Starbucks. But at the same time embraced and loved by artists, music lovers and a multitude of underground cultures; this I admit is a very bohemian outlook.
Friday night I was so pleased to experience another event that appeals to this side of me and my image of the area. Nicky got word of an event just as we thought the night out might be going sour, after a short walk down Green St a small group of people had gathered outside a warehouse door, smoking, drinking and being very friendly, they surrounded the entrance to what sounded like a party. Entering up the stairs the beat of the music got louder and then the stairway opened into an amazing warehouse.
Without all the fluff, what we have here is a Gallery showing street art, done by two artists known as Rome and Glen. There’s an amazing dolls house like installation in the middle of the room, which not only looks amazing but smells amazing (they use incense and flowers I believe). Also there to enjoy is an incredibly intricate piece that has so many small and interesting things going on in it that I could stand and study it for hours. Wonderful pieces of unconventional art hang on the walls, all of which I believe you can purchase for your own enjoyment.
The gallery on 22 Green St is apparently open for a week and is a must see, I certainly feel that we need to support these events, we don’t all need the council or a business to help us organise amazing events, we can do it ourselves and we certainly don’t need everything to be flattened, redeveloped and turned into another shiny Brindley Place.
Maybe just maybe some of us like Digbeth as it.
Thanks to everyone involved with the event at 22 Green St, it’s amazing and reminded me of what I love about the area, I cannot wait to see more in the future.
