Written by Nicky Getgood on Monday, August 2nd, 2010 ( 5 responses )
Tags: Al Kawthar Academy, anna blackaby, Award Developments, BDO Stoy Hayward, Birmingham City Council, Chauhdry Rashid, Concept Development Solutions, fire, Help Me Investigate, moseley road, planning, Tahir Ali, west midlands police, yvonne mosquito
102 Moseley Rd
When I posted West Midlands Police’s statement about the recent fire in a property on Moseley Road, in which two people sadly died, both Barnard and Yasmin commented that the old building, along with a few houses next to it, had been empty for a number of years.
I took a walk over there. The house that caught fire is next to Al Kawthar Academy at 110-114 Moseley Road and just opposite Highgate Park. The house numbers are kind of erratic, but it seems to be part of 106/Flynn House, 102 and 98, all of which are empty and boarded up. According to the Land Registry, these Grade II listed properties are owned by Concept Development Solutions, who Anna Blackaby tells me went bust in 2009. On a post just outside the property is an application for planning permission:
Application to replace an extant planning permission 2007/00830/PA in order to extend the time limit for implementation.
This will effectively leave another three years to complete this development:
Refurbishment of 3 listed buildings and the redevelopment of the rear properties to form a 50 bed care home (C2 use) and 43 retirement apartments (C3 use), provision of basement level car park and associated works.
98 Moseley Rd
This application, which apparently had no objections, went to a Birmingham City Council committee meeting on 22nd July and a decision should be reached by 6th August.
Rubbish outside 98 Moseley Rd
All the buildings are boarded up with sitex and are in a pretty sorry state – especially no. 98, which has a front drive covered in rubbish and empty bottles and a letter about a posession claim by Concept Development Solutions against ‘Persons Unknown’ on the front door.
Letter on door of 98 Moseley Rd
Next door to 98 is no. 94, which is owned by Award Developments Ltd of Sparkhill and is boarded up by plywood. Getting into it looks like it could be pretty easy.
94 Moseley Rd
To the left of this is no. 90 which, thankfully, does seem to be showing signs of life.
90 Moseley Rd
So as things stand, it looks like this row of four Grade II listed properties on Moseley Road, which have been out of action for quite some time, may stay that way for a while longer. I’ve started a query on Help Me Investigate about this, to try and get some advice on finding out when development might start on the buildings. I’ve also emailed local councillors Tahir Ali, Chauhdry Rashid and Yvonne Mosquito and Concept Development Solutions’ administrators BDO Stoy Hayward about the issue.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 ( 4 responses )
Tags: bbc, Birmingham Post, Concept Development Solutions, fire, moseley road, moseleyrd, the stirrer, west midlands police
102 Moseley Rd in 2008, from Barnard on The Stirrer
As has been well documented in local and national media, there was an ‘incredibly severe fire’ in a disused care home on Moseley Road yesterday morning, in which two people died and another two were injured. Below is an unedited press release and appeal for information sent to me by West Midlands Police. There is also a discussion around the incident on The Stirrer Forum.
FOR RELEASE: WEST Midlands Police and the fire service continue to investigate the cause of a major fire at a disused care home.
The unexplained blaze which claimed the lives of two people happened in the early hours of yesterday morning (Tuesday 20 July) on Mosley Road, Highgate.
Two men escaped the building which officers now know was used by rough sleepers.
One of the survivors, a 23-year-old man, remains in a stable condition in hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and minor burns.
The second, a 48-year-old man, also attended hospital and was discharged the same day.
The two people whose remains were found are yet to be identified.
Mosley Road itself remains closed as structural engineers from the city council assess the site.
Chief Inspector Sean Russell, from Birmingham Central police station said: “Given the severity of the fire, the investigation is likely to take some considerable time.
“We continue to keep an open mind as to the cause of this unexplained fire and urge anyone with any information about the people who used the building or the incident itself to contact us.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Birmingham Central police station or the national charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Friday, March 26th, 2010 ( 2 responses )
Tags: Cheapside, D&P textile, fire
Seems the D&P Textiles warehouse on Cheapside is back in business after the big fire in February. The left-hand section of the factory, where the roof has collapsed, is still cordoned off but the main body of the building is showing signs of life once more, with workers busily sorting through clothes. The teddy bears keep their beady eyes on them to make sure there’s no slacking off.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Monday, February 1st, 2010 ( Start discussion )
Tags: bbc, birmingham mail, Birmingham Post, Cheapside, D&P textile, digpuss, express and star, fire, rea street
I took a stroll down Cheapside today to take a look at what was left of the D&P Textiles warehouse after the massive fire yesterday. As you can see from the photos, quite a bit of damage has been done – the roof of the storage area has completely gone.
One of the guys clearing up said, “It’s made a lot of mess. But it’s made the news, it’s made this area famous.” Although I’d like to think Digbeth can be famous for a bit more than a fire, he’s not wrong:
- BBC News reported on the ‘suspicious’ nature of the fire and the building’s asbestos roof, which apparently ‘poses no risk to the public’. Good to know.
- The Birmingham Post quoted a lot of numbers – ’45 firemen tackled the blaze…ten engines, three main jets and a hydraulic platform had been used to douse the fire.’
- The Express and Star disagreed with the Birmingham Post and said there were 60 firemen. They’ve got a picture of three of them squirting hosepipes at the blaze.
- The Birmingham Mail predicted Monday morning ‘commuter misery’ due to resulting road closures, which I was surprised by as the Bradford Street entrance to Rea Street was open by the end of Sunday and Cheapside is not a major route road. Did anyone experience any problems this morning?
According to an update report on BBC News today, Managing Director of D&P Textiles Phil King has promised the factory will reopen soon, and ‘he hoped his workforce of 35 women would be back at their machines within the next couple of weeks.’ Let’s hope the mammouth clean-up operation he faces goes as smoothly as possible.
Thank God the only casualties were clothes. However, I did manage to find one surviving item – a lone piece red and gold ribbon. This now has a new home in the DiGpuss Shop of found items.
