Birmingham’s Ringway Centre, a 1960s brutalist building on Smallbrook Queensway, is due to be demolished and replaced with apartment blocks.
Councillors narrowly voted in favour of downing the building yesterday (Thursday, September 28) while dozens of protesters stood outside the council house.
There has been a campaign to save the building for several months. Built in 1962, it is considered a significant emblem of Birmingham’s post-war history and houses the famous Brummie nightclub Snobs – which will have to find a new venue.
Following the decision, preservation charity Twentieth Century Society said it was ‘another devastating assault on the city’s postwar heritage and a failure of imagination to not renew and repurpose this landmark building’.
Oli Marshall, the society’s campaign manager added: ‘It’s especially frustrating because Birmingham has such an incredibly rich postwar heritage, almost greater than any other city in the UK, and so much of it has been lost and is continuing to be lost.
‘The mood in the country is changing against demolition and against this disposable building culture, and we need to be repurposing what we already have. It is completely at odds with the council’s commitment to go zero-carbon by 2030.’
Others argue that the site is an eyesore. Jeffrey Yap, joint chair of the Birmingham Chinese festival committee, said in the meeting: ‘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.'
‘My community is embracing this vision for Birmingham and we want to see the concrete barrier between the city centre taken down.’
For those who have grown attached to the building, all hope may not be lost just yet. Following the meeting, campaigner Mary Keating told reporters: 'The fight is not over, we’re looking at ways we can question this decision.'
Did you see that this major UK airport is getting a dazzling glow-up?
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.