You can approach Montague Street from Great Barr Street in Digbeth. It's near the Birmingham Central Bus Garage of National Express West Midlands, and the Grand Union Canal (Digbeth Branch).

The whole artwork was painted in several weeks by Mr Murals (Daniel Russell-Ahern).

PEAKY BLINDERS WELCOME HOME THIS IS YOUR CITY BY ORDER OF DIGBETH LOC. STUDIOS

PEAKY BLINDERS Ada Shelby (Sophie Rundle) WELCOME HOME

Ada Shelby (Sophie Rundle) 

THIS IS YOUR Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) CITY BY ORDER 

Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy)

OF DIGBETH Alfie Solomons (Tom Hardy) LOC. STUDIOS

Alfie Solomons (Tom Hardy)

The full mural from right to left.

* Note they asked Mr Murals to repaint Ada as looking older. 

See also Jack Babington's photo blog.

Photography by Elliott Brown

Located at the former Goods Yard on Pershore Street, the student development will feature a stepped building design of four, 11, and 15-storeys.

The SAMA Invesmtents project will accommodate two public street-level retail units, with students set to benefit from a range of amenities.

Facilities will include a social lounge, TV room, gymnasium, workspaces, 64 secure cycle spaces, and a green roofed terrace on the fourth floor.

Public art, a mural or a digital screen, designed by Kelly Lui, is also set to adorn the lift core elevation and has been conditioned through the applications approval.

The scheme is part of a much wider redevelopment of The Arcadian Centre, with Sama now working with LCP, The Arcadian's owner, to help unlock the site.

The aim is to create “a true gateway to The Arcadian”, improving connectivity and contribute to the area’s ongoing transformation.

Pershore Street PBSA, images from Stride Treglown.

You can view the development on our map. Also, feel free to follow us on our socials: X & Instagram.

The third building at Kier Property’s Arena Central scheme will introduce a 10-storey featuring 280,863K SF of Grade A offices next to The University of Birmingham’s Exchange Building.

Designed as a modern interpretation of the Portland stone and granite palette of nearby listed buildings, planning consent was initially granted in 2021.

While the design principles remain unchanged, the building “has been updated to better suit the current market”.

5 Centenary Square will accommodate lower/ground floor café/retail unit and a 160-space cycle hub, a 12-car basement level, six lifts, and a top-floor terrace overlooking Centenary Square.

The building will also act as the northern gateway to the planned ‘Serpentine’ pedestrian route through to Holliday Street.

It is envisaged that around 1,385 workers could work at the site, whether through a single-let HQ, or up to four tenancy divisions.

With approval granted, the development is now subject to a S106 agreement that’ll see a £2.2m financial contribution for active travel connections within 2km of the site.

5 Centenary Square, images from Make Architects.

You can view the development on our map. Also, feel free to follow us on our socials: X & Instagram.

Blitzen at Grand Central Birmingham

Comet in the Piccadilly Arcade

Donner in the Great Western Arcade (now at the Christmas in Cathedral Square Craft Market)

Cupid in the Great Western Arcade

Vixen in Cass Art on Corporation Street

Rudolph inside of Selfridges

Dancer in The Mailbox

Dasher at Ice Skate Birmingham in Centenary Square

Prancer at Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market in Victoria Square

Photography by Elliott Brown

Backed by a £500M equity injection, SAMA seeks to redevelop an underutilised and largely empty office block, a site that was once home to Perry & Co., where pens, chains, and bicycles were all produced and sold worldwide.

Giving a respectful nod to its proud history through its name, Perryian Works proposes two towers of 41 & 48-storeys (161.5m), introducing 1,968 studio bed spaces (20-33 sqm).

With its facade comprising of monolithic aluminium panels, Perryian Works' accommodation would be served by a single central core, two fire-compliant staircases and four lifts. 

Complementing the beds would be a 134 sqm café, 5,281 sqm of student amenities, an initial 200 cycles, and eight small rooftop gardens.

Although amenities would largely be concentrated across the lower levels, there would be break levels introduced at floors 13, 27 & 41 across both towers.

Facilities include a mixture of lounges and study spaces, function rooms, a gym and studio, a leisure pool, a sauna, and a steam room.

The roofs of both towers each propose four small external garden spaces, further complemented by internal amenities and plant space.

To get to this point, the proposal has been through several pre-application iterations, at one point topping 65 storeys, but was reduced because of height requirements and restrictions imposed by the CAA.

The application is now in the public domain and can be viewed and commented on here.

Perryian Works, images from SAMA Investments, node, and Stride Treglown.

SMITH'S GARDEN: DEVELOPMENT MAP

Images from Stephen Giles

Smith's Garden CGIs: Goodstone Living.

Images from Stephen Giles. View the map of the site (with more info!) here.

SMITH'S GARDEN: DEVELOPMENT MAP

Images from Stephen Giles

Smith's Garden CGIs: Goodstone Living; drone image: Stephen Giles.

Island of Foam by Stephanie Lüning launched day four of the 2024 Birmingham Weekender programme. I found a spot near Selfridges on the upper blue balcony. And had to wait over half an hour before any foam was released. They also put various colours into it, asking kids "what's your favourite colour?". Was well worth the wait.

Was on the August Bank Holiday Monday 26th August 2024. The 12pm to 1pm session. But they started it before 12:30pm. 

Island of Foam by Stephanie Lüning invites audiences of all ages to play and move within a magical world of coloured foam, creating a sensory spectacle as the festival finale.

Outstanding artist Stephanie Lüning delves deep into the fascinating world of foam, unveiling a series of works that redefine the boundaries of art. Foam, often considered an everyday and overlooked material, is transformed by Lüning into a source of metaphysical insight. In Lüning’s works, foam is presented not only as a physical substance, but also as a carrier of a multitude of meanings. From urban landscapes to political movements and individual life stories, she skilfully interweaves the foam with complex themes to create a fascinating visual narrative.

Photography by Elliott Brown

For the full feature on Three Chamberlain Square go HERE

For the map of three Chamberlain Square go HERE

 See my YouTube video clip of The Shakespeare Express - video link Shakespeare Express - 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe flies through Solihull Station.

That was about 13:18 on Sunday 21st July 2024 at Solihull Station platform 2 (I checked Real Time Trains before I headed out).

A 15 minute wait for my train to Birmingham Moor Street (13:35). The Dorridge to Stourbridge Junction service. I got to Birmingham Moor Street and saw steam behind the West Midlands Railway 172004 I had just got off. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe was waiting at platform 1, as the WMR train to Stourbridge Junction had to go through the Snow Hill Tunnel first.

Once it had gone, was able to get a few photos of the steam locomotive at Birmingham Moor Street (I've previously photographed it at Birmingham Snow Hill and at the Tyseley Locomotive Works in the past).

Photography by Elliott Brown

Link to previous Shakespeare Express post:

Shakespeare Express 2022 and 2023

1. Great Western Arcade. Bobby by Jenny Leonard

2. Corporation Street. Groovy Bear-by by Caroline Daly

3. Grand Central. Luna & the Moon by Marnie Maurri

4. Piccadilly Arcade. Jester by Amanda Quellin

5. New Street (Victoria Square). Biodiversity Bear by Jodie Silverman

6. Mailbox Steps. We Are Bear-mingham by Ekaterina Sheath

7. John Bright Street. A Walk on the Wild Side by Rachel & Phillipa Corcutt

8. Station Street Steps (Birmingham New Street Station). Clarence the Climate Bear by Mary & Janice

9. Bullring (Rotunda Square). Mother Paw'd by Jessica Perrin

10. Selfridges. Spectrum by Christine Jopling

Photography by Elliott Brown

Birmingham, We're going on a Bear Hunt - Trail Map

Trail map created by Wild in Art and We're Going on a Bear Hunt in association with Central BID Birmingham

Friday 21st June 2024

With no sleep, we got the taxi to Birmingham Airport after 2am. The Ryanair check-in was self check-in with the hold luggage. Then up to security! No queues before the lifts. So when we got upstairs, the queues around security took around 40 minutes to clear before we reached Duty Free and the Departure Lounge. Our Ryanair flight to Santander Airport left shortly after 6am BST. For the Basque Country holiday (coach tours and walking trips around San Sebastian, Burgos, Bilbao, also Pamplona, and into France to Bayonne, and the La Rhune train, on one day). Mixed weather rain some days, sunshine others.

There is new West Midlands artwork near the gates, but found it hard to get without people in the way, so just at the time made an in camera panoramic.

After leaving the Departure Lounge for the Gate, it was sunrise (we left home in darkness in the taxi). Was TUI and KLM planes outside.

Heading to the gate, saw a Ryanair plane outside the window.

This was probably our flight to Santander.

After showing the boarding pass and passport to Ryanair staff (was a long queue, even for Non Priority), you head out down some stairs and outside, then heading to the rear door of the plane.

The morning sunrise from the plane window.

Here we are taking off with Ryanair Boeing 737 8200 over the City of Birmingham shortly after 6am BST.

In the distance is Birmingham City Centre.

Zooming in was a bit hard to focus, but could see the BT Tower and other landmarks as we headed up to the clouds.

The Library of Birmingham was the last thing I spotted before we left the Midlands.

The last major thing to see in Birmingham was an HS2 site at Washwood Heath.

Friday 28th June 2024

We left Bilbao in Spain in the coach before 6am CEST, to head back to Santander Airport. Raining again. The coach ride in the rain and darkness, we reach Santander Airport shortly after 7am CEST. Santander Airport is smaller and much quieter than Birmingham Airport, security didn't take as long to get through. The departures area only has one Duty Free shop and cafe. As I had to sit in the aisle seat, I couldn't get any window views from the Ryanair plane back to Birmingham. We landed just before 10:30am BST. Got this view of a Air France plane before heading to Arrivals, Passport Control and baggage claim.

By the time we left the airport with our luggage, it was just before 11am BST. The tent canopy things for the departure security queues were empty as we got a taxi back home.

Photography by Elliott Brown

Photos by Stephen Giles; CGIs from Broadway Malyan/ Gleeds/ Salhia.

For more on Beorma, follow our development map.

Affinity Living will introduce 266 one- and two-bed homes in a series of linked buildings of six to 23 storeys, one that also reactivates the canalside to cater to the demands of the Birmingham rental market.

The site will offer large living spaces with new hybrid ways of living and working for young professionals, complete with floor-to-ceiling glazing and fully integrated high-spec kitchens, in addition to a multitude of amenities.

The main amenity space will feature a selection of lounges and workspaces with floor-to-ceiling glazing looking out onto the site's new waterfront garden courtyard.

Wrapping around the site frontage, now taking shape, will be a gymnasium, complemented by an intimate roof terrace.

Drone photography from Stephen Giles; CGIs from Select Property Group.

GNM Developments is leading the project that will see the site redeveloped and renewed, leading to Gather & Soul becoming the UK's first energy-positive building, demonstrating a clear commitment to environmental sustainability.

The site's former factory and stable buildings will be demolished and replaced with a viable new G+6 and G+14 storey building with Building Integrated Photovoltaic (“BIPV”) facades, full street-level glazing, and new pedestrian access routes.

Toll House, a Gas Street heritage asset (below), will be retained and converted to accommodate four apartments.

Fostering a close-knit community, Gather & Soul will feature 820 sqm of internal amenities that'll include communal kitchens, lounges, dining, workspaces, a gym, games, and cinema rooms, along with spaces for 100 cycles.

560 sqm of external space will also be available to residents in the form of quaint green terraced gardens on the roofs of each building.

Gather & Soul, images from Broadway Malyan & Google Earth.

You can view the development on our map. Also, feel free to follow us on our socials: X & Instagram.

Using a digital product called Community Passport, the entire West Midlands region is being mapped in a neighbourhood led programme that empowers, equips and skills people in the shaping and promotion of the places they live in and grow up in.

With a regional focus and digital devices at every location where people meet or make their travel connections, projections are that views of our digital content will increase from between 60,000 and 100,000 to over 500,000 every month.  The support this will give to the region, economically and socially, will be huge. 

Every neighbourhood, by having access to a Community Passport and with the option of setting up its own Centre for Pride of Place, will be engaged and involved in creating and sharing their own content that can be used in the shaping and promotion of their neighbourhood.  

Here are the locations of the first Centres for Pride of Place we propose opening along the Metro line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

This will result, we predict, in a 5% increase in the volume of trips made by residents to experience what their region offers and will dramatically increase the number of visitors coming to the region.  The Pride of Place generated by engaging and involving community will result in an increase in businesses locating to the region, an increase in the value of real estate and greater investment in the West Midlands.

Birmingham's real estate is already mapped and featured

Take the link HERE to view our map of Birmingham's real estate

A platform dedicated to the coverage of all of Birmingham's real estate can be found at www.ItsyourBuild.com 

Developments that engage and involve the local community we will feature as Centres for Pride of Place.  By inviting the local community to follow the build, this rich locally created content we can process and map at It's your Build, a public expression of the pride people have in the buildings rising up around them. 

Birmingham's culture, and increasingly its hospitality, is mapped, featured and searchable

Take the link HERE to view our map of Birmingham's culture.  

Every neighbourhood will be mapped and showcased in this totally inclusive initiative.

HERE for example is Sparkbrook mapped and featured. 

In Sparkbrook, as with all the region's neighbourhoods, there is some wonderful culture and great community assets to introduce people to.  The maps are not just for people who live in the area to see what's on offer, but aimed at everyone, inside and outside the West Midlands. 

For example here's a wonderful open green space in Sparkbrook called Farm Park.  Take the link HERE for our coverage of Farm Park.

How many people knew that Sampson Lloyd, founder of Lloyds Bank. lived in Sparkbrook.  Now, more people do.  Go HERE for more images. 

There's amazing art on the outside of the Concord Youth Centre. 

There's some great history in the classic architecture across Sparkbrook.

There's a Peace Garden in memory of those who lost their lives at the Carlton Cinema. 

The rich culture of Ladypool Road can be mapped as more businesses get involved. 

By mapping and featuring major developments taking place such as this housing development by Morro Partnerships on Highgate Road, more people can be engaged and involved in the future of their neighbourhoods. 

All of this with a community that's engaged and involved because they are empowered and given the tools and the support they need to help shape and promote the places around them. 

Centres for Pride of Place to spring up all over the region

With more mapping of neighbourhoods, and with more Centres for Pride of Place opening up to engage and involve people in the rich culture around them, just think what this can bring to local communities, to cities and towns and to the region, socially and economically.

An Academy and A Society for Pride of Place

Within Community Passport is everything needed for gathering and analysing the rich insight that will come from all those engaged and involved in nurturing Pride of Place.

With both an Academy and a Society for Pride of Place, this wealth of valuable insight will be pooled, analysed and made available for all to use in the drive for more cohesive and inclusive communities, improved health and wellbeing and shared prosperity.

For more details, contact:

Jonathan

jonathan.bostock@yourplaceyourspace.com

07432 637322

Thank you to Paradise Birmingham for the invite on the 10th June 2024.

General views of Victoria Square over Birmingham Town Hall from the top of Three Chamberlain Square, including the Floozie in the Jacuzzi (River and Youth), the fountains and pools still flowing. Also scaffolding is up Waterloo House near Nandos.

Colmore Row as far as Newhall Street and Bennetts Hill has been completely relaid, with new bollards. The cones were still out at the time. I wonder if after this bit is done, if they will need to complete the rest between Victoria Square and Colmore Square past Cathedral Square (where the buses stop).

Waterloo Street is partially repaved, there is a lot left to do here near Adams and the Lost & Found. This also goes as far as Bennetts Hill.

New Street from Victoria Square to Rotunda Square is in urgent need of repaving. It was pedestrianised in the 1990s, and the bricks keep getting dug up and relaid. Plus some of the Metro paving near Corporation Street (dating to 2015-16) is all cracked and broken, and also needs fixing. This is all due to cars, vans and lorries driving up and down (deliveries, police etc).

Photography by Elliott Brown

Views of Chamberlain Square from Three Chamberlain Square

To the left is Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and Birmingham Council House. Plus the Council House extension, with 103 Colmore Row and the BT Tower behind.

Chamberlain Memorial below. The pair of pools look a bit dirty from up here.

Panoramic including Chamberlain Square and Victoria Square and beyond.

Birmingham Town Hall from above.

Two Chamberlain Square is next to Three Chamberlain Square. And One Chamberlain Square is behind.

Photography by Elliott Brown

Thank you to Paradise Birmingham for the invite! Go here for their Topping Out blog.

More photos in the Sky High Birmingham gallery. Includes views from other sides of Three Chamberlain Square.

The Community Village is an eco-friendly community of 83 homes with 50% affordability in a design exemplified by its stepped features, providing both private and communal terraces for lush vegetation to flourish throughout the structure.

Golden Bricks Estate Ltd. today gained consent to redevelop the site with a new six-storey building, comprising 26 one-, 41 two-, and 16 three-bedroom apartments.

Designed by Venturi Architects, The Community Village will be complemented by a range of shared and private spaces, including terraces, courtyards, a vegetable garden at level 1, terraces at 2–5, and a rooftop communal terrace for all.

There will also be around 100 bicycle spaces in addition to a basement for 58 vehicle spaces.

The Community Village was unaminously approved by 11 votes to zero, subject to a S106 legal agreement to secure affordable housing provisions.

The Community Village, images from Venturi Architects.

You can view the development on our map. Also, feel free to follow us on our socials: X & Instagram.

The vacant former Birmingham wholesale markets will now be crafted into a buzzing new residential, leisure, and entertainment district.

Lendlease’s £1.9bn hybrid scheme, which includes full detailed elements alongside outline future plans, is being worked on in collaboration with Birmingham City Council.

The 42-acre site will see 3,500 new homes, public squares and green spaces, new transit routes, c. 1M SF of offices with restaurants, a music venue, an art gallery, a hotel, artists’ spaces, and a primary school/creche.

Plans were due to be approved last month, but the application was deferred after campaigners and councillors critiqued the size of the scheme’s open spaces.

Lendlease has since committed to increasing the minimum size of a future Smithfield Park (below) by 23% to 0.8 hectares. However, this is still below the council’s guidelines for new resi schemes, which state that 2 hectares of open space should be provided for every 1,000 residents.

A spokesperson for Lendlease said: “The council’s policy for green space cannot be met in this location, and that’s also been the case with other major schemes coming forward in the heart of Birmingham. We’ve aligned with national guidance that prioritises the most efficient use of brownfield land in urban locations. Our revised plans include a 23% increase in the minimum area for Smithfield Park.”

Manor Square, Smithfield’s main public space, remains the same, with chiefs deciding it to be sufficient to host large-scale events of up to 6,900–7000 people.

PHASE ONE

A new market will be introduced to the north of the site and will be split into two buildings: Indoor market; Dining Hall; and the Open and Rag Market.

In front of the market will be Manor Square, a public square set to sit above the buried remains of the de Birmingham family manor house and moat.

It will be celebrated as “the birthplace of the city" and will be able to host large-scale events for up to 7,000 people.

A new commercial office building (G+11 floors) with a square-facing terrace and street-level frontages.

An Energy Centre will be introduced to Dean Street, allowing for easy connection to the Birmingham District Energy Circuit (BDEC), a city-wide district heating strategy.



'Smithfield Gardens' will become the site’s first neighbourhood, accommodating 429 (1-3 bed) homes over builds of seven to 15 storeys, with a garden, community room, lounges, play areas, and ten flexible commercial units.

It will front onto Central Boulevard, a major transport spine that will open the entire site - Meriden Street to Sherlock Street - and connect surrounding future neighbourhoods.

All of this will be complemented by 16,491-sqm of new public realm, tying together Southside, Digbeth, and the city centre at the earliest opportunity.

With these hybrid full & outline plans now approved, a legal agreement will now need to be agreed to secure the following:

• 10.87% on-site affordable housing across the masterplan, rising to a potential 20% should grant funding be secured
• An intermittent viability review throughout the delivery of the development
• Securing the architect of individual plots through to completion of that plot
• Provision for a primary school (anticipated to be 2 Forms of Entry)
• Public spaces: Allow for the inspection of public spaces by the council for agreement & for spaces to be maintained as publicly accessible

Outline consent was also granted for the remaining zones, including Smithfield Park, with the wider site earmarked for more residential, workspaces, community hubs, a library, and a primary school. Watch our socials and map for more news!

Birmingham Smithfield, images from Lendlease and Haworth Tompkins, dRMM, Intervention Architecture, Minesh Patel Architects and RCKa.

Photography by Daniel Sturley.

Photography by Stephen Giles.

Photography by Elliott Brown.

Photography by Jack Babington.

And how it'll look when completed: image from Paradise Birmingham.

A significant retrofit to a heritage gem along with a 14-storey student infill building are planned at 34 Horse Fair.

The White Lion is a development from Scarlet's (Properties) Ltd. and has been designed by Glancy Nicholls Architects. The team seeks to introduce 182 ensuite student studio bedspaces into the emerging cluster.

A 14-storey infill block would be built behind The White Lion Public House, a Grade II-listed late-19th-century building that will be retained and retrofitted into the development.

The rejuvenated building will offer student amenities and ancillary staff facilities, including a welcoming new entrance and reception and a basement cinema room.

Attached to the building's rear, which would see modern additions removed to facilitate it, would be a 14-storey red brick building containing ground-floor amenities, 86 cycles, and studio bedrooms (14 per floor).

Its rooftop would accommodate air-source heat pumps, a generator, solar panels, and lift overruns.

LUNA Students, part of Torsion Developments, is on board to operate the building, with amenities set to feature a range of lounges, laundry & post rooms, staff showers, offices, and an external courtyard.

The application can be viewed and commented on here. The application number is: 2024/02669/PA.

The White Lion, images from Glancy Nicholls Architects.

You can view the development on our map. Also, feel free to follow us on our socials: X & Instagram.

A significant retrofit and extension are planned for the 1968-built Maple House at 150 Corporation Street.

Set within a conservation area, plans will introduce 383 ensuite student studios and clusters to the site, while the building’s structure will be reused and extended upwards.

A five-storey increase, taking Maple House up to 10 storeys tall, will see the building incorporate a green roof and PV panels, backed up by a high-quality new modern facade.

The facade will be made up of distinctive terracotta fins with bronze aluminium and glazing.

A reconfigured ground floor will see Tesco retained & new frontages introduced, including study areas, lounges, an eating area, a games room, and a gymnasium.

The building will ultimately introduce 207 ensuite studios & 176 six-, seven-, & 10-bed clusters, along with 164 bicycle spaces within two-tier cycle racks and a retained basement car park.

These plans are being brought forward by 'Linden Hill - Capital Assets - SPW Ltd' following an extensive pre-application process, with designs from ECE Westworks.

Maple House, images from ECE Westworks and Google Street Maps.

You can view the development on our map. Also, feel free to follow us on our socials: X & Instagram.