Estelle Dehon KC is acting for Brutiful Birmingham, Birmingham Modernist Society, The Twentieth Century Society and Birmingham’s zero carbon house, who together make up the Save Smallbrook campaign group.

Depending on the outcome of our initial work, we will be launching a crowdfunding campaign to pay her fees.

Why this is happening

In September 2023, Birmingham City Council’s planning committee voted by a one-vote margin to raze the landmark Ringway Centre – a significant example of post-war commercial modernism – in favour of allowing three tower blocks, up to 54 storeys high, to be built on the Smallbrook site. See Full planning application REF 2022/08496/PA

Why this matters – climate change

It’s a move that flies in the face of the city’s commitment to play a leading role in tackling climate change and becoming a net zero carbon city. The carbon emitted through adapting the Ringway Centre to make it into an energy-efficient building (retrofitting) is a fraction of the carbon emitted through demolition and starting again.

We are concerned that insufficient weight has been given to the environmental impact of the planning committee’s decision and have suggested a more eco-friendly form of development. See the Counter proposal for Smallbrook Ringway.

By the developers’ admission, 187,219,000 kg of CO2 would be generated with these tower blocks, which is the same carbon emissions as an average UK car driving the whole way around the world 33,000 times. In our counter proposal, we could create 450 homes for a tiny percentage of that.

Why this matters – Birmingham’s heritage

We are also concerned by the seeming lack of regard for the city’s architectural heritage. The Ringway Centre, which has been described as the Regent Street of Birmingham due to its length and sweeping curve, was designed by Rotunda architect James Roberts (1962).  James Roberts was Birmingham-born and trained at Birmingham School of Art.

His work demonstrates a particular take on Birmingham Modernism and has been described as “frivolous Brutalism”. It has also been categorised as carchitecture as the repetition of the concrete relief and the bullhorn uplighters are designed to be seen from a moving car. The building is locally listed because of its important contribution to the streetscape. The buildings on either side of Smallbrook form the most intact example of post-war design in the city.

Supporters

Our campaign to Save Smallbrook has significant supporters ranging from Brummie historian Carl Chinn to Guardian architecture correspondent Oliver Wainwright to Libby Harris of Birmingham Friends of the Earth. Architects, including Stirling-prize winners Haworth Tompkins, Caruso St John and Niall McLaughlin have also pledged their support.

To see the full list of architects and climate change campaigners who are backing our campaign, see the signatories of the Open Letter to Councillor Ian Ward and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.

How you can help

Depending on the outcome of our initial actions, we will be asking our supporters for funds to take our campaign to the next stage.

Please email us if you would like to go on our campaign mailing list.

We will be using social media to spread the word so if you could retweet and repost that would be very helpful.

• Twitter: @BrutifulBrum 
•  Facebook: Brutiful Birmingham
• Instagram: @birminghammodernist 

Our hashtag for our campaign is #savesmallbrook. Please use it.

Media coverage

There has been considerable media coverage of the campaign to Save Smallbrook. Here is a selection.

• Building Design: While Sheffield embraces its rich heritage, Birmingham once again shoots itself in the foot
• The Guardian: ‘If the Ringway goes, I’m leaving’ – the fight to save Birmingham’s brutiful masterpieces
• Birmingham Post: Democracy demolished as objections hit a brick wall (JPEG)
• Private Eye: Nooks and Corners (JPEG)
• Twentieth Century Society   
• Architects Journal 
• Building Design
• Birmingham Live: Battle over brutalist buildings in Birmingham as open letter sent to council
• Birmingham Live: Ringway Centre development will bring ‘bland and overbearing mass’ to Birmingham city centre

It’s viewable by going to Birmingham City Council’s planning application portal. Add the reference 2022/08496/PA; click on the application number; click on View Associated Documents; select Whole Life Carbon Assessment.

Supporters can help the campaign by writing a letter of objection about matters raised in the report. Click on the button below to download a template (Word). Send the letter to planningandregenerationenquiries@birmingham.gov.uk using the planning application reference REF 2022/08496/PA.

Please do this by Monday 7 August if possible. (It’s still worth doing if you can’t make that deadline.)

Related information

• Details of the Save Smallbrook Queensway campaign
• Fate of Birmingham landmark as crucial as M&S Oxford St, say campaigners (Architects Journal)
• Marks & Spencer’s Oxford Street flagship saved from demolition in “huge victory for heritage” (Dezeen)

The Birmingham Post has published a robustly argued piece by Mary Keating: “Democracy demolished as objections hit a brick wall.”

Mary, who represents Brutiful Birmingham, has exposed how the campaign to save Smallbrook Queensway has not even had the opportunity to present a counter-proposal to the plans to demolish the 60s Brutalist building. This is despite the counter-proposal being endorsed by the winners of the Stirling prize, a prestigious architectural award, and expert scrutiny of the carbon implications of the development.

Meanwhile, the West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, is to meet the developers, Dooba Investments II Ltd, who are proposing the demolition of the heritage building to make way for a residential-led, mixed-use development of glass towers.

Download: Birmingham Post: Democracy demolished as objections hit a brick wall (JPEG)

Private Eye has also reported on the campaign. They say that the Save Smallbrook Queensway campaign has demonstrated that a profitable scheme for 450 homes could be achieved without trashing Birmingham’s history.

Download: Private Eye: Nooks and Corners (JPEG)

Sign our petition

Please add your name to our petition to Preserve Smallbrook Queensway’s 1960s style.

Previous media coverage of the campaign

• Twentieth Century Society   

• Architects Journal 

• Building Design

• Birmingham Live: Battle over brutalist buildings in Birmingham as open letter sent to council

• Birmingham Live: Ringway Centre development will bring ‘bland and overbearing mass’ to Birmingham city centre