Gas Street Destroyed

[Heartland]

If the planning application goes ahead for the GKN Development 52 Gas Street, Birmingham, another piece of canal side heritage will be lost.

The existing building was used to make pinafores before the first world war and then when the firm merged with other Birmingham ladies clothing manufacturers in 1920, business was transferred to other sites. The building became a furniture warehouse, then a toy factory and later was the Opposite Lock Club.

 

The development will fit in with all the other high rise buildings that have spoiled this once important area, but worse that that will destroy the former canal stables that lie close to the aqueduct. The developers like so many before them forget the heritage and the stables will now be a set of steps up from Holliday Street, if their plans go ahead!

 

 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

The at risk buildings, as seen from the Gas St side. Not had much love for a while, judging by the vegetation. One could argue that this is now out of character with the high rise glass and concrete of the rest of the basin!

 

[Hudds Lad]

Looking at that green? building, i now have an urge to dig out Connect 4 from the game cupboard.

 

Someone on our marina Facebook page posted this pic and is encouraging people to post objections to the planning

 

[Wanderer Vagabond]

3 hours ago, Heartland said:

If the planning application goes ahead for the GKN Development 52 Gas Street, Birmingham, another piece of canal side heritage will be lost.

The existing building was used to make pinafores before the first world war and then when the firm merged with other Birmingham ladies clothing manufacturers in 1920, business was transferred to other sites. The building became a furniture warehouse, then a toy factory and later was the Opposite Lock Club.

 

The development will fit in with all the other high rise buildings that have spoiled this once important area, but worse that that will destroy the former canal stables that lie close to the aqueduct. The developers like so many before them forget the heritage and the stables will now be a set of steps up from Holliday Street, if their plans go ahead!

 

 

Bl**dy hell, can you imagine what the wind tunnel effect is going to be if those buildings get erected? It's bad enough around the Mailbox already, but with the extra buildings it'll be a nightmare.

[Slim]

What is a "Co Living apartment" ?

[Victor Vectis]

19 minutes ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

Bl**dy hell, can you imagine what the wind tunnel effect is going to be if those buildings get erected? It's bad enough around the Mailbox already, but with the extra buildings it'll be a nightmare.

I'm thinking along those lines too.

[adam1uk]

22 minutes ago, Slim said:

What is a "Co Living apartment" ?

 

If you look at the plans, each floor has a number of single room studio apartments with a bathroom, and then there's a communal kitchen.  They explain that they've gone for that partly because the site is 100 metres long, but only a few metres wide.

[nicknorman]

Well, the nightclub building (ex timber store) was (is) pretty grotty. Things have to move on, especially in cities, one cannot preserve everything as it was 100+ years ago. So for me it is not a big deal. We always moor on the mainline anyway!

Birmingham by canal used to be a complete dump, the other side of Broad street was really grotty. They built Brindley Place, the ICC, the NIA, Sealife etc and now it is much better. If it was still as it was in the 1960s, everyone would avoid it.

 

Co-living is presumably student accommodation?

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

That monster building should be built over at Chelmsley Wood, it might improve the place.
But not Gas Street. 


 

[Slim]

20 minutes ago, adam1uk said:

 

If you look at the plans, each floor has a number of single room studio apartments with a bathroom, and then there's a communal kitchen.  They explain that they've gone for that partly because the site is 100 metres long, but only a few metres wide.

Sounds like living in student accommodation. I can just imagine the communal kitchens after a  while. 

[Mrs Bearwood Boster]

Also, there doesn't tend to be parking as they reckon the young folk they're targeting to live there will use public transport...

[MtB]

2 hours ago, Mrs Bearwood Boster said:

Also, there doesn't tend to be parking as they reckon the young folk they're targeting to live there will use public transport...

 

Paddle boards!

 

 

[dmr]

We are in Manchester right now and its all surrounded by new high rise flats. The moorings are all looking a bit unwanted and downmarket, this might or might not be related to all the high rise housing but I suspect it is a factor. Historically B'ham has got it right and Manchester has got it wrong, but this is high risk.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

10 hours ago, Mrs Bearwood Boster said:

Also, there doesn't tend to be parking as they reckon the young folk they're targeting to live there will use public transport...

There is a water bus stop, with year round, 1/2 hour service close by. No good for most commuting, as it only starts at 10:30am each day.

https://sherbornewharf.co.uk/boat-trips/waterbus/

 

[cuthound]

8 hours ago, MtB said:

 

Paddle boards!

 

 

 

Na, if the high buildings go ahead we will have to contend with wind surfers... 🤣

[Heartland]

Well the Metro runs at the end of the Street and buses too. Whilst the Pinafore Factory/Furniture Warehouse/ Toy Factory is perhaps a basic factory building the stable block has heritage value being a a canal stable that occupied the lower part of Gas Street beside the canal with levels at the canal and at the road. It became a night club- Opposite Lock and then Bobby Browns. To loose this structure for developer profit intent on creating a modern tenement block needs investigation. This is a popular walk and mooring spot and perhaps deserves better.

 

A view of the stable block looking up Gas Street.

 

 

[nicknorman]

…A view from quite a while ago! It looks like this now.

 

 

Surely the stables is just a shell with nothing of interest inside? The round house was well worth preserving but this doesn’t seem to me to have much merit. I think it is important to preserve some heritage, but also that one should pick one’s battles carefully. If every change is objected to, that voice becomes meaningless.

[cuthound]

Perhaps the Black Country Living Museum might be interested in it?

[Lady M]

It seems the potential wind tunnel effect of such a tall building may be the best defence here. 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

I think it’s time to leave this area alone,

there’s been enough development over the years and it’s close to loosing all its character. 
Monster buildings like the one proposed could be built elsewhere. 

I can’t see why the existing buildings can’t be smartened up and repurposed. 
 

As smart as Paddington is, it ain’t got the character Brum has. I don’t know if it ever had but there’s very little to remind us why this place is here. Funnily enough one of the few pieces of history they have kept is a weighbridge, made in Brum (well Smethwick). 
 

18 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Perhaps the Black Country Living Museum might be interested in it?

The monster building?

😂

 

[cuthound]

7 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

I think it’s time to leave this area alone,

there’s been enough development over the years and it’s close to loosing all its character. 
Monster buildings like the one proposed could be built elsewhere. 

I can’t see why the existing buildings can’t be smartened up and repurposed. 
 

As smart as Paddington is, it ain’t got the character Brum has. I don’t know if it ever had but there’s very little to remind us why this place is here. Funnily enough one of the few pieces of history they have kept is a weighbridge, made in Brum (well Smethwick). 
 

The monster building?

😂

 

 

Great idea, it would bring the BCLM into the 21st century instead of being full of crumbling relics... 🤣🤣

[Sea Dog]

9 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

I can’t see why the existing buildings can’t be smartened up and repurposed. 

Because there's no money in it and the council is bankrupt so investors for that approach will be thin on the ground. Birmingham's changing landscape is being driven by business and private investment.

[IanD]

1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

Because there's no money in it and the council is bankrupt so investors for that approach will be thin on the ground. Birmingham's changing landscape is being driven by business and private investment.

And because the new building will house many times more people in the same area than the (not especially noteworthy) old one converted ever could, and there's a housing shortage.

Edited June 27, 2024 by IanD

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

3 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Because there's no money in it and the council is bankrupt so investors for that approach will be thin on the ground. Birmingham's changing landscape is being driven by business and private investment.

Yes I’d forgot they’d gone bust. 

I understand what you’re saying but we don’t have to like it and can object. 

 

 

 

I think the title here is correct and Gas Street would be destroyed by this monster. 
 

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

Yes I’d forgot they’d gone bust. 

I understand what you’re saying but we don’t have to like it and can object. 

I don't disagree with you, just answering your question. I think it would be rather lovely to preserve these stables (and the rest of salvageable Gas Street) as an oasis amongst the new development. One can often act as a counterpoint to the other and they end up enhancing one other.