As someone who is all for progress and development I feel compelled to write this article on the state of play in Birmingham, the second city and my home since 1979 with regard to what is being referred to as ‘city living.’
I have never seen so many cranes darted all over the city and the volume of high-rise buildings being constructed is truly incredible. Every conceivable space and plot of land have been taken over by developers for so called city living and even places where the sun would normally shine are no longer seeing daylight as they are obscured by some of the tallest buildings being constructed. I really want to know who exactly is going to live in what amounts to these numerous blocks of apartments?
I noticed the same trend on my last visit to Jamaica in November 2022 especially in Kingston and am led to understand that some residents in their single storey homes nearby have been complaining bitterly about this new phenomenon. Most of these apparently suddenly appeared on the horizon during the pandemic and the lock down period of 2020 onwards.
One clearly remembers Birmingham City Council’s housing department making a very good decision a few years ago to demolish the many high-rise council buildings which blotted the landscape from the sixties where tenants lived, in favour of maisonettes, low-rise apartment blocks and bungalows.
Suddenly, instead with the Birmingham City Council strapped for cash prime land has now been sold to developers who are intent on building the highest buildings imaginable with the same council granting them planning permission. How ironic is that!!! I have never seen anything like this as it beggars belief.
On my various trips to New York one is fascinated by the Manhattan Skyline and even London has become a sea of skyscrapers with more on the way. One of my cousins who lived in New York but eventually moved to the suburbs used to visit there each summer during her childhood from Jamaica and found it strange as she puts it having to ‘live in the air like a bird’.
Approaching Birmingham on the motorway known as the M6 close to Spaghetti Junction one can now observe how much the city centre skyline has changed and one has to ask is it for the better and necessary?
The abundance of tower blocks being built in Birmingham is truly cause for concern and out of all proportion to the need for them. I keep asking the question who are they meant for and will they be affordable? Even two car parks where I used to regularly park in the city centre, one literally next to venues such as Birmingham library, the Rep Theatre, Symphony Hall and the International Convention Centre are no longer in use and instead will feature two high-rise buildings of apartments for city dwellers. Where are drivers expected to park if they choose to make a journey in to the city at this rate? Not everyone wants to take public transport such as the buses since the behaviour displayed by some commuters is often dire and that includes swearing, chewing gum left on seats, poor body odour, putting feet on the seats, loud talking on mobile phones, taking up two seats and litter scattered on the floor, to name a few. One dare not say anything to those displaying anti-social behaviour for one’s own health, safety and protection.
Britain is not as populated as for argument sake China which understandable needs these skyscrapers. Even though there is a shortage of affordable housing in some areas this in my view is a narrow-minded approach as when these private apartments are placed on the market out of the reach of most people who are struggling to get on the property ladder in the first place they will remain empty.
The Bull Ring Outdoor Market which my mother and her two sisters regularly asked me about after they migrated to New York, as it was known as the shopping centre for bustling trade when they were living in England training to be state registered nurses in the fifties has been demolished. An announcement has also just been made that the Bull Ring Indoor Market and Rag Market will be sold to developers too for yet more apartments. The heart of the city is being ripped up and torn apart all in the name of progress and moving with the times. Or is it?
Apartments built to accommodate the athletes for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games a short distance from the Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr have never been used as they were not completed on time and still remain empty two years after that sporting event. Is that what one expects from the legacy of hosting the Games?
All of these issues are happening in the very week that the report was released on the Grenfell fire in a 24-storey high-rise tower block in London which happened 7 years ago and claimed the lives of 72 people. That report exposed the dishonesty and deceit of developers who constantly used inflammable material and showed no respect for the lives of human beings whilst constructing what were death traps. It must be stated that both political parties over time were in Government and did nothing to address the many health and safety concerns that were constantly being raised. May those who perished rest in peace and their families and friends at least be compensated even though they would much rather have their loved ones with them.
There is too the ongoing discussion about building houses on brown or green belt land which space (pardon the pun) does not allow for an in-depth analysis here.
I suppose based on the question that was raised in the caption of this article only time will tell but it does not in my view look aesthetically pleasing on the eye, plus the lack of sunlight, nor should so many people be literally crammed in such confined spaces. Others might wish to differ but that is my take on the situation.
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