ABSTRACT

In 2000, planning permission was granted for a 38-storey residential tower in Birmingham. The building followed a tortuous route to approval, which saw the original 44-storey tower reduced to 38 storeys, albeit still following the original building footprint. The developer (the Beetham Organization, as in Manchester) sought to combine landmark architectural statements with highly desirable residential and leisure accommodation. The proposals were assessed within a context of emerging CABE–English Heritage guidance on tall buildings, as well as the Birmingham Urban Design Study (1991). The issues raised by this application led to the commissioning of a new tall buildings policy by Birmingham City Council (BCC). The decision about this, and other tall buildings in the city centre, took place within a context of rapid regeneration and redevelopment – exemplified by the remodelled Bull Ring, and the re-imaging of the city, away from its much disliked post-war architectural and planning legacy and towards being a leading regional and European city (Kennedy, 2004). This chapter seeks to place decision-making about the Beetham Holloway Circus Tower within the context of the city’s development politics, not least in terms of major physical regeneration efforts in and around the city centre, and the distinctive local conservation regime.