City’s grande dame gets a makeover

A BIRMINGHAM shopping arcade is getting a fresh look to ensure it can hold its rightful place in the city’s retail hierarchy.

The Great Western Arcade is the city’s grande dame of shopping centres but shiny new developments like The Mailbox and Grand Central have challenged its status.

A design statement prepared to support the plans says: “There is a real risk that the concentration of retail activities in the Bull Ring shopping centre and New Street will cause current tenants to relocate. This would jeopardise the viability of the arcade as a retail destination.”

The proposals seek permission for lighting and a canopy on the arcade’s Colmore Row elevation, together with lighting on the Temple Row elevation.

CPRE is also seeking advertisement consent for signage on both elevations, and listed building consent to cover the work.

On the Temple Row façade, it is proposed to install four externally illuminated banner signs on the first floor, while a further two internally illuminated hanging signs will be positioned either side of the arcade entrance.

On the Colmore Row façade, the existing canopy will be replaced with an internally-illuminated canopy, while there will also be a suspended ceiling, new cladding with integrated lighting and two internally illuminated signs at either side of the arcade entrance.

The gate rail beneath the canopy will be refurbished and the glazing above the entrance will be replaced.

There will also be replacement light fittings installed throughout the arcade.
The design statement adds: “At present, the arcade suffers from its peripheral location and lack of on-street visibility.

“The proposal has been sensitively designed based on a detailed understanding of the significance of the listed building and the conservation area in which it is located.”

On the Temple Row frontage, the hanging signs and accompanying lighting will be in sympathy with the façade of the building.

They are suitable in size and scale to reflect the entrance’s grandeur, “better revealing the historic and architectural significance of the arcade”, adds the statement.

The arcade dates from 1875 at the height of the Victorian railway revolution. It was designed by W H Ward and built by the Great Western Company after the Great Western Railway line cutting connecting Moor Street and Snow Hill stations was covered over.

The arcade is Grade II listed, having first been recognised in 1982.

The listing describes in some detail the Temple Row entrance to the arcade.

It highlights the building’s Corinthianesque columns, the entablature with dentilled cornicing and guilloche decoration.

It notes the presence of columns framing the tripartite sash windows and the richly moulded arch framing the entrance to the arcade, where within, there is a large ‘triumphal arch.

“The Temple Row elevation forms part of a busy street scene, and the buildings adjacent to and opposite the arcade tower over the arcade diminishing its position on the street,” adds the statement.

“These buildings have a negative impact on the setting of the listed building.
“The Colmore Row entrance is noted as being entirely altered and of no interest.”

The arcade’s significance lies primarily in its historic value through its association with the Great Western Company and the development of the railway network in Birmingham at this time.

It was built as a grand and notable addition to the street scene, and a focal point for passengers arriving into the city from Snow Hill.  

“It also holds significance in its aesthetic value shown in the ornate architectural detailing both internally and externally on the Temple Row elevation which gives the building grandeur albeit this is somewhat obscured by the relationship of the building to the surrounding street scene,” adds the statement.