Wholesale Markets demolition set for the go-ahead

BIRMINGHAM City Council is set to grant itself approval for the demolition of the city’s wholesale markets in advance of a major new regeneration scheme.

The council is proposing to demolish the majority of the buildings on the wholesale market site, off Pershore Street.

The application site consists of a number of buildings in and around the Wholesale Markets site that forms the catalyst for the redevelopment of the £500m Birmingham Smithfield masterplan.

The plan includes the principal markets building, the meat and fish market buildings, the cold store and the warehouses flanking Barford Street on the site’s southern and Bradford Street on the north-eastern edges.

Smaller buildings within the site will also be knocked down, including cafes, banks and offices together with a waste compactor area.

The demolition, which will be carried out in phases rather than by explosion, will see the site cleared to slab level. Existing boundary walls will be retained, with walls from the warehouse and cold store building that form part of the boundaries reduced in height to match the existing boundary walls.

The report to the city’s planning committee on September 1 states: “Buildings to be demolished are utilitarian in their appearance, generally consisting of brick facings with metal roofs and date from the 1970’s.

“The markets site was constructed as a purpose-built facility including many ancillary functions including a shop, cafes, a public house and banks for staff and visitors.

“The proposed demolition works comprise the first stage of the realisation of the Smithfield masterplan which would ultimately result in the comprehensive redevelopment of some 14 hectares of land in the heart of the city potentially delivering 300,000 sqm of floorspace and 2,000 new homes with an investment value of over £500m.”

Integral to this has been the relocation of the markets to a new purpose-built site in Perry Barr, which is now under construction.

The council has stressed that Manor House will remain operational during and after the demolition works, with a potential for allocated staff parking for up to 150 vehicles retained within the wholesale markets site access off Dean Street. Access to an underground car park, also off Dean Street, used by street market traders will also be retained.

Demolition work is scheduled to being next March and last for six months. The work will be confined to 8am-6pm Monday to Friday and 8am-midday on Saturdays.