Formal objection lodged against 49-storey Paradise tower

A group of campaigners whose aim it is to protect the heritage of town and city centres has lodged a formal objection to the planned 155m-tall Octagon scheme at Argent’s Paradise scheme in Birmingham.

A planning application for the 49-storey Octagon residential tower, continuing the latest phase of the £700m Paradise Birmingham scheme, was submitted in October.

Designed by Glenn Howells Architects, the 49-storey, 510 feet tall tower will create a new landmark for the city as well as provide up to 346 homes.

However, The Victorian Society is unhappy with the plans.

According to Architects Journal, the campaigners say they are “very concerned” abut the impact the scheme will have on nearby listed building such as Yeoville Thomason’s 19th-century Council House, City Museum and Art Gallery in Victoria Square.

Victorian Society conservation adviser Tim Bridges said: “We do not have any objection to the demolition and replacement of buildings on the application site.”

“However we are very concerned about the negative impact that the proposed new building at 49 storeys will have on the setting and views of the numerous listed buildings.”

Bridges said he was all worried that the tower would be in the view of the city centre from grade II-listed Warstone Lane Cemetery.

He added: “This application should also be considered in the context of the several other proposals for tall buildings in and around the city centre, as in our opinion the cumulative effect of these proposals together is likely to cause considerable harm to the setting of listed buildings and to the character of the city’s conservation areas.”

In October, Rob Groves, regional director with Argent, said: “Our ambition with Octagon continues to be a simple one – to build one of the finest apartment schemes ever seen, not just in Birmingham or the region, but in the UK. This ambition drives the design and execution of the building and is reflected in everything about it – the height, size of the apartments themselves and their design, the views and the location in the city centre.

“Since the public consultation we conducted in May of this year, we have been listening to the feedback and working hard behind the scenes with Glenn Howells Architects to come up with new elements to this world-class design.

“It has always been our ambition to create a truly mixed-use development at Paradise that includes not just commercial buildings, but also leisure, hotel and residential spaces that complement the buildings we have already completed.

“By submitting our formal planning application, we now look forward to working with the city to progress the building through the planning process. Vital to this is the public feedback we’ve already received and this will figure prominently in our ongoing conversations will all stakeholders.”

Dav Bansal, partner at Glenn Howells Architects, said: “The approach for this design is straight forward: we want to create the finest city centre homes ever seen in the UK, in a location that is simply unrivalled and in a building that is a part of a world-class destination.

“This building is not just a first for Birmingham and a new landmark on the city’s skyline, but it will be a distinct and instantly recognisable design offering homes of unparalleled individuality with every home enjoying a generous 12.7m facet of the Octagon, a first ever for a residential product.”

Planning consultancy for Octagon is being carried out by the Birmingham office of Turley.

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