Tower demolition begins as New Street transformation gets into gear

THE MOST visible stage in the rebuilding of Birmingham’s New Street station is about to get underway with the demolition of a 20-storey tower block.

Stephenson Tower, a 1960s residential building, sits at the centre of the site of the £600m Birmingham Gateway project, which will transform the dingy station into a bright and welcoming transport hub at the centre of the city.

Now workers are moving in to wrap the structure in scaffolding as the first stage in its demolition. Explosives cannot be used because of its location, and it will therefore be taken down brick-by-brick.

Up to now, preparatory work for the scheme has been largely unseen by the public, but the work on Stephenson Tower marks the start of a process which will see one of the UK’s largest construction and civil engineering projects take place right in the heart of a major city centre. Completion is due in 2015.

The tower’s demolition will pave the way for a new south entrance to the station, improving connections across the city and linking in with the regeneration of the area to the south of the city, one of the key proposals outlined in the relaunch of Birmingham’s Big City Plan earlier this week.

Andrew Skidmore, principal scheme sponsor for Network Rail commented: “The start of work to demolish Stephenson Tower is an important moment for the project and we’ve planned our work carefully so that we cause minimal disruption to both passengers and local residents.”

To complete the demolition safely, the project team will construct a tower crane and encapsulate the structure in scaffolding. Work to demolish the tower brick by brick will start in late November and complete next summer. Network Rail is also working with Birmingham City Council to provide a viable development opportunity on the south side of the station.

Mark Foley, partnerships director at Advantage West Midlands, added: “Our £100 million investment in Gateway remains the biggest single investment of any RDA in the country. The project is of huge economic importance – and our commitment is helping to create a legacy from which the city and West Midlands region will benefit in years to come.”

The Gateway project is funded by Network Rail, Birmingham City Council (with funding from the Department for Transport), Advantage West Midlands and Centro.