Attendees say ‘strong case’ as new legal challenge emerges over Ringway Center demolition

Protesters fighting to save the doomed Ringway Center have sought a judicial review to block the historic building’s demolition. The Save Smallbrook group applied to the High Court this week challenging the decision to demolish the building and say they have a “strong case”.

It is the second legal intervention by Save Smallbrook in the fight to save the derelict 1960s office block. In February, Birmingham City Council’s planning committee voted to bulldoze the brutalist structure, replacing it with three blocks of flats.

Backers of the scheme say it will “open up the Southside and Chinatown to the rest of the city centre” as well as address a housing shortage in the city. But critics of the proposals have previously called the Ringway Center one of Birmingham’s most important heritage buildings and believe it should be repurposed.

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Mary Keating, from the group Brutiful Birmingham, said: “The Save Smallbrook coalition has already created the biggest campaign outside of London for a 20th century building and made history by challenging the original planning decision. Our legal team believes we have a strong case and are confident we can win.”

Musarat Dar, from the Birmingham Fair Housing Campaign, added: “There is a housing crisis in our city – problems that can only be solved by putting people and planet before profit. This means prioritizing the creation of green social rented housing, including the reuse and upgrading of existing buildings.”

Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud recently weighed in, describing the building as “beautifully built”.

It opened in 1962 as a defining piece of Brutalist architecture in the city, once described as one of Birmingham’s “most important buildings”. The Save Smallbrook Coalition is concerned about the environmental impact of demolishing the building and has devised a counter-proposal which would involve reusing and upgrading the Ringway Center to create 450 homes.

A film has been created, telling the story of the campaign to save the Ringway Centre, which will premiere at Birmingham’s Flatpack Film Festival on 11 May. Birmingham City Council has been contacted for comment.