The New Birmingham c. 1964

Project 35

Location	New Street/Corporation Street
1964 Status	Proposed
2014 Status	Unbuilt (thankfully!!!)

I was going to say, "thank heaven for small mercies", but the mercy involved with this planned project is HUGE!

I couldn't believe it when I read that the area bounded New Street, Corporation Street, Temple Row and Needless Alley was part of a £10m plan for yet another shopping centre in the city.  Thankfully, it is one plan that never got off the drawing board.  I suppose you could say that City Plaza could be viewed as a small part of the original vision, but the fact that City Plaza failed as a shopping centre and became, instead, St Philips Point offices just goes to show that you can have too many shops... 

We must be thankful this plan failed.  The shops that line New Street and Corporation Street where this development was proposed are some of the finest survivors in the city, especially Queen's Corner dating back to 1879.  In 2014, the splendid Victorian buildings remained in place.



The grime and dirt above the central four shops may have been a factor in the proposal for Project 35.  Photo from the Steve Gosling Archive.




Had the planners had their way, all this would have been reduced to a pile of dust...  The site of proposed Project 35 in April 2014

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