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A Birmingham and Black Country thread for all things Brummie and Yam-Yam

Lorca said:
Oh, that is sad news, i remember moshing to the Pixies there in '88/'89ish i think (went backstage, somewhat awestruck and got my ticket autographed by the band - still got it!) I was only a kid but we used to go to the Barrel Organ (anyone else remember that place) and then see a band there or maybe the Kaleidoscope.
Click to expand...

Yeah I remember the Barrel Organ, bit of a Rockers place iirc. I saw the Beautiful South at the Irish Centre. They'd only just formed from the ashes of the Housemartins so they done a short set, had a pint then repeated the set. Great Band.

Really sad to see The Irish Centre closing. It's at the heart of the Irish Quarter and doesnt make any sense in my opinion to move it miles out of town. It will have a massive impact on the St Patricks parade down there. What's the chances they move that too into Kings Heath Park or somewhere like they did with Handsworth Carnival (moved from Soho Rd to the local park).

You cant help but think it has a lot to do with HS2 and the changes that's bringing just up from Digbeth/Deritend. The highly respected Carl Chinn has his say in this article.

Birmingham Irish Centre closing down to create 'Irish village' in Kings Heath https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/wh...down-17355419#ICID=Android_BMNewsApp_AppShare

Beginning of the end for the Irish Quarter :(
 
Birmingham continues to have its soul excavated. OK, its good for Kings heath, but things like the Irish centre are cultural icons that need to be centre where the investment and development is. I know that's partly why they had to move, but still.
 
I'm based on the other side of "town" so Kings Heath is way too far. I was in the Irish Centre last St Pat's parade. It was rammed but the room we sat in was playing R&B much to the delight of my daughters.

I've always liked the view of the city when you come out there and look up the hill to the Rotunda.
 
On the theme of shit development in Digbeth I’ve discovered today that The Wagon & Horses on Adderley Street has gone. It’s been replaced by a vinyl and craft beer bar called ‘Dead Wax’.

The Waggon was a unique place. Old blokes sipping mild in the bar. Death metal out the back. A unique place. So many memories of the place.

I should add I like vinyl and craft beer. But the Waggon & Horses gone? Heartbreaking....
 
Smokeandsteam said:
On the theme of shit development in Digbeth I’ve discovered today that The Wagon & Horses on Adderley Street has gone. It’s been replaced by a vinyl and craft beer bar called ‘Dead Wax’.

The Waggon was a unique place. Old blokes sipping mild in the bar. Death metal out the back. A unique place. So many memories of the place.

I should add I like vinyl and craft beer. But the Waggon & Horses gone? Heartbreaking....
Click to expand...
Fear not, Dead Wax will continue to be hosting gigs of all sorts of types, my mate fitted the new PA.
 
beesonthewhatnow said:
Possibly not. But a couple of old men sipping pints simply doesn’t generate the income required to keep a bar going :(
Click to expand...

Last time I was in there there were a load of old Irish fellas, some council workers, some lads involved in ‘buying and selling’, some Blues lads and a load of students.

Accept the point that if people don’t use a place it’ll close but the Waggon seemed to have a brilliantly diverse clientele. It’s was unique. I’ll definitely be giving the new place a try and the benefit of the doubt however
 
I’m sure by now we’ve all noticed the proposed CAZ didn’t happen in January.
In proposed new plans. ALL private owned vehicles will be banned from travelling inside the middle ring road.

mine would assume the a38 Queensway would remain an authorised through route as otherwise that’s just suicide.
As for shoppers? I guess all we will be revealed.


 
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Part of the plans are to make the Dudley Road (outside City Hospital) a Dual Carriageway to speed up traffic. That's great, I do this journey sometimes by bus and it's a nightmare, but, ain't it being a little contradictory?
Then you have all this HS2 "will bring in more people to Brum". We'll see, but if it does they are going to be reliant on trams and buses to get about and the whole public transport network in Brum will crumble. I dont think enough consideration has been taken here. Whenever I use the Trams they are already overcrowded,its like London at rush hour where you just about squeeze in a doorway.

I just saw on mail online that its July now when CAZ kicks in. I dont drive I'm pleased to say but taxis already charge £1 extra into City, I can see that being doubled at least.
 
The plans seem simple to me:

1. If you want to come into town use public transport, which will have priority on the roads
2. if you are in town walk or cycle (and maybe even get a bit healthier)
3. The promotion of walking and cycling where we all live where 25% of car journeys are less than a mile.

I think it's a really radical and necessary plan. It is also one where there is no alternative - the growth in the size of the population and the number of cars means that the current approach is not sustainable. Neither is more road building sensible or advisable.

The ongoing crisis in retail meaning we need to think again about what it is we actually want city centres to do. The centre of Birmingham is grim as fuck at night . People drive in and drive home again and the place is deserted by 7.00pm. If you want people to use the space, live in it and so on then you've got to make it a better place.

www.expressandstar.com

Andy Street: Wolverhampton city centre may have to change from retail tradition

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has raised concerns over the future of Wolverhampton city centre as he urged council bosses to deliver on a raft of planned developments.
www.expressandstar.com www.expressandstar.com

There is no good reason for anyone to use their car in town tbf.
 
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Smokeandsteam said:
The plans seem simple to me:

1. If you want to come into town use public transport, which will have priority on the roads
2. if you are in town walk or cycle (and maybe even get a bit healthier)
3. The promotion of walking and cycling where we all live where 25% of car journeys are less than a mile.

I think it's a really radical and necessary plan. It is also one where there is no alternative - the growth in the size of the population and the number of cars means that the current approach is not sustainable. Neither is more road building sensible or advisable.

The ongoing crisis in retail meaning we need to think again about what it is we actually want city centres to do. The centre of Birmingham is grim as fuck at night . People drive in and drive home again and the place is deserted by 7.00pm. If you want people to use the space, live in it and so on then you've got to make it a better place.

www.expressandstar.com

Andy Street: Wolverhampton city centre may have to change from retail tradition

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has raised concerns over the future of Wolverhampton city centre as he urged council bosses to deliver on a raft of planned developments.
www.expressandstar.com www.expressandstar.com

There is no good reason for anyone to use their car in town tbf.
Click to expand...
When you think five years ago we couldn't even get one single decent cycle lane in the city this does represent something of a turnaround.

Whether it is going to get past the draft stage who can say. I don't know what the plans are for upgrading public transport but we have to start moving away from buses, even with these traffic management plans they are not going to enable the productivity benefits the city needs.
 
While I’m all for the CAZ and the need to get carbon emissions etc in the city down. This radical plan feels like it’s both 20 years too late and also 20 years too early.

By all means continue to make public transport and cycling routes better but to totally cut off private cars. It seems over the top.

Take into account by 2040 the government wants the end of the sale of petrol and diesel cars totally which should mean by then emissions from vehicles should have drastically reduced. It seems to me you do all this for 2031 and ten years later you’ll be reversing it to allow vehicles back in because they aren’t polluters anymore and we’ll need to get people ‘back into the city’

keep fining polluting cars. Make the costs more and more year on year, make it to cars 10 yearsish old regardless of their emissions (except electric) As the cars age.

The plan to do away with council car parks also interests me. Admittedly there’s probably not many council ones left in the city but they must still be a huge amount of easy money.
Where does the money come from once they are gone.

Already the other week it was announced moving a bus garage in perry Barr for the commonwealth games is going to cost the council £15m more than originally estimated.

whilst I get how radical an idea this is. I just can’t see it working. People who work in the city/shoppers etc. What about people that actually live inside the ring road!

As a train user now the trains can’t cope. You can’t just magically fit more trains on the network it’s not that simple. Yes HS2 also by then should allow more trains on the Coventry - Wolverhampton line but that’s just one line that gets freed up. Not every trains comes in and out of that line into Birmingham.

Can’t see people willing to leave their cars in locations outside the ring road. None of the areas on the outskirts of the city are places I’d want to leave my car 5 days a week. The daily commute becomes even longer as as you have to get to and from those locations and then deal with the new even bigger bottlenecks than before and you essentially just move the pollution from one area to another. An area that’s even more populated and surely will actually see increases of deaths for poor air quality. As the opposition have said the outside of the city is just going to become concrete blocks of car parks and people inside/outside the zone are going to get totally cut off.

it’s crazy. It’s much better in my eyes to increase fines and encourage people to get better quality vehicles.
 
It's a fantastic plan and the sort of thing that should be being talked about in every single major city in the country

For Birmingham - where the car has been king for decades - to be the one discussing it is a breath of fresh air.
 
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