Bust up over plan to move big screen

Aug 22 2007 By Neil Elkes, Birmingham Mail

CONTROVERSIAL plans which may "shatter the peace and ambience" of Birmingham's Victoria Square with a big screen will be decided by city planners tomorrow.

Leisure bosses want to relocate the screen from Chamberlain Square where it has been attached to the back of Town Hall for the last three years.

Now the Town Hall restoration is complete the council want to put a screen at the foot of the steps in Victoria Square.

The proposal was met with staunch opposition from two city conservation groups, the Civic Society and Victorian Society.

Civic Society chairman Freddie Gick said: "Victoria Square is not an appropriate place for the big screen.

"It was designed to be an attractive and dignified public space. Visitors can hear the water cascading down the steps and sit in peace.

"The screen will shatter that peace and will need to be turned up to drown out the water."

He added that they did not object to the screen being by the Town Hall while it was wrapped in scaffolding.

The Victoria Society described the move as "ghastly". Spokesman Stephen Hartland said: "This is Birmingham's number one civic square, largely Victorian. This proposal would destroy the ambience."

The screen was set up to show the 2004 European Football championships in Centenary Square and them moved to Chamberlain Square.

Managed by the BBC, it has screened a range of live arts and sporting events such as Last Night Of the Proms and the World Cup.

Now city leisure bosses have ordered a new flat screen at a cost of £365,000 over the next five years. If given approval it will be sited on the side of the Halifax Building Society.

The planning committee was recommended to approve the screen.

Planning officer Charlotte Abbott said: "The design of the screen would be in character with the existing street furniture in Victoria Square."