Giant screen in Victoria Square, Birmingham, could get switched on after year's silence

Jan 1 2009 by Neil Elkes, Birmingham Mail

COUNCIL bosses are trying to switch on a controversial 27ft television screen which has remained silent in Birmingham city centre for more than a year.

A new sound barrier is set to be installed on the screen in Victoria Square in a fresh bid by the city council to have a court injunction against the screen lifted.

The television was supposed to be unveiled for the start of the 2007 Frankfurt Christmas market but was stymied by a costly legal dispute involving the owners of the nearby Waterloo House office block, who complained workers would be affected by the noise.

The project has already cost the council the best part of £1 million, including £365,000 on building and installing the screen on a large plinth, legal costs, the costs of a temporary screen during the summer Olympic Games, consultancy fees and lost advertising revenue.

The project has been mired in controversy since it was decided to replace the temporary screen which adorned the side of the Town Hall in Chamberlain Square with a permanent screen at the foot of the Victoria Square steps.

Conservation groups said it was not suitable for the city’s prime conservation area.

Civic Society chairman Freddie Gick said in August 2007: “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.”