Birmingham City Council’s planning committee has today made the surprise decision to defer the application from Sterling Property Ventures and Rockspring to demolish 103 Colmore Row in the city’s business district.
This will now delay the partnership’s plans to replace the 1970s skyscraper, which has been vacant since 2003, with a 211,000 sq ft 26-storey tower (above) which were unveiled earlier this week.
Following the deferment Peter Graham, construction director of Sterling Property Ventures said: “We are extremely disappointed by this decision, particularly since the application was recommended for approval by the Council’s officers.”
Sterling and Rockspring had hoped to commence the 10-12 month demolition of the former NatWest Tower next month, whilst simultaneously seeking planning permission for the new office tower.
Geoff Wright, of GW Planning, an advisor to the joint venture partners, said: “The planning committee indicated they needed reassurance that the plans for the new scheme will be formally submitted before they will give the go-ahead on demolition.
“The plans are currently out for consultation and our intention is to refine them following the consultation exercise and to lodge an application in May.
“We had hoped to begin the demolition before then, in order to truncate the build programme.
“Regrettably, this will now be set back but we will work with Birmingham City Council to overcome their concerns and expedite development.”
