Warwick Bar

Conservat ion Area

March 2008

Character Appra isa l and

Supplementary P lanning Po l ic ies

birmingham’s local development frameworktheBirminghamplan

Curzon Street railway bridge, Digbeth Branch Canal.

The Warwick Bar Conservation Area Character Appraisaland Supplementary Planning Policies were adopted as aSupplementary Planning Document to the BirminghamPlan on 19th March 2008.

Contents

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ContPart A Warwick Bar Conservation Area

Character Appraisal

Introduction

1 Designation, Location and Boundaries

2 Geology and Topography

3 Archaeology

4 Development History

5 Townscape Character

6 Localities

7 Significance

8 Economy

9 Loss, Attrition and Intrusion

Part B Warwick Bar Conservation AreaSupplementary Planning Policies

Introduction - The Need for Policy Guidance

1 Protecting the Existing Historic Environment

2 New Development in the Historic Environment

3 The Public Realm

4 Opportunity Sites for New Development

Appendices Associated Reading

Listed Buildings

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2The Bond, Fazeley Street.

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Warwick Bar

Conservat ion Area

Part A

Character Appra isa l

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Map 1 Warwick Bar Conservation Area Statutorily and Locally Listed Buildings

NNot to scale

KEY

Boundary of Conservation Area

Statutorily Listed Buildings

Locally Listed Buildings

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Introduction

The Warwick Bar Conservation Area CharacterAppraisal has been prepared in accordance withthe national guidance contained in PPG15: Planningand the Historic Environment (1994). It followsadvice set out in Guidance on conservation areaappraisals (2005) and in Guidance on themanagement of conservation areas (2005) producedby English Heritage and the Planning AdvisoryService.

The appraisal aims to:

Identify the special interest of Warwick BarConservation Area and provide a definition ofits character.

Provide a sound basis for the developmentcontrol process within the conservation areaand the formulation of policies and proposalsfor its preservation and enhancement.

The character appraisal will be kept up to datethrough periodic review and modification. A datedphotographic record of the conservation area takenduring the process of appraisal will help inmonitoring any change in condition and/orappearance and aid enforcement action. This willbe regularly updated.

The 1990 Planning (Listed Buildings andConservation Areas) Act defines a conservationarea as ‘….an area of special architectural orhistoric interest the character or appearance ofwhich it is desirable to preserve or enhance.’ TheAct places a duty on local authorities to designateconservation areas where appropriate and fromtime to time to review the extent of conservationarea designation within their districts. It alsorequires them to formulate and publish proposalsfor the preservation and enhancement of theseareas.

Designation allows the local authority generalcontrol over demolition and minor developmentand the preservation of trees. In addition to thesepowers the authority has a duty to pay specialattention in the exercise of its planning functions tothe desirability of preserving or enhancing thecharacter or appearance of its designated areas.

Planning Policy Guidance Note 15: Planning and theHistoric Environment (1994) stresses the value of aclear and comprehensive appraisal of the specialcharacter which justifies the designation of aconservation area as a sound basis fordevelopment control decisions within the area andthe formulation of proposals for its preservationand enhancement. As a matter of policy thereforeBirmingham City Council has undertaken toproduce character appraisals for all theconservation areas within its district (TheBirmingham Plan 2005, para.3.27).

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boundary turns west to include the north side ofBordesley Street as far as Barn Street. It then turnsnorth along Barn Street and east along FazeleyStreet as far as Great Barr Street. It cuts acrossGreat Barr Street to Montague Street to take in therailway viaduct then runs along the embankment ofthe Warwick and Birmingham (Grand Union) Canalas far as the junction with the Digbeth BranchCanal. The boundary then continues north alongthe Digbeth Branch Canal to Ashted Top Lock (Map1).

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Warwick Bar Conservation Area was designated onJune 25th 1987 and extended on May 31st 2000.The conservation area covers 16.19 hectares (40acres) to the east of Birmingham city centre and iscontained within Nechells Ward in LadywoodConstituency. In the north of the conservation areathe western boundary runs from Ashted Top Lockbeyond Jennens Road along the Digbeth BranchCanal. Across Jennens Road it takes in the east sideof Belmont Row as far as Pitt Street. It continuesalong the canal then follows the east side of NewStreet railway viaduct as far as Bordesley Street inthe south of the conservation area. Here the

Designation, Location and Boundaries1Part A

Geology and Topography

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The topography of the conservation area as seentoday is also shaped by man’s intervention. Itsnatural form has been altered by urbandevelopment and most significantly by theimpressive engineering projects of the latereighteenth and nineteenth centuries associatedwith the excavation of the canal system and thearrival of the railways. Views across the area gainedfrom the Bullring shopping centre, immediately tothe north of St Martin’s Church, give only a faintimpression of the earlier topography - the onceboggy low lying valley of the Rea, crossed by minortributaries, rising on the east towards Camp Hilland the higher reaches of Bordesley.

Warwick Bar Conservation Area lies in the valley ofthe River Rea on the eastern side of Birminghamcity centre. The river flows in an approximatelynorth-north-easterly direction. The city centre itselfis perched on a ridge of freely drained BromsgroveSandstone (Keuper Sandstone) running from thesouth-west to the north-east. The ridge falls awayto the east where the meandering and probablybraided (broken into several channels) course ofthe Rea exploited more easily eroded MercianMudstone (Keuper Marl). At the junction of the twogeologies a series of springs and wells historicallyprovided a supply of water for the local populace.Sporadic glacial drift (material deposited byretreating ice sheets and melt water) overlies thesoft clay of the Rea valley and has created a higherand more complex topography. The higher land inthe north of the conservation area around AshtedTop Lock and Belmont Row can be attributed todrift.

2Part A

Deposits will have been disturbed by modernconstruction works, but are likely to survive inislands on the street frontages and in areas used asyards and car parks behind. Such islands are intactareas of stratigraphy, comprising the remainder oforiginally more extensive deposits which have beenpartially destroyed by modern intrusions, formingdiscrete areas of archaeological interest (Map 2).

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Archaeology

Although most of the conservation area wasundeveloped prior to the eighteenth century, thesite of a mediaeval water corn mill (Heath Mill) lieson its eastern side. There is potential for depositsof the earlier phases of the mill and its watermanagement features to survive due to the raisingof land levels on the floodplain of the Rea. Otherindustrial activities in the mediaeval period, suchas tanning, were confined to areas farther southaround Digbeth and Deritend High Street.

The construction of the Digbeth Branch Canal(1790) and the Warwick and Birmingham Canal(1799) triggered development within the presentconservation area, including houses and industrialworks laid out on a grid of new streets. By the midnineteenth century high density housing wasinterspersed with industrial works andinfrastructure on the street blocks. In addition tothe surviving above ground remains of industrialdevelopment, there is potential for remains of suchstructures to survive below ground across much ofthe conservation area, particularly on the site of theFazeley Street gasworks and the Barn Streetgasholders. There is also potential for canal relatedstructures, such as infilled basins, to survive belowcurrent ground level. One wall of the Ashtedpumping station is visible on the boundary of theconservation area and excavations have shown thatthe other walls and internal details survive. Parts ofthe Belmont Row Glassworks have also beenshown to survive below ground.

3Part A

Map 2 Warwick Bar Conservation AreaArchaeology

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NNot to scale

KEY

Boundary of Conservation Area

Site and Monuments Records in Warwick Bar Conservation Area

Archaeological remains likely to survive including organic remains

Other archaeological remains very probably survive - on the basis of archaeological evidence from nearby sites and/or documentary evidence

MBM2300Ashted Row Pumping Station

MBM2152Belmont Row Glassworks

MBM2087Fazeley StreetGasworks

MBM2086Barn StreetGasholders

MBM1741Heath Mill

MBM2347Ditch orWatercourse

MBM2469Gun Emplacementor Pillbox

St Martin’s. St Philip’s (now BirminghamCathedral) on Colmore Row, consecrated in 1715,and St Bartholomew’s (now demolished) openedin 1749 on land at the north end of Park Street,which had until now defined the eastern limit of thetown.

Map evidence from the mid-eighteenth centuryshows the district now contained within theWarwick Bar Conservation Area as yetundeveloped. Meadows and closes are crossed bythe River Rea and by another smaller watercourse,which together mark the boundary between theancient parishes of Birmingham and of Aston. Theland in Birmingham had once formed part of amanorial deer park, the Little Park, but had longsince been divided into fields and let out toagricultural tenants. Heath Mill, the mediaevalcorn mill which belonged to Birmingham manor,lies to the east, straddling the Rea on the parishboundary, its floodrace running through themeadows to rejoin the main course of the river inAston. A substantial house with gardens stands onthe north-east side of Park Street above its junctionwith a field road (Bordesley Street) leading throughthe Little Park to the mill. North of the parishboundary in Aston an ancient lane (Belmont Row)runs south from the Coleshill Road at Lower GorstyGreen (Prospect Row, AB Row, Jennens Road)down to the township of Bordesley to join theCoventry Road.

The surviving desmesne lands of Birminghammanor passed to Sir Thomas Gooch, a Suffolklandowner, in 1764 and were released for buildingin 1766. They included the fields in the former LittlePark. Urban development here began in 1783 whenthe Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Company(merged with the Company of the Proprietors of 10

The rapid growth in the population of Birminghamwhich began during the late seventeenth centuryand continued throughout most of the eighteenthwas linked to the development and increasinglocalisation of the metalware trades, both in thetown itself and in the surrounding area, particularlythe coalfields of the South Staffordshire plateau.Metalworking had begun to play an increasinglysignificant part in the local economy of this regionduring the sixteenth century and by 1600 it wasalready well known for the production of a widerange of metal goods, including locks, nails andedge tools. In mid-seventeenth centuryBirmingham ironmongers were beginning toappear among the town’s elite and the metal tradeshad replaced older industries such as tanning andtextiles in economic importance. By the beginningof the eighteenth century the smiths and cutlershad themselves been surpassed in economicsignificance by the ‘new’ trades, guns, brasswareand the manufacture of ‘toys’, small easilytransportable items of relatively high value such asbuttons and buckles. Industrial growth was linkedto the town’s ancient, and now expanding, role asa regional market centre.

New building following the increase in populationwhich resulted from this expansion of commercialand industrial activity was confined at first to thehigher ground within the ‘old’ town. The demandfor housing was such however that developmentsoon spread to the north and north-west runningalong the hillsides above the valley of the River Rea.By 1750 it had covered the ridge above the townand the whole of the area between Moor Street andPark Street, two roads with their origins in themediaeval period, had been built over. Two newchurches had been built to supplement theaccommodation offered by the old parish church of

Development History4Part A

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Until the arrival of canal transport the lack of anynavigable waterway in Birmingham made thecarriage of heavy goods slow and expensive. Theopening of the Birmingham Canal in 1769, linkingthe town to the Black Country, was followed by adramatic fall in the price of coal and other heavyraw materials. Despite the physical difficulties ofthe local terrain, its commercial successencouraged the establishment of other companies.The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal allowed easierand cheaper transport of goods, both to and fromthe north, Manchester and Liverpool, and thesouth, Oxford and London. The Warwick andBirmingham Canal provided a more direct route toLondon, particularly after the Grand Junction Canalwas opened in 1805.

Industrial and commercial uses were attracted tothe canal sides. By the end of the eighteenthcentury, for example, two steam mills had beenestablished on Fazeley Street, both in use forrolling metal, and a large timber yard occupied thecorner of Bordesley and New Canal Street. In 1812Pickford, the canal carriers, established a complexof warehouses beside a basin (Old Wharf) on theWarwick and Birmingham Canal Company wharf(Warwick Wharf), and in 1813 the Gun Barrel ProofHouse was built on Banbury Street. On BelmontRow timber, corn and coal were delivered to thewharves and by 1812 the Belmont Glassworks, onGreat Brooke Street, with a wharf by Ashted Tunnel,was in production. Away from the canal the newstreets on the Gooch estate were graduallydeveloped. Housing, much of it constructed asback to back courts, was interspersed with smallercommercial and industrial premises.

In 1788 Cotton and Engine Streets (both nowdemolished) were laid out towards BordesleyStreet Wharf from Fazeley and Canal (New Canal)Streets respectively. By 1824 Fazeley Street (partLower Fazeley Street) had been extended from thebridge over the Digbeth Canal as far as the Rea anda road (Pickford Lane, Pickford Street) had beencut from Bordesley Street through an area of towngardens towards Pickfords’ premises on theWarwick and Birmingham Canal. Barn Street waslaid out in 1826. In Aston Great Barr Street was laidout from Heath Mill Lane (Mill Lane) to LawleyStreet after 1817 and built up by 1824.

the Birmingham Canal Navigations or BCN in1784) obtained an Act to allow the construction ofa canal which would join the Birmingham Canal tothe Coventry Canal. This included a collateral cut orbranch towards ‘the lower part of the …. town ofBirmingham’, which would lead out of theBirmingham and Fazeley Canal as it passedthrough Aston and terminate in a wharf to be builton land leased from Sir Thomas Gooch in theformer Little Park. The canal company purchasedproperty on Park Street and Digbeth and by 1784had cut (upper) Fazeley Street and Oxford Street toallow access from different parts of the town to theprojected canal and wharves. The two new streetsprompted the development of the Gooch estateand Bartholomew Street, Bordesley Street, Canal(New Canal) Street, Andover and Banbury Streetswere laid out for building. In Aston the attorneyJohn Brooke began to develop the hamlet of Ashtedon the Holte Estate in 1788. He laid out a grid ofstreets which included Prospect Row, Great BrookeStreet, Lawley Street and, on the east side of the oldroad to Bordesley, Belmont Row.

The Digbeth Branch Canal was completed in 1790.It descended the slope of the Rea valley throughthe Ashted Flight of six locks, with a tunnel (AshtedTunnel) under Prospect Row and Great BrookeStreet (Jennens Road), to terminate in a wharf onBordesley Street. The BCN leased land from JohnBrooke to provide a canal reservoir by BelmontRow. The steep drop in levels caused considerableconcern about loss of water and in 1812 a beamengine was installed to pump water from Ashtedlocks back up to the main pound on the Fazeleycanal.

The construction of the Warwick and BirminghamCanal was allowed under an Act obtained by theWarwick and Birmingham Canal Company in 1793.In Birmingham the canal was to run through theformer Little Park behind Heath Mill, crossing themill floodrace (River Rea) via an aqueduct, andterminate in the Digbeth Branch Canal. The earliercourse of the Rea (Back Brooke) was channeledbeneath the canal embankment by Heath Mill. Thecompany leased an extra piece of land from SirThomas Gooch to provide a turning place at thejunction. In return for access to their system theBCN demanded a toll of 3d per ton for goodsinwards and 6d per ton outwards, to be paid at thestop lock or bar (Warwick Bar). A bridge was builtover the canal just above the junction to giveaccess to the towpaths and to the Gooch propertycut off by the waterway. The canal was officiallyopened in 1799.

The capacity of Curzon Street Station was soonoutgrown and in 1845, the LNWR acquired a newsite, more conveniently situated in the centre of thetown. New Street Station was opened in 1854. Thenew line required the construction of a secondbridge over the Digbeth Branch Canal, to the southof Curzon Street railway bridge. The viaduct ranacross the eighteenth century streets on the Goochestate and through Park Street burial ground,forcing the realignment of Andover Street and thecreation of New Bartholomew Street and cuttingoff a portion of the burial ground on BordesleyStreet (now the site of Polish Millennium House).New lines were taken into Curzon Street for theMidlands Railway to begin a temporary use of thestation in 1851; these were carried on a southernextension of Curzon Street railway bridge.

From 1791, in addition to corn milling, Heath Millbegan to produce metal goods, necessitating agreater supply of water. A new millpond was dug onthe south side of what is now Fazeley Streetbetween the flood race and the old mill pool on theoriginal course of the river. The mill was fullyconverted to steam power by about 1841 and thepond was no longer needed, allowing a furtherextension of (Lower) Fazeley Street as far as thejunction with Heath Mill Lane. The scheme wasproposed by the Corporation in 1851 and included abridge over the Rea and the widening of the canalbridge on Great Barr Street.

Banbury Street railway wharf to the north of theWarwick and Birmingham Canal was laid out about1880. At the same time the LNWR built a newbridge over the canal below Warwick Bar to allowvehicle access from Fazeley Street. Another railwaybridge, completed in 1893, was built over the canal,by Proof House Junction, as part of animprovement to New Street Station.

By the middle of the nineteenth century the RiverRea, always prone to flood, had become seriouslypolluted. A scheme for improvement was first putforward in 1888. In 1890 it was decided to improvethe river along its course through the city, adistance of approximately four miles, to preventflooding and the accumulation of toxic sediment.The works, completed in 1893, were considerableand included deepening the river channel,constructing a brick channel/culvert and rebuildingbridges.

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Bordesley Street Wharf was the main canalterminus for the lower part of Birmingham. Asecond long basin was dug to the west between1819 and 1824 and in the 1830’s gardens on theeast side were developed as coal wharves with anentrance on the corner of Pickford and (Lower)Fazeley Streets. A third canal arm was cut throughthese wharves in the 1840’s. On Warwick Wharf asecond L-shaped basin was dug about 1840.Pickford’s decided to give up canal carryingaltogether in 1847 and go over to the railways. Theircarrying business was taken over by the GrandJunction Canal Company which rented the wharfand premises from the Warwick and Birminghamin 1848. In 1876, following heavy losses, thecompany decided to give up carrying and in 1879their trade passed to Fellows, Morton andCompany (later Fellows, Morton and Clayton).

A railway system linking Birmingham with Londonand Liverpool had been planned as early as 1824,but it was not until the 1830’s, following thesuccess of the line between Liverpool andManchester, that any progress was made. TheGrand Junction Railway, running from theManchester and Liverpool line at Newton-le-Willows, reached the town in 1837, the London andBirmingham Railway, from a terminus at Euston, in1838. The two railway companies had agreed toapproach Birmingham from the east, through theRea valley where access was easiest, and toterminate in a shared station on Curzon Street. Theproject involved the construction of a substantialbridge (Curzon Street railway bridge) across theDigbeth Branch Canal. In 1846, together with theManchester and Birmingham, the companiesmerged to form the London and North WesternRailway Company (LNWR).

The Birmingham and Oxford Railway Company(B&O) was incorporated in 1846. The lineapproached Birmingham from the east and ajunction with the LNWR was planned near CurzonStreet. The company was taken over by the GreatWestern Railway (GWR) in 1848 and work wasstarted on a viaduct (GWR Viaduct - unfinished)from Bordesley Station to the proposed junction.The LNWR refused to surrender land and so workwas completed only as far as the GWR boundary onMontague Street, crossing the Warwick andBirmingham Canal at Great Barr Street.

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Streets from 1894 to 1927, and in the post-warperiod, the factories built by Gravity Ladders, onPickford Street in 1959, and by Woolf andBlumenthal on Bordesley Street in c.1946 and 1953.Industrial decline since the 1970’s has led tochanging uses in the area and many of thesebuildings have been left void or underoccupied.

In the north of the present conservation area theDigbeth Branch Canal has lost most of its historicurban context to post-war road building andcomprehensive redevelopment. Prospect Row,Great Brooke Street and the upper part of BelmontRow were demolished for Jennens Road,constructed to connect the Inner and Middle RingRoads between Masshouse Circus and AshtedCircus. Around Ashted Top Lock late eighteenthand early nineteenth century streets gave way toAston Science Park, developed in the 1980’s.

Warwick Bar Conservation Area was designated inJune 1987 in recognition of the considerable groupvalue, as well as individual heritage merit, of thesurviving canalside buildings and structuresincluded within its boundaries. The conservationarea was extended in 2000 to include the whole ofthe former Bordesley Wharf and the surroundingstreet plan.

From the time of the first designation the CityCouncil and British Waterways have undertaken aseries of projects to enhance the canals in theconservation area. Under the Birmingham CanalsImprovement Programme, funded by centralgovernment and the city council through the InnerCity Partnership Programme, repairs to the canalwalls were carried out, towpaths were resurfacedand new signage, furniture and landscaping wereintroduced. In 1997 British Waterways, the CityCouncil and Groundwork Birmingham (anenvironmental trust) established the Digbeth CanalRegeneration Project, funded by the EU (EuropeanRegional Development Fund), central government(the Millennium Fund) and the City Council. Workincluded further improvements to the towpath, thedecontamination of Typhoo Basin, new access andsignage and a programme of environmentaleducation. The Warwick Bar Townscape HeritageInitiative (1999-2004), a grant schemeadministered by the Heritage Lottery Fund inpartnership with British Waterways, the CityCouncil and Advantage West Midlands (theRegional Development Agency), funded furtherworks in the area. These included repairs to the

By the end of the nineteenth century largeindustrial and commercial concerns were wellestablished along the canalsides in the area. Onthe north side of Fazeley Street, for example, layWalker’s wire, tube and rolling mills (on the formersite of Heath Mill), the head office and depot ofFellows, Morton and Clayton, Haines’ icemanufactory (both on the site occupied by theBirmingham Gas Light and Coke Company from1837 to 1875) and the Minerva Works, agriculturaltool manufacturers. Warwick Wharf was occupiedby number of concerns, including Fellows, Mortonand Clayton and Hoskins and Sewell, bedsteadmakers, who shipped their goods from the OldWharf or Bedstead Arm. Across the road, by theBordesley Street wharves, were Fazeley Streetrolling mills and, fronting New Canal Street, thebuildings of the Hide and Skin Market. In 1924Sumner’s, the grocers, took over the former timberyard on Bordesley Street to establish the Typhootea packing works and warehouses.

During the twentieth century canal transportdeclined, challenged by the railways and the roadand, particularly after the Second World War, theloss of its most important cargo - coal. Reflectingthe national trend, there was a steady loss of canalrelated industry in the Warwick Bar area. Wharvesand other canalside sites were given over tobusinesses which were not dependent on thewaterways and canal arms and basins were whollyor partly filled in to make space for buildings andyards. Around Bordesley Street Wharf the FairbanksCompany established their weighing machineworks on part of the old coal wharves in 1919/20,the Benacre Drive industrial estate was built on thesite of Fazeley Street Rolling Mills in 1973 and in1979 the Typhoo Tea Company abandoned theirpremises to move to the Wirral. Fellows, Mortonand Clayton went into liquidation in 1947 and theirwarehouses were converted to other uses. NewWarwick Wharf (122 Fazeley Street), built by thecompany in 1935, is now occupied by a steelstockholder. The Minerva Works was rebuilt as afurniture works in 1959 and converted to industrialunits in 1978.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century housingand its related infrastructure began to be replacedby industrial premises, most, but not all,associated with the metal trades. These includedthe Belmont Works, built on Belmont Row in 1899,the Solar Works, which spread from NewBartholomew Street onto Bordesley and New Canal

stop lock at Warwick Bar and to the former canalcompany offices at 122 Fazeley Street, landscapingand environmental education. In 2005 theChanging Places Programme, run by theMillennium Commission, gave a grant for newlighting in Curzon Street and Ashted Tunnels.

The conservation area is included in the EastsideRegeneration Area. Based on the three concepts oflearning, heritage and technology, the EastsideDevelopment Framework (2001) seeks toencourage city centre expansion, regeneration andthe creation of a new quarter. The heritage value ofWarwick Bar Conservation Area is seen as animportant element in the drive to achievesustainable economic regeneration.

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Townscape Character

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5Part A

106-110 Fazeley Street (1850), built for the GrandJunction Canal Company, lies just to the west ofWarwick Bar. A three storey warehouse is setbehind the two storey street frontage range, whichoriginally contained company offices. A slightlylater two storey warehouse now fills the spacebetween them. The so-called Banana Warehouse(1850) was once part of the same extensivecomplex. The modest single storey structureretains its canopy which sweeps over the (filled in)basin at Warwick Bar. 180-182 Fazeley Street (1884),now known as the Bond, was constructed for thecanal carriers Fellows, Morton and Clayton (FMC)as their head office and main depot. A substantialfour storey warehouse stands on the canal, atruncated basin on its eastern side and an openyard separating it from the two storey office rangeon the street frontage.

New Warwick Wharf, 122 Fazeley Street (1935),designed for FMC as an addition to their earliercomplex, is a notable example of inter-warcanalside warehousing. A single building, slightlylower in height than the Bond, extends from theside of the canal to the street frontage line. Thesweeping corner treatment on the canal isparticularly distinctive, reflecting the need for largebarges to pass into the basin which once definedthe west elevation.

The former premises of the Typhoo Tea Companyon Bordesley Street and Pickford Street provideanother fine example of early twentieth centurywarehousing. The three storey central block(1931/1937-8), containing offices, packing roomsand warehousing, stands on Bordesley Street. Athree storey warehouse was constructed to thewest in 1947. To the east of the central block alarger four storey warehouse of 1949-50 extends

BuildingsThe built character of the conservation area isdefined through a range of warehouse complexesand purpose built works or manufactories datingfrom the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentiethcentury. The Gun Barrel Proof House (built 1813with later additions), set slightly apart on BanburyStreet, is the sole example of an early nineteenthcentury works and remains in its original use.There are very few surviving domestic properties.Only one of these, the three storey dwelling houseat 34 Belmont Row, is still occupied as a residence,the remainder, largely canal company andgasworks housing on Fazeley Street, having beenconverted to office or industrial use. Threeproperties built as public houses survive. TheForge (established 1860, rebuilt 1908) on FazeleyStreet is still in use as a public house. The formerHope and Anchor (established c1845, rebuilt 1906)set on the corner of New Bartholomew Street andNew Canal Street, was converted for warehouseuse but is now void, while the former Royal Oak(established c1845), on the corner of Fazeley andAndover Streets, provides studio accommodation.Polish Millennium House (1966), the Polishcentre, on Bordesley Street is related to StMichael’s Roman Catholic Church on Moor StreetQueensway and built on the former site of St.Michael’s School.

Canalside warehousingThe canalside warehouses on Fazeley andBordesley Streets impart a clear identity to theconservation area. Designed to meet the needs ofcanal transport, with direct access to the water,they illustrate the development of this type ofwarehousing from the middle of the nineteenthcentury up to the 1950’s.

on to manufacture electricity meters. In the earlytwentieth century the premises spread, first ontoNew Canal Street behind and then onto BordesleyStreet. Three distinct phases survive on the streetfrontages, the three storey principal range on NewBartholomew Street (rebuilt 1919), the threestorey/two storey workshop ranges on NewBartholomew Street and Bordesley Street (1913)and a three storey workshop range (1927) onBordesley Street and New Canal Street.

Canal and Railway StructuresCanal and railway structures run through andacross the area. They include Ashted Locks andCurzon Street railway bridge, both on the DigbethBranch Canal, and the aqueduct over the River Reaon the Grand Union (Warwick and Birmingham)Canal among other impressive examples of lateeighteenth and nineteenth century transportengineering. These structures add to the hardindustrial appearance created by the traditionalbuilding types and make a vital contribution tolocal distinctiveness and sense of place.

Architectural CharacterThe architectural character of the conservation areais defined by the works and warehouses built fromthe mid-nineteenth century up to the 1960’s.Nineteenth century works and warehousecomplexes are carefully composed with robustelevations. Decoration is used sparingly andstylistic references are largely Classical, althoughthe architectural exuberance characteristic of latenineteenth century Birmingham is reflected in thelivelier Freestyle of the Belmont Works (1899).

Twentieth century works and warehouses aresimply detailed with regular fenestration. Flat roofswith shallow parapets are common. The influenceof the Arts and Crafts Movement can be seen in thedesign of the former Solar Works (1913/1919) onNew Bartholomew Street and Bordesley Street.During the inter-war period and up to the 1960’sArt Deco influences are evident. The stylecontributes to the effectively detailed elevations ofthe former Typhoo warehouse on Bordesley Street(1931/1937), and, in a more restrained form, forexample, to the two works built for Perfecta Motors(1955/1959/60) and Gravity Ladders (1959) (bothlater Trevelyan Ltd) on Pickford and BordesleyStreets and to the clothing factory built for Woolfand Blumenthal (1946/1953) at 70 BordesleyStreet.

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along the Pickford Street frontage. The rear of theplant addresses the Digbeth Branch Canal where itends in Typhoo (Digbeth) Basin.

WorksThe works or manufactories typical of the area arepurpose built and range in date from the midnineteenth century to the 1960’s. Most have a twoto three storey principal range on the streetfrontage, containing offices, workshops andstorage, with subsidiary ranges of workshops orsheds to the rear, and sometimes to the side. In thepostwar period large clear span sheds behind thestreet frontage range commonly provided space forheavy engineering and assembly. Some twentiethcentury works are simply composed of one or aseries of conjoined sheds set gable end onto thestreet. This building type is exemplified by thedepot constructed for Venn and McPherson,transport contractors, (1930, now occupied byCambridge Car and Commercials Ltd) on AndoverStreet and the premises built for the exportmerchants V & R Blakemore (1945, now occupiedby the Westpoint printing company) on PickfordStreet, both of which present twin brick gables tothe street.

Only two good examples of nineteenth centurymanufactories survive. 16-17 New BartholomewStreet (1867/8, 1898), now Premier Plating Jigs,was built for the production of paper boxes andshades. It has a three storey street frontage rangecontaining offices and workshops with a narrowcontemporary workshop range and a laterworkshop to the rear, all fitted into a shallow,awkwardly shaped site. The Belmont Works (1899)was built as a cycle factory. The imposing threestorey principal range on Belmont Row containsoffices, workshops and warehousing. A series ofnorth-light sheds is set behind in the yard.

The former Fairbanks Company works (1919/20)on Fazeley Street and Pickford Street provides acharacteristic example of a small inter-war factory.Built to produce weighing machines it has a singlestorey workshop range on Pickford Street and aseries of conjoined sheds running along FazeleyStreet. The canted corner at the road junctionfollows the line of the earlier gateway intoBordesley Wharf. The former Solar Works(1913/1919/1927) on New Bartholomew Street,Bordesley Street and New Canal Street, now in twoseparate occupations, reflect the twentieth centuryincrease in plot size. The works was established onNew Bartholomew Street in the late nineteenthcentury for the production of brass goods and went

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There is a general increase in building scale andmass from the mid-nineteenth century up to theSecond World War. The former canal companyoffices and warehouses on Fazeley Street and theworks at 16 New Bartholomew Street contrasting inthis respect, for example, with the more substantialforms of the Bond warehouse on Fazeley Street, theBelmont Works on Belmont Row and the officesand workshops of the former Solar Works on NewBartholomew, Bordesley and New Canal Streets.The mid-twentieth century warehousing built forTyphoo on Bordesley Street is the largest buildingcomplex in the area in terms of scale and mass.Post-war works and industrial complexes are muchsmaller in scale.

The height and scale of buildings on the streetfrontage are generally broken down througharchitectural treatment with an effective, thoughsparing, use of detail. Architectural emphasis canbe either vertical or horizontal, pitched roofs,gables and pilasters stressing the former, flat roofswith parapets, banding and regularly spaced, closeset windows the latter.

Street Pattern and Streetscape The street pattern in the conservation area largelyderives from planned development within a singleBirmingham landownership, laid out between thelate eighteenth and the mid-nineteenth century.The eighteenth century plan in the west of the areawas altered to accommodate the railway,disrupting the street grid. The street patternnonetheless remains relatively regular and createsa coherent and very legible urban framework. Twoprincipal routes, Fazeley and Bordesley Streets, runroughly north-west south-east, a third main route,New Canal Street, runs north-south. They arelinked by a series of secondary streets to formroughly rectangular blocks. Belmont Row, to thenorth in Aston, lies apart from this street networkand is only partly included in the conservation area.In terms of local street pattern it relates to whatremains of the simple urban early nineteenthcentury plan to its south-west, just beyond the areaboundary.

The streetscape is wholly derived from the area’snineteenth and twentieth century development as awarehouse and industrial quarter. Street blocks arecompact and composed of building plots whichvary in shape and size. Canted street corners,required for road improvement in the post-warperiod, are characteristic of the area. The urbangrain is relatively loose, a result of both twentiethcentury industrial redevelopment and the survival

A hierarchy of elevational treatment is foundbetween the principal and subsidiary ranges withina building plot. Architectural display is reserved forthe principal building and, to a lesser degree,workshop and warehouse ranges or sheds with astreet frontage. Subsidiary buildings, workshops,warehouses and sheds, at the rear of the plotand/or fronting onto the canals or canal basins,have strictly functional elevations with little or nodecorative detailing. Whether fronting the street orset at the rear of a building plot, workshops arecharacterised by regularly spaced, closely set multi-light windows.

Architectural quality in the area is traditionally high,with a number of notable local practicesrepresented. These include, among others, ArthurMcKewan (Solar Works, New Bartholomew Streetand Bordesley Street), James and Lister Lea(Fairbanks Company works, Fazeley Street andPickford Street, Hope and Anchor public house,New Canal Street), Harry W. Weedon and Partners(Typhoo packing rooms and warehouse, BordesleyStreet) and Holland W. Hobbiss & M.A.H. Hobbiss(Perfecta Motors, Gravity Ladders, Pickford Streetand Bordesley Street).

Building MaterialsHigh quality brickwork in tones of red, blue andbuff characterises and unifies the traditionalbuilding stock. Banded brickwork, commonly redand blue, is a distinctive and consistent feature ofthe area. Timber and cast iron windows gave way tosteel from the turn of the twentieth century. Pitchedroofs are traditionally covered in slate. Nineteenthcentury buildings are enriched by brick, stone andterracotta detailing. In the twentieth centuryfaience, clay tile, reconstituted stone and concretewere additionally employed as decoration.

Canal and railway structures, bridges and wallingare generally constructed in blue and/or redengineering brick with stone or brick copings.

Height and ScaleIndustrial development from the mid-nineteenthcentury up to and including the postwar perioddefines the characteristic height and scale of theconservation area. Building heights are low,generally between two and three storeys. The Bondon Fazeley Street (average height to eaves level12.5m.) and the post-war extension to the Typhoowarehouse complex on Bordesley and PickfordStreets (average height 21m), both at four storeys,provide the only exceptions.

Views The topography of the Rea Valley provides fineviews through and across the conservation area(Map 3). Of these the view east down BordesleyStreet and then up and towards Camp Hill beyondand the wide view to the south and west gainedfrom Belmont Row are particularly significant.Long views out of the conservation area both fromthe streets and the canal towpaths, particularlytowards Curzon Street Station and city centrelandmark buildings such as the Rotunda on NewStreet and the Central Methodist Hall onCorporation Street, are of key importance to itswider setting. On the conservation area boundarythe view west along the Grand Union (Warwick andBirmingham) Canal from the road bridge on GreatBarr Street and through the arch of the unfinishedrailway viaduct is especially atmospheric.

Narrow views along the streets in the area areterminated by buildings or closed by railwayviaducts and create a sense of enclosure. FazeleyStreet has a greater feeling of space than most,engendered by a combination of its width and thedomestic scale of many of the buildings on thestreet frontage. There is a good view south fromBelmont Row of Ashted Locks on the DigbethBranch Canal while the bridge over the canal onFazeley Street allows vistas both north and south.Views northward along the canal from here areclosed by the blue brick structure of the New Streetrailway viaduct. Those to the south across TyphooBasin are terminated by the impressive Typhoowarehouses. Views along the canals from thetowpaths are generally enclosed by buildings,fences, walls and embankments and constrainedby bridges and viaducts. The sequence of viewsfrom bridge to bridge along the Digbeth BranchCanal is important in this context. The view south-east from the canal junction at Warwick Bar whichtakes in the canalside from the ‘Banana’ warehouseto the Bond is the most significant in theconservation area for character and interest.

There are good views into the area from both theNew Street and Bordesley railway viaducts.

LandmarksThe railway viaducts which confine and enclose thearea to the north-west and south-east aresignificant landmark features which dominate thelocal townscape. The effect is amplified by theBordesley viaduct which closes views to the southbeyond the conservation area boundary.

18

of larger canalside complexes of buildings andwharves. The four storey Bond warehouse and thethree storey warehouse to the rear of 106-110Fazeley Street are set behind two storey streetfrontage ranges of domestic scale. These areexceptions to the usual plot hierarchy in which rearbuildings are subordinate. New Warwick Wharf, theformer FMC warehouse at 122 Fazeley Street, whichruns as a single building from the street frontage tothe canalside, is also uncharacteristic of the area.The building line is set at back of pavementcreating a clearly defined street frontage and astrong sense of enclosure. On Fazeley Street post-war development follows an improvement line andthere are uncharacteristic setbacks, some of themfilled with car parking, others grassed over. Highbrick walls with gated entrances traditionally dividewharves and open yards from the street,maintaining both the continuous built frontage andthe firm boundary between public and privatespace.

Buildings face the street and are highly legible, withfunction expressed through form. Traditionalsignage is simple, painted boards or brickwork forexample, and non-illuminated. The canted streetcorners required in post-war development aregenerally addressed by principal entrances or largewindows. Simple rooflines, restrained design and arestricted palette of high quality building materialscombine overall to compose a harmoniousindustrial townscape.

The canals cannot be seen from the street exceptwhere they are crossed by bridges or, on BelmontRow, visible over a brick canal boundary wall.Canalside frontages are secondary and private withno public access. Buildings and disused wharvesline the canal edge and surround the basins, manynow filled in. The south side of the Grand Union(Warwick and Birmingham) Canal is more closelybuilt over than the canalside on Belmont Rowabove Belmont Row canal pound. Here uncoveredwharves gave directly onto the canal and thebuildings which once stood above them have longbeen replaced by open yards. Loss of traffic and theconversion of warehouses and wharves to usesunrelated to the canal and requiring only a streetfrontage have removed activity from the waterside,such that bustle and noise have given way totranquillity. Canal towpaths provide quiet andsecluded pedestrian routes through the area.Adjacent premises follow the towpath edge but arefocused on the street, turning away from the canal

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Bus stops on Fazeley Street and New Canal Streetare defined with block paving and texturedconcrete slabs. Carriageways are covered withasphalt.

Pickford Street retains its cobbled carriageway andbrick pavements. These are important survivalsand should be restored and carefully maintained.

The canal towpaths were mostly resurfaced in the1980’s and 1990’s. Most have been laid in red brickand some, more recently, in gravel to replicate theoriginal black ash surface. The natural stone copingon the canal edge has been repaired and restored.

Apart from a recent proliferation of parking signs atthe upper end of Bordesley Street, streets in thearea are uncluttered, Street lighting columns are amixture of simple, functional, standard designs,entirely appropriate for an industrial area. Cast ironstreet name signs have given way to plaineraluminium plates. A stone bollard survives on thecorner of Bordesley and New Bartholomew Streets.

Traffic and Pedestrian MovementTraffic flow through and within the area is heaviestalong Fazeley and New Canal Streets and lighteston Pickford and New Bartholomew Streets. Busroutes run along both Fazeley and New CanalStreets. There is considerable traffic movementaround the retail warehouses on Bordesley Street,related both to delivery and parking. Pedestrianmovement is relatively light with most once againconcentrated around the retail warehouses andassociated carparks.

There is on-street parking throughout the area.Barn Street, Pickford Street and the lower end ofBordesley Street are well used for parking bystudents from South Birmingham College onDeritend High Street.

The Belmont Works on Belmont Row forms animportant landmark in the north of the area, itswater tower providing a focal point along the canal.The Typhoo warehouse is a significant presence inthe south. The tall water tower lends a focus toviews across Typhoo Basin and from New CanalStreet. On the Grand Union (Warwick andBirmingham) Canal the two former FMCwarehouses, the Bond and 122 Fazeley Street, arekey landmark buildings. Both also stand out inviews northward from Bordesley viaduct, markingthe conservation area from a distance and addinginterest to the approach to Moor Street Station andthe city centre.

Canal and canal related structures provide anumber of distinctive local landmarks. Theseinclude Ashted Locks, Belmont Row canal poundand Curzon Street railway bridge in the north of thearea and the stop lock at Warwick Bar, the junctionof the two canals, and Typhoo Basin in the south ofthe area.

The River Rea and its bricklined channel combineto form another local landmark, seen both northand south from the aqueduct on the Grand Union(Warwick and Birmingham) Canal.

Open SpaceThere is no formal public open space in theconservation area. The canal towpaths howeverprovide important space for public recreation. Theyare popular with walkers, joggers and cyclists andare sometimes used for fishing.

The waterway makes an important contribution tolocal biodiversity. Clean water and tranquilsurroundings attract waterfowl and other wildlifeinto the heart of the city. Plantings of birch, alderand willow, reeds and bulrushes form an addedattraction while providing a peaceful greenbackground to the canalside.

Paving and Street FurnitureStreet surfaces vary throughout the area. Thematerials, colours and textures provide anappropriately neutral and subordinate backgroundto the buildings. Most of the footways are coveredin asphalt or paved with concrete slabs. Kerbstonesare granite, although some have been replaced inconcrete, mostly on New Bartholomew Street andBelmont Row. There are a few in sandstone onBordesley Street. Granite gutters survive onPickford and Bordesley Streets. A good number oftraditional cobbled crossovers remain andexamples of these can be found on every street.

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Conservation Area SettingWarwick Bar Conservation Area lies within theinner city. On its southern boundary Digbeth/Deritend Conservation Area is similar in characterand the two areas flow naturally one into the other.The townscape immediately beyond its northernboundaries as far as Jennens Road was shaped inthe eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by thegrowth of the town and the coming of the railways.The continuation of Banbury and New CanalStreets beyond the conservation area boundary andthe surviving street pattern around Belmont Row(Belmont Row beyond the conservation areaboundary, AB Row, Cardigan Street, Gopsal Street,Penn Street and Pitt Street) provide historic contextfor the designated area and are vital to its setting.The land below Curzon Street, once covered byrailway wharves and sidings, allows good viewswest from the canal which connect the area to thecity centre. Beyond Jennens Road the conservationarea reaches up to Ashted Top Lock and is confinedto the canal and towpath. Here the buildings whichtraditionally clustered around the canal have beencleared and Aston Science Park provides anuncharacteristic setting.

Much of the wider setting of the area has beenredeveloped in association with the construction ofthe Inner and Middle Ring Roads and the growth ofAston University. This process continues throughthe regeneration of Eastside, with MillenniumPoint on Curzon Street and the proposed city park.

21

Map 3 Warwick Bar Conservation AreaVistas, Views and Landmarks

NNot to scale

KEY

Boundary of Conservation Area

Vista

Significant view

Key landmark

Local landmark

���

�

�

The Belmont Works (1899, currently void and firedamaged) on Belmont Row provides a goodexample of a late nineteenth century manufactory.It stands above Belmont Row canal pound besidethe now vacant yards which replaced earlier streetfrontage development and canal wharves. Thebuilding forms the major landmark within thelocality; its water tower providing an importantfocal point especially prominent in views north-west from the canal. On the south side of BelmontRow a solitary mid nineteenth century narrowfronted house sits aside the bridge and serves as afocus in views north and south along the canal

Curzon Street railway bridge provides a locallandmark of considerable historical significanceand closes views down the canal from the roadbridge on Curzon Street. There is an impressivevista south and west from Belmont Row and animportant long view south-west from the canalabove Curzon Street railway bridge over the formerCurzon Street Station and towards the city centre.

Above Jennens Road the canal has lost its historiccontext. A landscaped business park has replacedearlier canal related development and is alien incharacter. This impression is reinforced by theplanting which covers the west flank of the canalcutting. Below Ashted Circus on Lawley StreetMiddleway the rear walls of a series of earlytwentieth century works form the boundary of theconservation area. These provide characteristicdefinition of the towpath edge and are animportant contextual reference. Below CurzonStreet large areas of land once covered with railwaywharves, sheds and sidings lie beyond theconservation area boundary to both the west andeast.

22

There are three principal localities or characterareas in the conservation area (Map 4).

The Canal Corridor - includes the Digbeth BranchCanal from Ashted Top Lock down to Curzon Streetrailway bridge and Belmont Row.

Warwick Bar and Wharf - includes the Grand Union(Warwick and Birmingham) Canal from Great BarrStreet to Fazeley Street canal bridge, developmenton the north side of Fazeley Street, the junction ofthe two canals, Curzon Street/New Street railwaybridge and the Proof House.

Workshop and Warehouse District - bounded byBordesley Street on the south, the railway viaducton the north-west, Fazeley Street to the north andBarn Street on the east - includes Typhoo Basin.

The Canal CorridorThe conservation area here is confined to the canaland towpath and to part of Belmont Row. Thenarrow designation was intended to include thehistorically significant Ashted Locks within thearea, with what remained around them of any canalrelated or other appropriate development.

As it descends from Ashted Top Lock at theextreme northern boundary of the conservationarea towards the junction with the Warwick andBirmingham in the south the canal is divided into aseries of discrete spaces by a series of bridges andtunnels, closing views up and down its length.These divisions together with the locks, passingbays and basins strung along the waterway lendsequential interest and variety to the canalsidescene.

Localities6Part A

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Workshop and Warehouse District.The workshop and warehouse district contains theeighteenth and nineteenth century street gridsurrounding the former Bordesley Street Wharf,now Typhoo Basin and the former Typhoowarehouse complex. It includes most of the worksor manufactories which characterise theconservation area, largely concentrated onBordesley Street, New Bartholomew Street andPickford Street.

The north side of Bordesley Street retains analmost continuous street frontage composed oftwentieth century buildings. The view along thestreet is dominated by the Typhoo complex, itslarger scale contrasting with the modest height ofthe postwar factories here and on Pickford Street.The eastern edge of the conservation area alongBarn Street is lined with small mid-twentiethcentury works. There is an important viewnorthwards towards the former FMC warehouse at122 Fazeley Street. The post-war improvement linesimposed on Fazeley Street detract from the senseof enclosure and fragment the townscape. 28Pickford Street (1964) is a local landmark while therear of the Typhoo warehouse provides a fine viewacross Typhoo Basin. The built frontage on NewCanal Street is poorly defined with large gap sitesused as car parks. On New Bartholomew Street thenorth-west boundary of the conservation area ismarked by the railway viaduct into New Street. Theformer Hope and Anchor public house on theimportant corner site between New BartholomewStreet and New Canal Street makes a significantcontribution to the local townscape.

Warwick Bar and WharfWarwick Bar lies at the heart of the conservationarea at the junction of the Digbeth Branch and theGrand Union (Warwick and Birmingham) Canals.The Digbeth Branch Canal is enclosed here by theNew Street railway bridge to the north and the roadbridge on Fazeley Street to the south and its flanksare defined by high boundary walling. Subsidiarybuildings attached to the Gun Barrel Proof Housesit on the western side while the towpath lies onthe east. On the south-west side of the railwaybridge the main line runs high above the canal andthe skyline is crossed by girders and power lines.The turning place by the Proof House, peaceful andsecluded, provides a significant focal point at thejunction of the two canals. A footbridge carries thetowpath over the water.

The Grand Union (Warwick and Birmingham)Canal runs straight, the views along its lengthclosed by the road bridge and unfinished railwayviaduct on Great Barr Street to the south-west andthe disused vehicle bridge (which once led fromFazeley Street to Banbury Street railway wharves) tothe north-east. An aqueduct carries it over the brickchannel which confines the River Rea. Warehousesand manufactories line the south side of the canal.The view of these buildings from Warwick Bar is themost important in the conservation area. A moreor less open area of land, originally occupied byrailway and canal wharves lies beyond the towpathon the north side of the canal and the embankmentwhich defines the conservation boundary.

The Gun Barrel Proof House (1813) is the oldestbuilding complex in the conservation area and liesbetween Banbury Street and the Digbeth BranchCanal. The nineteenth century entrance range hasan important presence east of the railway viaducton Banbury Street. The warehouse complexes onFazeley Street do much to define the character ofthe conservation area. The two FMC warehouses inparticular, the Bond and New Warwick Wharf, 122Fazeley Street, are significant local landmarks seenfrom both Fazeley Street and along the GrandUnion (Warwick and Birmingham) Canal. Frontagedevelopment along Fazeley Street has a distinctivemid-nineteenth century character and domesticscale.

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Map 4 Warwick Bar Conservation Area Localities

NNot to scale

KEY

Boundary of Conservation Area

The Canal Corridor Locality

Warwick Bar and Wharf Locality

Workshop and Warehouse District Locality

Significance

25

7

Warwick Bar Conservation Area contains the mostcomplete remaining canalside quarter inBirmingham. Its significance derives from aconcentration of surviving canal structures,including basins, locks and wharves, together witha wide range of historic canal related warehousingand works. These include the two Fellows, Mortonand Clayton warehouses and the former gasworkson the Grand Union (Warwick and Birmingham)Canal and the Typhoo warehouse complex and theGun Barrel Proof House on the Digbeth BranchCanal. The area reflects the importance of the canalsystem in the growth and development ofBirmingham’s trade and industry from the lateeighteenth to the mid-twentieth century and thecity’s history as a focus of the waterways.

Part A

delivery and space for car parking. The congestedinner city location and absence of large modernsingle storey warehouses and service yards alsomake the area unattractive to the growingdistribution sector.

2. Short term leases, up to a maximum of fiveyears, reflect the hope value associated with theregeneration of Eastside, protecting futuredevelopment opportunities for landowners, butpreclude any immediate investment. Thepreference for short term lets discouragesmanufacturing industry, where long leases arenecessary to justify considerable set-up costs.Vacant industrial floor area is attractive to retailwarehouse operators who have greater flexibilityassociated with significantly lower relocation costs.

New uses in the area, following regenerationinitiatives, will attract higher property returns thanestablished industry. As land values increaseindustrial use will decline as property owners seekto maximise profit through developmentopportunities. Ownership in the area is fragmentedbut includes the Gooch Estate, British Waterwaysand I Latif among the larger property owners. Thereare some long leasehold interests with no incentiveto engage in the development process. This willhave an inevitable effect on the dynamics of thelocal property market.

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Canal cargoes declined significantly during the firsthalf of the twentieth century as water transport wassuperseded by rail and increasingly by road. Thecanal infrastructure around Warwick Bar wasfunctionally redundant by the 1960’s and canalrelated warehousing obsolete. Establishedindustries, largely associated with the metal trades,have also been leaving the area, driven by a generaldecline in manufacturing and a need for moreaccessible premises.

Land Use and ValuesUses within the conservation area are stilldominated by industry. There is a slow but growingtrend towards office use, with the conversion ofbuildings such as the Bond on Fazeley Street, 28Pickford Street and, more recently, the formerWarwick and Birmingham Canal Companypremises at 122 Fazeley Street. The successfuldiscount retail warehouse, Latif’s, on BordesleyStreet exploits the close proximity of its premisesto the city centre and the space available for carparking in the immediate vicinity.

There is a lack of demand for existing floor space inthe area. A number of buildings are void orunderoccupied and adventitious temporary usesexploit short leases and vacant sites. This situationis attributable to two main factors.

1.Low rental values make conversion andrefurbishment, particularly of the older and morespecialised premises, to meet modern productionand office standards uneconomic. This iscompounded by a shortage of space for deliveryand parking. The area is unable to compete withindustrial locations more suited to modernproduction, farther from the city centre and closeto the main arterial routes with good access for

Economy8Part A

27

Vacant SitesThere are a significant number of vacant siteswithin the conservation area, where lack ofdevelopment is largely attributable to ‘landbanking’ in the expectation of rising land values.The greatest concentration is on New Canal Street,where they are in temporary use as car parks. Landon Jennens Road to the north of Belmont Rowprovides an important opportunity site.

Future UsesCurrent and future uses should be seen against abackground of citywide decline in manufacturingindustry. The Eastside Development Framework(2001) seeks to regenerate the area around andincluding Warwick Bar through the promotion of amix of uses, including residential, live-work, officeand studio accommodation, a process anticipatedin 1988 with the sensitive conversion of the Bondwarehouse complex on Fazeley Street to office andstudio space. A mixed use community is nowplanned for Warwick Wharf to the west and aresidential conversion proposed for the Typhoocomplex on Bordesley Street. In attracting andsustaining such new uses the distinctive characterof the conservation area provides a valuable assetwhich must be carefully maintained.

7. The Benacre Drive industrial estate (1973), setbehind the improvement line, relates particularlybadly to Fazeley Street, creating a large gap in thestreet frontage and exposing private space topublic view. The blue and red steel clad sheds arevisually intrusive and detract significantly from thesetting of the Typhoo warehouses and TyphooBasin and from the character of the conservationarea as a whole.

8. There are number of gap sites in theconservation area, particularly on New Canal Streetwhere they are used for car parking. These break upthe urban grain, destroying the continuity of streetfrontages, exposing the backs of buildings andreducing enclosure. The exposed corner site onBordesley and New Canal Streets is especiallyintrusive and detracts from the setting of theTyphoo warehouses.

9. Steel palisade and chain link fencing lack thequality and sense of permanence of the brick wallsand boarded or metal gates traditionally used asboundary treatments. The fencing allows viewsfrom the street into and through building plots,eroding the clear division between public andprivate space which characterises the conservationarea.

10. The cluster of advertisement hoardings roundthe junction of Fazeley and New Canal Streetsintrude on the streetscape and compound ageneral loss of character and interest.

11. Some of the street surfaces in the area are inpoor condition and in need of repair.

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1. A significant number of buildings in theconservation area are vacant or underused and/orsuffer from lack of maintenance. This detracts fromthe quality and interest both of the buildingsthemselves and of the local street scene anddegrades the character of the area as a whole.

2. Late twentieth century development lacks thequality of design which characterises the traditionalbuilding stock and erodes the identity anddistinctiveness of the conservation area. Poorand/or alien materials, such as steel cladding,render and UPVC, add to loss of character and canbe intrusive.

3. Inappropriate alterations and additions toexisting buildings have had an adverse effect ontheir character, reducing their positive contributionto the interest and integrity of the conservationarea.

4. Some buildings, particularly on New Canal Streetand Benacre Drive, are cluttered with signage,intruding on the local street scene and detractingfrom the visual quality of the conservation area asa whole.

5. The Belmont Works on Belmont Row hasrecently (2007) been damaged by fire. Thiscompromises its quality and significance as alandmark in the area.

6. Uncharacteristic setbacks from the traditionalback of pavement building line, particularly onFazeley Street, break up the street frontage andcompromise enclosure, diluting the quality of thetownscape

Loss, Attrition and Intrusion9Part A

29

12. The proliferation of traffic and parking signs atthe upper end of Bordesley Street clutters thepavement, disrupts the street scene and blocksviews.

13. On street parking on Pickford Street, Barn Streetand the lower end of Bordesley Street dominatesthe street scene and detracts from the quietindustrial character of the conservation area.

14. Derelict land and unsympathetic fencing on thewest of the Digbeth Branch Canal detract from thecharacter of the conservation area and fragment itssetting.

15. Ground cover planting along the DigbethBranch Canal erodes the traditionally informalgreen character of the waterway. The introductionof ornamental landscaping is also historicallyinappropriate and detracts from the specialinterest of the conservation area.

16. Graffiti and litter along the canals, in particularthe Digbeth Branch Canal, is intrusive. It degradesthe local environment and detracts from the qualityof the conservation area.

30Former Fairbanks Company Works, Fazeley Street.

31

Warwick Bar

Conservat ion Area

Part B

Supplementary

P lanning Po l ic ies

32110 Fazeley Street.

33

The policies should be read in conjunction with thelocal and national guidance contained in theBirmingham Plan 2005, Regeneration throughConservation Birmingham Conservation Strategy1999 (1999, reviewed 2004) and PPG 15: Planningand the Historic Environment (1994).

In forming their proposals applicants for planningpermission must have regard to the informationcontained in the Warwick Bar Conservation AreaCharacter Appraisal.

Warwick Bar Conservation Area has a specialarchitectural and historic character of local andregional significance. The canalside quarter, withits surviving industrial heritage, makes a uniquecontribution to the quality and interest ofBirmingham’s wider city centre and offersimportant opportunities for regeneration.

The purpose of the supplementary planningpolicies set out in this document is to preserve orenhance the character or appearance of WarwickBar Conservation Area as defined in the WarwickBar Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Inorder to maintain and reinforce this specialcharacter the policies are intended to guide andmanage the significant level of change anticipatedfor the area through the promotion of good newdesign which responds sensitively to historiccontext. New development will be encouraged tocomplement the established character of the areawhile clearly reflecting its own time and function.

The Warwick Bar Conservation Area SupplementaryPlanning Policies have been prepared inaccordance with the national guidance containedin Planning Policy Guidance Note 15: Planning andthe Historic Environment (1994) and in Guidance onconservation area appraisals (2005) and Guidance onthe management of conservation areas (2005)produced by English Heritage and the PlanningAdvisory Service.

Introduction - The Need for Policy GuidanceInt

of satisfactory proposals consent for demolitionwill not be granted.

The demolition of any canal boundary walls, canalretaining walls or bridge walls and parapets will notbe allowed.

1.3 RecordingWhere consent is granted for significantdemolition the Council will expect an accuratearchive record to be made prior to thecommencement of any works. This will includephotographs and/or where appropriate, measuredsurvey drawings and will be provided at theexpense of the applicant.

1.4 Change of UseThe Council will not permit changes of use tobuildings where the new use would adversely affecttheir character and appearance or that of theconservation area.

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1.1 Additions and AlterationsThere will be a presumption against additions andalterations to buildings which adversely affect theircharacter and appearance or that of theconservation area.

Developers should ensure that additions oralterations to existing buildings have a positiveeffect on their character and that of theconservation area. The Council will ensure that alladditions and alterations are sympathetic to theexisting building in scale, proportion, materialsand detailing.

Where significant alterations or additions areproposed the Council will require the design andaccess statement to be submitted in detail. Itshould include an analysis of the contributionmade by the existing building to the character ofthe immediate streetscape and the widerconservation area and of the preservation orenhancement of that character by the proposedalterations or additions.

1.2 Conservation Area ConsentThere will be a presumption in favour of retainingbuildings which make a positive contribution to thecharacter or appearance of the conservation area.This will include buildings of contextual or groupvalue.

Where the demolition of a building which makeslittle or no contribution to the character of theconservation area is proposed the Council willexpect the developer to justify demolition in termsof the character of the conservation area andsubmit detailed plans for redevelopment. Theseshould preserve or enhance the character of theconservation area (see 2.1 below). In the absence

Protecting the Existing Historic Environment1Part B

35

1.5 Signage Signage must be designed to suit the proportions,design and materials of the host building and theimmediate streetscape. Overscaled, unsympatheticand visually intrusive signage will not be allowed.

1.6 Repair and MaintenanceThe Council will use its statutory powers to securethe preservation of threatened buildings in theconservation area. In the case of a statutorily listedbuilding these powers include Urgent Works andRepairs Notices and, as a last resort, compulsoryacquisition. The Council also has the power tosecure the preservation of unlisted buildings whereit is important for maintaining the character orappearance of the conservation area.

The Council will provide guidance on the repair andmaintenance of traditional buildings in theconservation area.

1.7 New Uses for Vacant Buildings The Council will actively encourage beneficial andcreative new uses for vacant buildings, where theserespect the character of the building and theconservation area.

Where buildings are unoccupied and await a longterm use, appropriate temporary uses will beencouraged. Such uses should not requiresignificant internal or external alterations,particularly where these would reduce the flexibilityof the building in the future.

conform to the elevational hierarchy characteristicof the conservation area and present a secondaryfrontage to the water.

(c) New development will be required to reflect thebuilding heights which characterise theconservation area. This will limit new buildings to amaximum of three domestic or fourindustrial/commercial storeys.

(d) The roof forms and rooflines of new buildingsmust complement the roof forms and rooflines ofthe adjoining and/or surrounding buildings. Spacefor plant should be treated as integral to the designof any new building and must be included in alldesign statements. It should normally be providedat basement level. Where rooftop plant/serviceequipment is unavoidable it must be designed andsited to minimise any adverse visual impact.

(e) Window openings in new buildings should beregularly spaced. Windows should be set withinreveals of sufficient depth to add definition andinterest to the façade.

(f ) Local identity should be reinforced through theuse of materials traditionally employed in the area,principally brick and slate. All building materialsshould be of high quality.

(g) Restrained architectural detail of high qualityand which contributes to scale, proportion andlegibility will be encouraged. Indiscriminate, fussyand arbitrary use of applied features or detail willbe resisted.

36

2.1 The Design of New DevelopmentThe Council will expect all new development toachieve a satisfactory relationship with itssurroundings, demonstrating a regard for thecharacter of the immediate street scene and thewider conservation area. Permission for newdevelopment will only be granted where itpreserves and enhances the character of theconservation area as a whole.

Existing buildings which are unsympathetic to thecharacter of the conservation area will not beregarded as a valid precedents for furtheruncharacteristic development.

The Council will require the design and accessstatement for all significant new development to besubmitted in detail. It should include an analysis ofthe contribution which will be made by theproposed new building to the character of theimmediate streetscape and the wider conservationarea as defined in the conservation area appraisal.

2.2 Key Design Principles(a) New development must follow the building lineat back of pavement and maintain a continuousstreet frontage. Dominant elements or featureswhich project beyond the building line will not bepermitted. Where improvement lines have beenimposed on Fazeley Street new development mustfollow the revised street frontage line. On the canalsides buildings must stand on the canal edge orstand on the back of towpath.

(b) The plan form and architectural treatment ofnew development should complement the historicand architectural character of the conservationarea. In particular, principal elevations must alwaysfront the street. Canalside development should

New Development in the Historic Environment2Part B

37

(h) Parking or servicing areas should be concealedbehind built frontages of appropriate scale. Carpark or service entrances should be carefullydesigned to mitigate any adverse visual impact onthe local street scene. Car park ventilation grilles onany street frontage will be resisted. Parking areasshould also be screened from the canal.

(i) The creation of private landscaped spacesbeside the canal will be resisted.

(j) The creation of any direct open access from thepublic realm, i.e. the street, to the canalside will notbe allowed. This does not preclude new accesspoints of characteristic form, for example gatedentrances.

(k) New buildings must preserve views and vistascharacteristic of the conservation area and respectthe setting of key historic landmarks. The creationof new landmarks will be discouraged.

(l) New buildings should be accessible to all users,including people with disabilities. Wherespecialised access is required it must be treated asintegral to the design and should be included inany design and access statement.

2.3 Vacant SitesThe redevelopment of vacant or gap sites withinthe conservation area is a priority. The Council willencourage early discussion of developmentproposals and provide guidance for significantsites.

2.4 Development in the Conservation Area SettingNew development in the setting of theconservation area must respect and preservecharacteristic views within, from and into the area.The Council will not permit new buildings oradditions to existing buildings beyond theconservation area boundary to intrude on or blockkey views or important sightlines.

3.3 ClutterA co-ordinated effort should be made to avoidstreet clutter through good design and carefulsiting. Where possible signs and equipment shouldbe fixed to lighting columns, buildings or otherexisting structures. Larger items such as telephonekiosks and pay and display machines should besited at the back of footway.

3.4 PlantingThe hard urban character of the conservation areapresents little opportunity for tree planting or softlandscaping. Street trees are not a traditionalfeature of the area and would not be considered anappropriate addition to the public realm. Newplanting along the canalside should be kept to aminimum and restricted to appropriate nativespecies.

3.5 Developers’ ContributionsWhere appropriate developers will be expected tocontribute to the improvement of the public realm.

38

3.1 GroundscapeThe existing groundscape within the conservationarea provides an appropriate setting for itsbuildings and structures. Some street surfaces arein need of sympathetic repair and granitekerbstones should be restored where they havebeen recently replaced in concrete. Where historicsurfaces such as brick paving, granite kerbstonesand granite setts survive, as, for example, onPickford Street, great care should be taken toensure that these are retained and accuratelyrepaired.

If new paving schemes are proposed the designand materials should provide a simple, neutral andsubordinate foreground which relates well to thesurrounding buildings. Traditional blue brickfootway paving is attractive, durable andsustainable and should be used throughout theconservation area. Drainage channels and vehiclecrossovers should be marked with stone setts andkerbstones should be granite. Work should alwaysbe carried out to the highest standards.

3.2 Street FurnitureNew street furniture, including street lightingcolumns, should be simple and functional,reflecting the industrial character of theconservation area. Care should be taken to avoidspurious ‘heritage’. Any additions must be justifiedand restricted to essential items. New featureswithin the public realm should be carefully sited toavoid intrusion on views, vistas and the settings ofbuildings.

The Public Realm3Part B

39

4.3 Typhoo Basin The sensitive conversion of the Typhoo warehousecomplex to residential, commercial or educationaluses will be encouraged, The detailed design andlayout should exploit the canal basin.

4.4 New Canal StreetThe eastern side of New Canal Street has sufferedthe loss of almost all its historic street frontagedevelopment. New mixed use development couldincorporate community facilities including aneighbourhood retail centre. New buildings shouldaddress the street corners with Fazeley andBordesley Streets effectively. Surviving buildingsshould be incorporated within any newdevelopment.

Several key sites within the conservation area areavailable for redevelopment. Some of these havealready been identified in other council documentsincluding Digbeth Millennium Quarter: Planning andUrban Design for the Future (1996), the EastsideDevelopment Framework (2001) and the City CentreCanal Corridor Development Framework (2002)

4.1 Land to the north of Belmont Row and theBelmont WorksThis site forms part of a larger development areawhich extends beyond the conservation areaboundary. It includes the land fronting JennensRoad, the corner of Ashted Circus and LawleyStreet Middleway. The area includes thearchaeologically sensitive sites of the AshtedEngine House and the Belmont glassworks. Thesite is suitable for mixed use development. Carefulconsideration must be given to the scale ofbuildings along the canal frontage and it isessential that development on the corner of AshtedCircus does not overwhelm the Belmont Works asthe dominant structure in the north of theconservation area.

4.2 Warwick WharfThis site is particularly sensitive and the higheststandards of design will be required in all newdevelopment. A mix of uses will be promotedwhich will involve the careful conversion ofstatutorily and locally listed buildings. The settingof statutorily listed buildings, including the GunBarrel Proof House on the Digbeth Branch Canal,must be preserved and enhanced

Opportunity Sites for New Development4Part B

40Belmont Works, Belmont Row.

41

Warwick Bar

Conservat ion Area

Appendices

42Carriageway, Pickford Street.

Appendix: Associated Reading

43

��Eastside Development Framework 2001

�� City Centre Canal Corridor DevelopmentFramework 2002

��BUDS City Centre Design Strategy 1990

��Places for All 2001

��High Places 2003

Background Reading��Bunce J et alHistory of the Corporation of Birmingham vols 1-6.1878-1957

��Christiansen RexA Regional History of the Railways of Great Britainvol.7 The West Midlands 3rd ed. 1991

��Cullen GTownscape 1961

��Faulkner Alan H.The Grand Junction Canal 1972

��Foster AndyPevsner Architectural Guides: Birmingham 2005

��Hadfield CharlesThe Canals of the West Midlands The Canals of theBritish Isles vol.5 3rd ed. 1985

Archival Material��Material held in Birmingham Central Library.

Additional Material� Material held in Planning Management,Directorate of Development and Culture,Birmingham City Council.

Legislation and Guidance Notes�� Planning (Listed Buildings and ConservationAreas Act) 1990

��Ancient Monuments and Archaeological AreasAct 1979

��National Heritage Act 1983

��Planning Policy Guidance Note 15 (PPG15)Planning and the Historic Environment 1994

��Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 (PPG16)Archaeology and Planning 1990

��Guidance on conservation area appraisalsEnglish Heritage 2005

�� Guidance on the management of conservationareasEnglish Heritage 2005

��Sustainability and the Historic EnvironmentEnglish Heritage 1996

��Streets for All West MidlandsEnglish Heritage 2005

Local Planning Policy and Guidance� The Birmingham Plan 2005

� Regeneration through Conservation BirminghamConservation Strategy 1999

��Conservation Areas & Listed Buildings A guide forowners and occupiers 2003

��Archaeology Strategy 2004

��Digbeth Millennium Quarter: Planning and UrbanDesign for the future 1996

App

CROSS REFERENCE

CROSS REFERENCE

44

Appendix: Listed Buildings

STREET

Banbury Street

Curzon Street

Fazeley Street

Fazeley Street

Fazeley Street

Great Barr Street

STREET

Belmont Row

Belmont Row

Bordesley Street/NewBartholomew Street

Bordesley Street

Bordesley Street/PickfordStreet

Bordesley Street

NUMBER and/or NAME

Gun Barrel Proof House

1838 section of railway bridge intoCurzon Street Station overDigbeth Branch Canal

Nos. 106, 108, 110

Canalside warehouse with stoplock and dock Warwick BarWarwick and Birmingham Canal

No. 122 former canal companyoffices

Road bridge over Warwick andBirmingham Canal

NUMBER and/or NAME

Former Belmont Works

No. 34

Former Solar Works

Former Typhoo Tea CompanyWorks and Warehouses

Former Perfecta Motors andGravity Ladders works

No. 70 Former Woolf andBlumenthal clothing factory

GRADE

II

II

II

II

II

II

GRADE

A

B

B

C

B

B

Statutorily Listed Buildings

Locally Listed Buildings

45

CROSS REFERENCESTREET

Fazeley Street

Fazeley Street

Fazeley Street

Fazeley Street

Fazeley Street

Fazeley Street/PickfordStreet

Jennens Road, BelmontRow, Curzon Street

Jennens Road

Lawley Street Middleway

New Batholomew Street

New Canal Street

New Canal Street

Pickford Street

NUMBER and/or NAME

Nos. 180 and 182

Warehouse r/o 180 and 182

Former gas retort house r/o 176

River Rea channel

122 former FMC warehouse

Former Fairbanks Works

Ashted Locks Digbeth BranchCanal

Ashted Tunnel Digbeth BranchCanal

Site of Ashted Pumping Station

No. 16

Nos. 17 and 18 Former Dogs’Home

N0. 101

No. 28 Former SGB Scaffolding

GRADE

B

A

B

C

C

B

B

B

C

B

B

C

B

Most Birmingham City Councilpublications can be made availablein alternative formats or languages.

If you have difficulty reading thisdocument please call us on (0121)303 1115 to ask if a full or summaryversion can be made available inlarge print.

If you have hearing difficultiesplease call us via Typetalk 180010121 303 3030.

Or e-mail us at:planning.conservation@birmingham.gov.uk 46

Contact

Conservation TeamPlanningAlpha TowerSuffolk Street QueenswayBirminghamB1 1TU

Tel: (0121) 303 1115E-mail: planning.conservation@birmingham.co.uk

Further Information

For further copies and guidance aboutconservation and listed buildings visit our website:

www.birmingham.gov.uk/conservation

Contact and Further Information

Warehouses, Warwick Bar.

Warwick Bar

Conservat ion Area

March 2008

Character Appra isa l and

Supplementary P lanning Po l ic ies