Is continuing Birmingham city centre development a blessing or a curse?
Birmingham is a city under construction and everywhere you go there seems to be work going on. It's all part of a wider regeneration but can be a hindrance as well as an eyesore. We ask Brummies if it's all too much, much too quickly - and if it's generally a blessing or a curse.
Transcript
00:00 Um, well when I lived here last year it's kind of, it was very hard to like get around,
00:07 especially Digpeth area was really under construction at that point.
00:10 And I just don't really know what they're doing to everything. It just seems to constantly be
00:16 under construction. It's like I don't think there's much more that needs to be done.
00:22 It doesn't affect me that much, but I think progress has to be made so
00:26 it's actually happened so I haven't got a problem with it.
00:29 I don't know if you're a car driver or whatever, but development is always a good thing isn't it?
00:35 You know, development is an improvement, something that will improve the city in the long term.
00:45 So for me it's not a hindrance.
00:49 I've not really experienced any problems, but yeah it's obviously changing all the time.
00:53 I go on this route to work a couple of times a week and sometimes you have to walk in a
00:58 different place or the bollards lead you a different way around. It's not really a problem,
01:02 but it's just sort of, you know, those added things that you don't want when you're just
01:06 like going into work. So maybe if they, I don't know, could speed it up that would be really good,
01:11 but it's not a problem. It's just sort of something you have to face.
01:14 Sure, so again, as a construction project manager myself actually,
01:18 I think it is a vital part of the kind of rejuvenation of the city.
01:22 I think obviously there is going to be a bit of a hindrance, but I'd like to think the end result
01:27 is probably worth it. I know there was a bit of disruption and there's a fair bit going on,
01:33 but I do think it is an important thing to have.
01:35 I think it's a bit bad for the environment because it's like destroying some of the nature
01:41 and when like it's dark and then lights like all go on, the birds can't navigate to where they need
01:48 to go at the start. I don't really care. It's really worth it for me.
01:56 I've just got into the city. I haven't lived here for 30 years and so I haven't seen any of it,
02:01 but based on what I've seen other cities it would be good if they spread it out a bit more because
02:05 I'd see the same everywhere.
02:07 Just like I don't think I've actually ever just seen the city as it is. There's always something
02:13 in the way, diversions, traffic everywhere. So it'd be interesting to see what the city actually
02:19 looks like without fences and loads of stuff going on. But yeah, I don't think it's... I think they
02:27 need to stop for a bit. And obviously you've got HS2 and that was right next to my university
02:33 campus so it kind of ruined that and one of my favourite pubs shut down, which is on my campus,
02:40 and it's just like that was really upsetting for kind of all the locals around that area.
02:47 And you know with something as big as that it was kind of like... and not many people were
02:52 for it anyway, so especially local people. So yeah, I think it just... I'm not a fan.
03:00 I think that they need to give it a break for a little bit.