Pre-match drinking - all change next season

[Brend'Watkins]

Would'nt it have been better for the councillors to have a nose round a building before agreeing to knock it down rather than just look at pictures? Also whoever advised them it had been empty for 15 years should be maybe be asked how they came to that conclusion.

I find it staggering that

1. They didn't know it was a going concern. 
2. They didn't go and have a look for themselves.
3. That they've more or less admitted to 1 & 2.

[PeterWithe]

It does lead you to wonder exactly what is the process for giving the nod to knock down a building. Has anyone ever seen the minutes of the meeting where the Trinity Road stand demolition was agreed?

[Clampy]

I'm surprised there are not plans to knock down the Sty. That's hardly been used in the last 15 years.

[eastie]

Balls!  I saw the title of this thread and thought we may have a chance of some decent beer in the official bars next year.  That's false advertising in my book.

They used to do a cask ale in the Holte Pub, may do still for all I know, but you are only ever going to get racecourse beer in bars that only open occasionally. I would be very grateful for a pump serving Mad Goose, for example, but you could guarantee it would be vinegar.

I remember an away game at Ipswich when we stopped outside the town for a couple of early drinks- was a hot day and the old speckled hen was a wonderful pint or 3 -very enjoyable.

Was my first taste of old speckled hen and have regularly bought it since from supermarkets although of course not the same as sitting on a beer garden on matchday.

[myf]

its being knocked down for junction improvements. id wager the industrial land will lie vacant for years.  all for job creation but none is guaranteed here, and the council has track record of over engineering its roads. sad IMO

It won't.

it is being done for a specific development

So an occupier has been identified?  That's news to me- if they had I'm sure it would be sung from rooftops by now given all the negative press surrounding the City Councils accounts.

The City missed out on the JLR development in Staffs and simply wants an "oven ready" site in case another one comes along.  That seems entirely sensible to me, but concerned about the City's track record in terms of infrastructure provision.  Question is do they really need to knock Eddie's down or is there an alternative solution to the road layout?

[myf]

Would'nt it have been better for the councillors to have a nose round a building before agreeing to knock it down rather than just look at pictures? Also whoever advised them it had been empty for 15 years should be maybe be asked how they came to that conclusion.

I find it staggering that

1. They didn't know it was a going concern. 
2. They didn't go and have a look for themselves.
3. That they've more or less admitted to 1 & 2.

They would have had a site visit but the Planning Officer has to present a report (with pics) at the Committee mtg itself before they discuss and vote.

[danlanza]

We have lost enough of our architectural heritage in this city, especially in the city centre, and it would be nice to not keep knocking this stuff down. Generally what it gets replaced with is of no aesthetic merit at all (look at what is on the site of the old Reservoir pub), and every time we do it, it makes the city a slightly less pleasant place to live

What about when what is built in the place creates jobs for the area?

Have you seen the amount of space the building takes up? It's not going to affect the commercial viability of the new development much if it stays. Standing as it does, on a fork in the road, it could be a gateway to the development. There's a lot of shit in that area that should be demolished before the King Edward.

Do you know that, though? You're passing it on as fact, so you must, I imagine?

I have to say, it has never struct me as particularly special. It's not even one of the nicer pubs in Aston, in my opinion.

No, Paulie, I haven't been on site with my hard hat and measuring wheel, but then you knew that, didn't you? I'm basing it on the fact that the pub occupies a small piece of land on a corner in a fork in the road. Unless the plan is to build over those roads, it's surely a small part of the overall development. What really surprises me is the amount of people who are happy to see more and more of Birmingham's old buildings get bulldozed. It's as if they no longer live there or something

I am not happy to see old buildings get bulldozed if it can be avoided, but then again I am willing to see them go if there is an ecomonic case for it which stacks up.

I asked about whether you knew it would not affect the commercial viability not because I thought you would, or because I do - I don't - but to make the point that whilst it's easy to say "this or that wouldn't affect it" we don't actually know if that is true. If you're going to put that as a main reason for your argument, shouldn't you actually know whether that is the case or not?

I am also not saying it should get bulldozed, I am just making the point that maybe it is going for a reason.

I agree with you on the destroying our history thing, I just disagree that means never demolishing anything, ever. I also think it devalues the argument to protect our heritage when buildings of really questionable value - and I appreciate the pub is at a fork in the road and what not - get talked up to something they're really not.

EDIT - apparently, that junction is to be the main entrance to the business park, which is why they want to demolish the pub.

So is the area around Villa Park to become a featureless, non historic site with loads of empty units collecting dust and rubbish?
I admit the area needs a lot of renovation but surely it also needs to keep some of it's history and original buildings.
Are we going to be playing our football surrounded by Ikea and the likes ?

[dave.woodhall]

I wasn't aware that Aston Hall & the church were scheduled for demolition and Aston Park was being built on.

[Clampy]

Balls!  I saw the title of this thread and thought we may have a chance of some decent beer in the official bars next year.  That's false advertising in my book.

They used to do a cask ale in the Holte Pub, may do still for all I know, but you are only ever going to get racecourse beer in bars that only open occasionally. I would be very grateful for a pump serving Mad Goose, for example, but you could guarantee it would be vinegar.

My local serves Mad Goose and it's quite popular.

[danlanza]

I wasn't aware that Aston Hall & the church were scheduled for demolition and Aston Park was being built on.

That will be the only area with any character around the ground by the time the Planners have finished.
I would not hold your breath because the park will be built on before long. Pretty green areas are Planners favourites's.

[Jimbo]

A reprieve? But surely the council must have seen all those ugly Sky banners all over it? Get it demolished this instant!

Good news that someone has finally tipped off our idiot councillors that this pub isn't just a derelict shell. Makes you wonder how many other needless and stupid demolitions they've sanctioned without being bothered to do a site visit. What a farce.

[PeterWithe]

I wasn't aware that Aston Hall & the church were scheduled for demolition and Aston Park was being built on.

Should we really be knocking down interesting buildings just because there is something more interesting round the corner? Aston is full of derelict land, if we can start the industrial revolution surely its not beyond our wit to move a planned road a few hundred metres on a plan.

[Boz]

When Salford Park was still an athletics and cycling stadium, we trained there with Lozells Harriers two week nights and Saturday and Sunday if there was no events anywhere and we always adjourned to the King Eddie after training to replace the sweat.

Haven't lived in Brum for a long time but remember the track and pub with many happy memories, so it's sad to hear it will soon no longer be there and that the planners once again fail to appreciate the heritage of some of these Victorian buildings. But I imagine it's money talking that is all the council can see.

As a lifelong Villa fan, I get to VP a few times a season, but never had the opportunity to visit the KE. Obviously I missed the scenic bar maids. 

[dave.woodhall]

I wasn't aware that Aston Hall & the church were scheduled for demolition and Aston Park was being built on.

Should we really be knocking down interesting buildings just because there is something more interesting round the corner? Aston is full of derelict land, if we can start the industrial revolution surely its not beyond our wit to move a planned road a few hundred metres on a plan.

Why do we only get upset when pubs are involved? There are plenty of far more interesting buildings in Birmingham that are under threat or have been demolished without any of this fuss.

[Jimbo]

It isn't just local pubs. We're discussing this one because it's a building used by Villa fans. Many also wanted to keep at least the facade of the Trinity Road stand, but apparently it was no more architecturally important than your average late Victorian town hall.

Birmingham has destroyed so many of its old buildings that I'd like to see a 100-year rule - if it's over 100 years old you should need a bloody good reason to knock it down. We need to make it difficult to demolish these buildings - this one nearly went because a bunch of idiotic, lazy councillors couldn't be bothered to find out about the true status of the building until the last minute. Very few buildings built that many years ago are of little or no architectural or historical merit, they should be meticulously researched before any such sanction is made.