Thousands sign petition to save historic hotspots

The Crown pub in Birmingham city centre is often referred to as the birthplace of metal

More than 18,000 people have thrown their support behind a campaign to protect a street that is home to multiple historic hotspots.

Campaigners fear Station Street, in Birmingham, is under threat following the closure of what is believed to be England’s oldest working cinema, The Electric.

The stretch, opposite New Street train station, is also home to The Old Rep theatre and The Crown pub, where Black Sabbath played their first gig.

Birmingham City Council has said no planning applications for development of the street have been submitted so far.

Darren John started the Save Station Street campaign after the Electric cinema shut

An online petition is calling on the West Midlands Mayor and the local authority to designate the street as a cultural heritage asset.

“It’s a little bit of unloved Birmingham that has a really remarkable history,” Darren John, who launched the petition, told BBC Radio WM.

“The street has not just been big for Birmingham’s culture but for global culture. The music that came out of that street changed western music culture.”

The Crown, often dubbed the birthplace of metal, has hosted local acts that went on to become household names including Led Zeppelin and UB40.

It was built in 1881 then shut in 2014 after it was bought by a Japanese development company.

It has remained derelict ever since after a project to restore it as a live music venue failed.

When the Electric first opened in 1909 it showed silent films with piano backing

Just a few doors away is the Electric Cinema, which first opened in 1909 in a converted taxi rank and shut on 29 February, prompting a public outcry to save it.

On the same stretch is also the Old Rep Theatre, which opened in 1913 and has been described as Britain’s first purpose-built repertory theatre.

Mr John added: “In one short 200m stretch you’ve got a historic West End, a British Film Institute-style cinema and you’ve got Birmingham’s Cavern Club.

Birmingham's Old Rep was taken over by Ormiston arts academy in 2014

“We’re going to lose a massive part of the city’s culture and soul if we lose this street.

“With the Crooked House we had no forewarning that it was going to be knocked down - and look at the outpouring of hurt it caused.

"Our first port of call is to get those protections in place so we can have a vibrant future for the street.”

Save Station Street campaigners are calling for the street to be pedestrianised to become the “beating heart of a city proud of its heritage”.

The ball has started rolling as Historic England (HE) has said it is considering applications for listing the 115-year-old Electric Cinema.

The council has said it has not received any planning applications for development of Station Street

It comes as Birmingham City Council signed off plans to slash all of its funding for arts and culture organisations over the next two years, at its budget meeting on 5 March.

Kathy Hopkin, the co-ordinator of the Save Birmingham Campaign, said: “Arts and culture in the city will be going into decline, so we really want to be holding on to as much as we possibly can.

“Save Birmingham wants to have discussions with the council about the potential of transferring some of the assets into community ownership.”