Birmingham Snobs nightclub at risk in Ringway Centre revamp

Mary Keating from Brutiful Birmingham is opposing plans to redevelop a 1960s structure

The future of a popular Birmingham nightclub could be at risk if plans for redevelopment are approved.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said Snobs may be forced to move if proposals for the the Ringway Centre are approved by councillors.

The brutalist architecture along the Smallbrook Queensway could be knocked down and replaced by three buildings complete with flats, a spa and a gym.

Groups including Brutiful Birmingham have opposed the plans.

It has called for the 1962 building to be repurposed instead of demolished.

The Ringway Centre as it looks today

Snobs is located on the corner of Hurst Street within the structure since it relocated from its original home in Paradise Circus due to previous development works.

"They're a tenant," said Nick Jones, representing applicants Commercial Estates Group (CEG). "And the lease is coming to an end."

"We've had various discussions around whether they should be able to come back in or not, but then this will be a construction site for a number of years," he told the LDRS.

"So for them to continue trading would be to find a new location."

A digital impression of what the redesigned site would look like

Snobs has not responded to a request for comment.

Mary Keating, who founded Brutiful Birmingham, attended a meeting on Tuesday about the plans and urged the council to consider the city's heritage as well as the environment.

"We grow up with buildings, we live our lives with buildings, they're part of the way we understand ourselves and the memories we have with our friends, our family, and everything else in the world," she said.

"[The Ringway Centre] is only 60 years old," she added. "You would expect it to be retrofitted, you would not expect it to be being knocked down."