image for illustration: The Crown, 65 Station Street, Digbeth by P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Birmingham City Council issued a statement to the press about proposals for The Crown on Station Street hours before the pre-election period began, as Birmingham Live asked what it really meant for the Grade II-listed city centre pub.
Birmingham Live writes:
When the clock struck 9am on Friday, March 20, Birmingham City Council entered its pre-election period… ‘purdah’…. At 4:15pm the night before, an email landed in the BirminghamLive inbox, reading: ‘Birmingham City Council welcomes early plans to revitalise city’s famous Crown pub and surrounding site.’…
… It’s an emotive subject. The pub, closed since 2014 and currently under the ownership of Japanese hotel firm Toyoko Inn, sits listed but empty, its future in question.
The latest statement from the council said it had ‘welcomed the early-stage proposals being explored for the future of The Crown…
A spokesperson for Tokyo Inn – which has owned the pub for 12 years – was quoted in the update as saying: ‘Toyoko Inn is at an early stage of exploring options for its site…
… It added that a project team would now ‘move into a period of engagement and workshops with stakeholders, led by Birmingham City Council, as early design and planning discussions progress over the coming months’…
