00:00Birmingham City Centre has long been a major destination for shopping, work and leisure.
00:06But there are growing concerns about how it is changing.
00:09In recent weeks, videos shared online appear to show groups of young people involved in
00:14disorder in parts of the city, raising questions about safety and policing.
00:19At the same time, some of the main shopping streets are seeing more empty units and fewer
00:24people spending time there.
00:27Well, speaking as a child of the 1960s and 70s, I grew up with the old Birmingham, which
00:33was regarded as being particularly unattractive because of the post-war development.
00:38The argument being that what the Loughborough didn't do, the city planners completed for
00:43them.
00:44So it was, in many ways, a not particularly hospitable place.
00:48And we've had a lot of redevelopment in recent years, particularly of New Street Station,
00:52which makes it supposedly more attractive.
00:56But of course, what we've got is a lot of closed down shops.
00:58Now, this is a general trend in many places.
01:00But of course, what we're seeing is the sort of the collection or the occurrence, perhaps,
01:06of youths.
01:07This happened as a result of a TikTok phenomenon and other social media is available.
01:13And this was on the last air term.
01:15So it may have been a one off, but there is no doubt for older people who I remember growing
01:20up with.
01:21Yeah, they would often go to sort of to Birmingham quite often once a day and go in and get
01:25their
01:25fresh fruit and veg and then come back home.
01:27I suspect they don't do that.
01:29Parts of Birmingham city centre are undergoing significant change.
01:33The former Priory Square shopping centre is being demolished after longstanding structural
01:39concerns, with the site now being cleared as part of wider redevelopment plans.
01:44Elsewhere, areas like Corporation Street have seen a rise in vacant retail units, reflecting
01:49wider challenges facing high streets across the UK, including the shift to online shopping
01:55and changing consumer habits.
01:57But yeah, undoubtedly, Birmingham doesn't have the sort of the overall attraction that you
02:02might have in other places where I can think of.
02:05And it's not a place that people come to walk around.
02:07So Birmingham does have an image problem.
02:09And of course, part of that image problem reflects in the sort of the willingness of people
02:13to invest.
02:14Although there's plenty of development going on, I don't think Birmingham has ever really
02:18got over this.
02:19So the damage was done as part of sort of de-industrialisation, lots of factories closed down.
02:25So of course, the consequence of that is more social deprivation and the sort of the consequence
02:30of issues that sort of people sort of hang around with nothing to do and no money.
02:34The Birmingham City Council has set out plans to reshape parts of the city centre, including
02:40proposals to redevelop underused retail sites and create more housing and public space.
02:46The plans form part of its central heart strategy, which outlines how the area could change over
02:52the coming years.
02:53Although some businesses have raised concerns about how long that transformation may take.
02:59So, let's get started.
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