Eyesore pub pulled down; SALTLEY GATE Bulldozers move in after campaign by shopkeepers and city MP.
Byline: By Andy ShipleyA DERELICT pub labelled one of Birmingham's worst eyesores has been torn down after the Birmingham Mail tracked down its owners.
The former Tilt Hammer, at Saltley Gate, had been hit by vandalism, arson and flyposters after standing empty for six years, and is now to be developed.
It stood on the corner of Alum Rock Road, and blighted the otherwise bustling street of small stores and businesses.
Traders and the MP for the area, Clare Short, joined forces to call on the owners of the pub to pull it down and develop the site.
Co-owner Shabir Hussain agreed, and called in the bulldozers to flatten the building.
"We've demolished the pub and we hope to start on a new building once the weather improves in February," he said.
Mr Hussain and his brother Aslam Abbas, owners of the Karachi Fried Chicken restaurant, in Highgate Road, Sparkhill, bought the Tilt Hammer site for pounds 100,000 in 2001.
They originally planned to turn it into a pounds 500,000 restaurant similar to the Karachi, but now expect to build empty premises before selling them on.
Mr Hussain said he had received offers for the Tilt Hammer from traders in Alum Rock Road, but had rejected them.
Ms Short (Lab, Ladywood) wrote to the city council's planning department to ask if anything could be done tospeed up the process of developing the Tilt Hammer. "I was aware of the state of the site and it was a disgrace. It dragged down what is a thriving area of small businesses," said Ms Short
CAPTION(S):
AS WAS... The derelict Tilt Hammer; AS IS... Nothing is left of the Tilt Hammer today after the demolition men moved in
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| Publication: | Birmingham Mail (England) |
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| Date: | Dec 1, 2005 |
| Words: | 289 |
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