What’s going on at Paradise Circus? asks Alan Clawley.

Other than publishing computer-generated images in the press and posting them on the windows of the former Central Library the developers and their partner, the city council, are remarkably coy about what is going on in Paradise Circus. Nothing definite has been said about when and where demolition will begin and how changes in the road layout will affect traffic. So, we can only guess what’s in their minds and assume that their silence signifies consent.

Glenn Howells’ master plan for Paradise Circus was designed for a site cleared of all existing buildings so it is very difficult to build in phases, especially when, as is now the case, the condemned buildings stubbornly refuse to lie down and die as expected. My hunch is that this is one reason why the scheme is struggling to get off the ground.

On the other hand, the alternative master plan devised by Joe Holyoak and Rob Turner for Friends of the Central Library showed how the site could be developed without having to demolish the Central Library. Such a plan would be more flexible and could be implemented as conditions allowed rather than in one foul swoop.

Planning permission was granted to Argent in December 2012 for the ‘comprehensive’ redevelopment of Paradise Circus. In addition to a 20-storey hotel the plan permits the developer to build nine new office blocks whose height ranges between 2 and 20 storeys. These are labelled A to I from north to south on the plans. Most of them overlap the footprints of existing buildings

Planning permission was also given for changing the Paradise Circus road layout. The technical report by Peter Brett set out the proposals in detail at the time of the application, but it has not been updated by the authors since. It stated: The road network changes include the removal of traffic from Paradise Queensway between Great Charles Street and Paradise Street and the introduction of two-way traffic between Great Charles Street Queensway and Suffolk Street Queensway, along with changes to the associated junctions.

The purpose of this change was not primarily to improve the road network but to increase what is called the ‘building footprint’. The areas of highway to be made redundant in order to make more land on which the developers could build were listed as Paradise Circus Queensway between Great Charles Street and Paradise Street, Summer Row subway (part) at the northern site boundary, Bus/coach facility at Paradise Circus Queensway North opposite Sand Pits Parade and Easy Way (part) at Paradise Circus Queensway West opposite Broad Street.

It remains to be seen whether these road changes will improve traffic conditions. I have criticised them before on the grounds that they will increase traffic on Paradise Queensway West and worsen the gulf between Centenary Square and Paradise Circus. The only means of crossing it will be the existing footbridge across a canyon which will be made deeper by the new blocks G (16 storeys) H (11 storeys) and I (13 storeys) bordering he eastern side of the road. So much for improving ‘connectivity’.

The decision to get on with the road works would have been relatively easy as it was being paid for by the government via the Local Enterprise Partnership and involved no financial risk to the developer or the Council. So far all we have heard is that preparatory site work will start his autumn. We can already see a minor diversion and a site cabin on the northern part of Paradise Circus Queensway. The ‘tunnel’ under the Library will eventually be freed of traffic and could be an obvious place for a contractor’s site compound. However it appears from the plans that the south-west corner of the Conservatoire blocks the new road line and would have to be demolished first which is, as I argue later, unlikely to happen before 2017.

When and where the first office block will be built is a matter for educated guesswork. It isn’t too difficult to imagine what is likely to happen. By overlaying the outlines of the existing buildings on the plan of what is proposed it is easy to see which existing buildings stand in the way of the new ones. We know that the Conservatoire is still in the early planning stage of moving to a new building in Eastside that will not be opened until 2017. They are unlikely to move out before then, so we can assume that the Conservatoire and the Adrian Boult Hall cannot be demolished before 2017. This means that Blocks E, F and G as well as the Hotel can’t be built before 2017. Progress on Blocks E and G is also prevented by the presence of the Central Library.

There seems little point in demolishing the Central Library before demolishing the Conservatoire just to allow Block E to be built. Argent want to keep its tenants of Paradise Forum in business for as long as possible as it provides a useful income. However the other factor is the Certificate of Immunity from Listing on the Central Library which expires in January 2016. It is likely that the developers fear that the Library may be listed and will be anxious to demolish it in 2015.

The demolition of the Central Library would make it possible to build Blocks A, B, C and D with Block D forming the northern side of the propose new street. Block E which forms the other side of the street could only be built after 2017. The developers may prefer to wait until both sides of the street can be built in one go but there are indications to the contrary. The first block, presumably either A, B or D is already being designed but a detailed planning application has not yet been submitted. Only then will we get a clue about how the development will be phased.

Blocks H and I depend on the demolition of the Copthorne Hotel but the replacement hotel cannot be built until the Conservatoire has been demolished. It’s likely therefore that the Copthorne Hotel will stay where it is until after 2017 when the new 20-storey hotel has been built on the cleared site.

Block B impinges on the northern extremity of the Central Library and the bridge link to the Council House. It is possible that the Bridge Link could be demolished before the Central Library is demolished to enable early progress to be made on the northern half of the site. There is a separate planning consent for restoring the façade of the Council House following the removal of the Bridge Link. Block I cannot be built without the demolition of the existing office building known as 77 Paradise Place. I understand that the lease of this block expires in 2014 so it makes an obvious candidate for the first phase of demolition.

This leaves Block A, a 20-storey block at the far north of the site, as the only block that can be built without the demolition of any existing buildings, although it would be easier if 77 Paradise Place were demolished first. Block A is the obvious candidate for the first building which will be a one-off designed by a competition-winning architect to promote interest in Paradise Circus to other developers and prospective tenants.

The developers and their partner, the City Council have been disappointingly tight-lipped about the practical implementation of their plan. Paradise Circus is a strategic development in the heart of the city and is of enormous public interest. They shouldn’t keep us guessing any longer.