Music venues raise fears over railway plans

Music venues in part of Birmingham have held an event to raise concerns about plans to alter a nearby railway viaduct.

They claim the proposed work to the line into Moor Street station would threaten their businesses, with at least one earmarked for demolition.

The Midlands Rail Hub project is aimed at allowing more trains into Moor Street instead of the congested New Street station and construction could begin in 2030.

The Midlands Rail Hub Alliance, which is coordinating the plans, said the viaduct would need to be widened and Digbeth's cultural scene would benefit from extra trains.

The music event was held at the Night Owl on Lower Trinity Street - a Funk, Soul and Motown venue which has been in business for 11 years.

Shannon Davies, its events and marketing manager, said: "It's just absolutely ridiculous. They just don't understand the impact they're having on people."

She said she believed their "tiny independent business" would not survive if the work goes ahead.

The Suki10c venue is based in a 250-year-old building on nearby Meriden Street.

David Whittall, the owner, said: "Our building is earmarked for compulsory purchase and demolition."

He added: "This is just devastating, it will completely eradicate music venues in Digbeth."

Thomas Rhodes from local band GANS was at the awareness-raising event.

He said: "We're professional musicians now, it's our full time jobs and the only way we were able to do that and practice for essentially 10 years that we were doing it for was because of places like this."

Fellow band-member Euan Woodman said: "Birmingham as a whole has lost so much already that to then remove places like this it's just what would be left?"

The Midlands Rail Hub Alliance said that improving connectivity the cultural life in Digbeth will benefit in the long term.

It also said it understood the uncertainty some businesses were facing and that it was considering everyone's views to refine their plans with the least amount of impact on the area.

Explaining the reasons behind the project, it said Birmingham was "one of the most complex and congested parts of the British rail network".

The most cost-effective way to boost rail capacity into central Birmingham, it said, was to build new track to link the Camp Hill line with the Chiltern main line.

This would allow more trains to run through Moor Street station it said.

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