University of Birmingham runners
Hundreds of city students will be on the start line with their lecturers at this year’s Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K as part of the first ever University of Birmingham running team to take part in the annual event.
The University of Birmingham runners will be given their own special start section at the 10K run on Sunday, April 30, along with a special edition UBSport t-shirt to wear for the event, which attracts more than 7,000 people from across the Midlands.
The invitation to join the University team is open to all students, staff and community.
The University’s sports department is creating a selection of bespoke training plans for runners – or walkers – of all abilities and ages, to take part in the 10K.
UBSport also has its ‘Cool Runnings’ club, which welcomes runners of all abilities and holds weekly training sessions at various locations across the Edgbaston campus.
There is also a dedicated facebook group for 10K updates and training tips at: Great Birmingham 10k- Team University of Birmingham
This year’s Great Birmingham 10k will be powered by music and entertainment across the course.
Starting at Jennens Road in the city centre, the 10K takes in city sights such as Selfridges and Edgbaston Stadium before a city centre finish in front of thousands of cheering spectators.
Helen Coy, Participation Development Manager at the University of Birmingham Sport, said: “This is a great opportunity for everyone on campus to come together and be part of something amazing.
“The Great Birmingham 10K inspires so many people to get active and challenge themselves. It’s great to be a part of it this year and I can’t wait to see everyone cross the finish line!”
Zak Viney, President of the University of Birmingham Cool Runnings Club, which has more than 250 members, said: “We’re a very inclusive club and have members who are freshers to a mature student in her 40s. We’re incredibly diverse.
“Anyone thinking a 5K is their limit can achieve a 10K. Just pick up one of the university’s training plans and go for it.”
Click here to sign up for the University of Birmingham team taking part in this year’s Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K.
• Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of the Great Run Company.
King Edward’s School, New Street, Birmingham. Courtesy King Edward’s School Archive
An innovative exhibition taking place in Birmingham in the summer of 2017 aims to shed light on the important role the city played in the early years of the history of photography.
Thresholds, a virtual reality art project by internationally acclaimed artist Mat Collishaw and photographic historian, Pete James, will take audiences back over 170 years to the dawn of the photographic era. VR headsets will allow visitors to walk around a recreation of ‘The Model Room’, an exhibition of Manufactures, Inventions, Models and Philosophical Instruments staged at King Edward’s School, New Street, in August 1839.
This important exhibition, which included 93 photogenic drawings by William Henry Fox Talbot, was one of the first major public exhibitions of photography in the UK. Visitors will share the sense of the wonder and awe experienced by their Victorian predecessors, many of whom were seeing photographs for the very first time. The exhibition will include what are thought to be the two earliest surviving images made in Birmingham, two views of New Street made from King Edward’s School around 1842 and previously unseen material from King Edward’s School Archives.
Supported by Colmore Business District (BID) and partners including King Edward’s School and the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and Birmingham City University, the exhibition will reveal how Birmingham was at the forefront of developments in the technology that revolutionised the way we see, record, represent and understand the visible and invisible world.
Exhibition subject of Kickstarter funding campaign
Having already secured support from a range of public and private funding sources in the city, Thresholds is now the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. More information on the project and the rewards on offer – which range from downloads of digital wallpapers to VIP visit to the exhibition – can be seen at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1817545913/thresholds-vr
Thresholds will be premiered at Photo London, the prestigious annual international photo fair in April 2017. It will then be shown at Waterhall, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, between June and September, alongside a series of related events and activities. It then tours to the National Media Museum (Bradford) and Laycock Abbey, Talbot’s former home, now a National Trust property, throughout the second half of 2017.
Pete James, former Curator of Photographs at the Library of Birmingham and now a Fellow at Birmingham Open Media said: “In 1880 a local writer cast Birmingham in the role as a midwife in the birth of photography when he wrote:
‘If Birmingham cannot claim to have originated photography, she is at least entitled the merit of having assisted at its birth. She can also worthily claim the credit of having given it substantial help as it struggled through many difficulties to maturity. She can, also, claim that she gave the new art most welcome aid and sympathy; and that some of the most successful photographic discoveries and operators have been amongst those of her own household.’
“This challenging, exciting and innovative project will promote Birmingham’s pioneering achievements in the history of photography to local, national and international audiences.”
Mike Best, Colmore BID Board Director, said: “Over the last five years CBD have worked in partnership with Pete James to present a series of innovative and award-winning photography exhibitions including Face to Face: Brian Griffin – a retrospective (2010); Take to the Streets: Photographs by Magnum Photographers (2011) and Nicklin Unseen (2015).
“Following the huge success of the award-winning Phyllis Nicklin exhibition, we are now supporting Thresholds, a very different type of photography project which will engage and inspire audiences of all ages, and provide a unique way to learn about the significant role Birmingham played at the very dawn of photography.”
Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of Colmore Business District
Blind Dave, right, launches his Great Run events in partnership with the West Bromwich Albion Foundation, pictured with Chris Brunt of West Bromwich Albion
He has run the equivalent of two laps of the planet – with 8,000 miles to spare – in a lifetime dedicated to phenomenal fundraising feats.
Yet Black Country legend ‘Blind Dave’ Heeley shows no sign of running out of steam after visiting his beloved West Bromwich Albion to launch his latest punishing challenge.
The endurance athlete extraordinaire will mark his 60th year by taking on the Great Run series’ entire 2017 events calendar, in aid of the Albion Foundation, which it is understood will be a world first for a blind pairing.
Dave kicked off the first of 25 gruelling challenges in Baggies skipper Darren Fletcher’s city of birth with the relatively gentle Great Edinburgh Winter Run 5k on Saturday, January 7, before finishing at the Great Ethiopian Run in November.
As the Great Run series offers a range of distances across a weekend, Dave and his running guides, Darlaston-born Tony Ellis and Wigan’s Garry Wells, will have to run twice on some days.
His toughest leg will come on home turf on October 15 when he attempts the inaugural Birmingham International Marathon AND Great Birmingham Run, the country’s second largest half-marathon – that’s 39.3 miles in one day!
Dave is one of over 5,000 people to have signed up for the Birmingham International Marathon which, some ten months before its debut, has already become the UK’s sixth largest 26.2-mile run.
Starting at Alexander Stadium, the marathon will take in iconic city sights like Matthew Boulton College, Selfridges, Edgbaston Cricket Ground and picturesque Cannon Hill Park before finishing at Millennium Point.
In total, Dave will be running two marathons, six half-marathons, two ten-mile events, ten 10ks, one five-mile race and four 5ks – that’s more than 230 miles!
“I sat down the other day and calculated that, including training, I’ve run about 58,000 miles in my lifetime – no wonder I’m always tired!” quipped Dave who averages almost 1,000 miles per year he’s been alive.
“I did my 15th Great North Run last year and completing all the Great Run series events in one year is one of these things we’ve been talking about for about six years, but something kept coming along to stop us.
“But it’s all worked out well. With Tony turning 50 this year, Garry 48 and me 60 in November, what a year to attempt it!”
With Dave’s long-term sponsors Pertemps pledging to donate £1,000 to the Albion Foundation for every Great Run completed, each event really is going to count.
Dave was interviewed about his latest challenge pitchside yesterday during half-time at Albion’s 3-1 Premier League victory against Hull at The Hawthorns.
Chris Brunt, who headed the Baggies’ equalising goal, said: “It was great to see Dave and send him off on what is another incredible challenge with a win.
“The lengths he goes to to raise funds for the Albion Foundation is inspirational. We’ll be right behind him as he progresses through his 25 events.”
Dave, who was diagnosed with Retinitas Pigmentosa aged ten and lost his eyesight completely by his 20s, began fundraising for the Albion Foundation in 2015.
He completed the Marathon des Sables, dubbed the ‘toughest footrace on earth’, in the Sahara desert while not even the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon could hold him last June.
Dave’s motivation this year will be raising as many funds as possible for a new initiative the Albion Foundation – the club’s charitable arm he is an ambassador of – aims to launch in 2017 to help people with disabilities into work. Full details will be released in the coming weeks.
Dave, an official torchbearer for the London 2012 Olympics, said: “The Albion Foundation does some marvellous work in the local community and one area that goes from strength to strength is its disability department.
“They are really passionate about helping children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties, both in playing sport and making the transition from full-time education into work.
“It’s a fantastic charity and, being a Baggies fan, this really is a personal challenge.”
Dave is urging Baggies fans to help him raise funds by joining him in running some of the 25 events, particularly with three races on their doorstep.
The first opportunity arrives with the Great Birmingham 10k on April 30, ahead of the Great Birmingham Run half-marathon and Birmingham International Marathon – both on October 15.
He is delighted to see the introduction of the latter.
“It’s about time there was a marathon in Birmingham,” added Dave, whose greatest achievement was becoming the first, and to date only, blind person to run seven marathons in seven successive days on seven different continents in 2008.
“I’ve done London, New York and plenty of marathons around the country, but the Second City should also have one.
“For us, we’ll run the marathon in the morning, the half in the afternoon and then have a pint at the end. It would be amazing if Albion fans would consider running the events with us.
“The Great Run series, as a whole, is fantastic. There are events to suit all abilities.”
To sponsor Blind Dave, visit: http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/blinddavegreatrunseries2017
To join Blind Dave at the Great Birmingham 10k on Sunday, April 30 – the perfect training event for a half-marathon or marathon – visit: http://www.greatrun.org/great-birmingham-10k
Anyone who enters the 10k will receive a £10 discount for either the Great Birmingham Run or Birmingham International Marathon on Sunday, October 15. Also, all entrants for the Great Birmingham Run or Birmingham International Marathon will earn a £10 discount for the Great Birmingham 10k.
To enter the Great Birmingham Run, visit: http://www.greatrun.org/great-birmingham-run
To enter the Birmingham International Marathon, visit: http://www.greatrun.org/birmingham-international-marathon
Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of the Great Run Company
Aston mum Shah Begum will be making her marathon debut at the Birmingham International Marathon
The inaugural Birmingham International Marathon will truly live up to its name after organisers revealed dozens of runners from across the world have already signed up to take part.
The 26.2-mile run, which takes place on Sunday, October 15, 2017 – the same day as the popular Great Birmingham Run half marathon – has attracted entries from as far afield as Singapore, the USA, Canada, Cayman Islands and Australia.
Dozens of runners from across Europe will also be heading for the Alexander Stadium start line next autumn, entry data has revealed.
Almost 5,000 people have already signed up to take part, just six weeks after the entry window was opened.
Birmingham is widely regarded as the birthplace of mass participation long-distance running events and the Birmingham International Marathon will cement the city’s position as the European Capital of Running.
The city staged one of the country’s first open-to-all marathons, the People’s Marathon, which ran from 1980-85 and was organised by late Solihull-based elite runner John Walker.
It also promises to be a feather in the cap for Birmingham’s bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Anyone can now sign up for the first Birmingham International Marathon, which will fittingly start at Alexander Stadium, the home of British Athletics
The route will take in iconic city sights like Villa Park, Matthew Boulton College, Selfridges, Edgbaston Cricket Ground and picturesque Cannon Hill Park before finishing at Millennium Point.
The 2017 Birmingham International Marathon will be held on the same day as the Great Birmingham Run but neither course will include ‘the hill’.
Birmingham-born Ian Stewart, one of the world’s leading distance runners between the late 1960s and mid-1970s, said: “I think the fact that Birmingham now has a major International Marathon next year is a fantastic addition to Birmingham’s portfolio of major athletic events. It is also the perfect time of the year for athletes who want to qualify for major games the following year.
“Looking at the amount of entries and interest it has created so far just goes to show that it has been long overdue.”
Cllr Ian Ward, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “It’s great that runners from around the world are entering the Birmingham International Marathon, as this highlights our truly international reputation as a sporting city.
“Events like this showcase Birmingham and the wider region to the world, something we hope to do again in 2026, as we prepare to bid to host the Commonwealth Games.”
Sign up for the Birmingham International Marathon at https://www.greatrun.org/birmingham-international-marathon
Entries are now open for the Great Birmingham Run 2017. Sign up at https://www.greatrun.org/great-birmingham-run
Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of the Birmingham International Marathon
The November/December 2016 edition of Edit magazine
Hot off the press… the latest edition of Retail BID Birmingham’s Edit magazine is on its way to more than 500 city centre businesses.
This is the sixth edition of the member magazine, published by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of Retail BID; the Business Improvement District for city centre retail and leisure businesses.
The 32-page edition talks about Retail BID’s successful Ballot Renewal, events for 2017 such as the return of the Weekender arts festival, along with interviews with department store managers and new openings and expansions in the city centre.
For more information about Retail BID click here.
Steve Bavington of ChaplaincyPlus
Birmingham charity ChaplaincyPlus is helping city businesses and staff approach a taboo topic that affects one in ten people within the workplace at any time.
ChaplaincyPlus, a Christian organisation which supports the Birmingham business community – irrespective of faith – is running a free ‘Understanding Bereavement In The Workplace’ workshop at PWC, Cornwall St, on November 10 from 5.30pm (for 6pm start) to 7.30pm.
Research by the National Council for Palliative Care underlines just how businesses can be affected if they do not operate a compassionate bereavement policy.
The ‘Life after death: six steps to improve support in bereavement’ report revealed a third of employees bereaved during a five-year period said they were not treated compassionately by their employer at the time.
It also found over half of the 4,000 polled would consider leaving their job if their employer did not provide proper support if someone close died.
ChaplaincyPlus says business professionals who attend the workshop, being run in partnership with St Giles Hospice, will be better prepared to support bereaved colleagues.
Steve Bavington, chaplain to Birmingham’s business district who runs ChaplaincyPlus, said: “Grief impacts on the emotional, physical, spiritual and psychological wellbeing of a person.
“Whether you are a director, line manager or colleague, supporting a staff member who is bereaved, and knowing the right things to say, is never easy.
“ChaplaincyPlus’ workshop is for anyone looking to better support colleagues during times of grief and is part of a portfolio of regular events we run for the business community.”
The workshop aims to help business professionals understand the effects of bereavement and improve communication with grieving colleagues.
It will also explain how organisations can take positive steps to becoming a compassionate employer.
“The fact one in ten staff at any given time are bereaved underlines how widespread an issue this is within the workplace, and just how important it is that businesses and individual staff members are better prepared to provide the compassion and support required to help them through such a difficult experience,” added Steve.
The workshop is just one of a range of services run by ChaplaincyPlus, a free resource for the Birmingham business community that has been operating in the Second City for 13 years.
ChaplaincyPlus also offers one-to-one confidential support for business professionals struggling to cope with day-to-day office pressures.
Faith-based but not faith-biased, ChaplaincyPlus’ appointments are available to all, even those of no faith.
ChaplaincyPlus also runs networking events and seminars.
To book a free place, or for further information about ChaplaincyPlus, contact Steve Bavington on 0121 236 9742, email steve.bavington@chaplaincyplus.org.uk or visit www.chaplaincyplus.org.uk
Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of ChaplaincyPlus
Colmore Row, Birmingham, in 1953, by Phyllis Nicklin
The popular Birmingham city centre #NicklinUnseen outdoor photography exhibition has been shortlisted for a national award with the public getting chance to pick the winner.
Colmore Business Improvement District’s (Colmore BID) #NicklinUnseen exhibition, which displayed the work of Birmingham photographer and lecturer Phyllis Nicklin on large-format boards in Snow Hill Square, has been recognised by British BIDs, the support organisation for BIDs across the country.
Colmore BID worked alongside David Oram of Brumpic social media accounts and photography curator Pete James to deliver the exhibition, which was funded with a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £10,000 and cash support from JMP, a transport consultant in Colmore BID.
#NicklinUnseen will now compete with events in Winchester and London for the ‘Place Marketing – Large Location’ category prize
Members of the public will have one week to vote for their favourite BID Award via the British BIDs website from October 31. The winner is announced on November 10. The #VoteNicklin hashtag is being used throughout the vote period.
The exhibition took place between October 2015 and January 2016 and examined the work of Ms Nicklin, who catalogued the wide-ranging post-war changes that have shaped Birmingham.
Ms Nicklin was a lecturer in the Department of Extramural Studies at the University of Birmingham during the 1950s and 1960s. During her time in post, she took thousands of photographs from across the city, which have remained in the University archive. The photographs capture the city in a state of transition, as old gives way to the modern.
Mike Best, board director at Colmore Business District, said: “Birmingham city centre is undergoing a considerable transformation at the moment, not unlike the one Phyllis herself witnessed almost 60 years ago.
The #NicklinUnseen exhibition in Snow Hill square
“As the second city evolves with developments such as Grand Central, Paradise Circus and the Beorma Quarter, we felt it was important for people who live, work and visit to look back at the last social, architectural and urban transformation which took place in the post-war years.”
David Oram, creator of the Brumpic online photo sharing platforms, who played a central role in bringing the photos back to life, said: “I was delighted to work with Colmore Bid and Pete James on this project. The images are historically important to Birmingham, they show the changing landscape of the city over the last 50 years and deserved to be seen by the widest possible audience.”
Visit http://www.britishbids.info/our-services/bid-awards-2016/ to vote.
Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of Colmore Business District
Aston mum Shah Begum will be making her marathon debut at the Birmingham International Marathon
The Midlands is buzzing with running mania after organisers of the Birmingham International Marathon revealed more than 4,000 people have already signed up for next year’s inaugural event, just two weeks after entries were opened.
The marathon takes place on Sunday, October 15, 2017 – the same day as the Great Birmingham Run half marathon – which means more than 25,000 runners are expected to hit the streets of the city for a true festival of running.
And with a year to go before the event takes place, the Birmingham International Marathon has already become the UK’s sixth largest 26.2-mile run.
Birmingham is widely regarded as the birthplace of mass participation long-distance running events and the Birmingham International Marathon will cement the city’s position as the European Capital of Running.
It also promises to be a medal of honour for Birmingham’s bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Anyone can now sign up for the first Birmingham International Marathon, which will fittingly start at Alexander Stadium, the home of British Athletics
It will take in several iconic city sights like Villa Park, Matthew Boulton College, Selfridges, Edgbaston Cricket Ground and the picturesque Cannon Hill Park before finishing at Millennium Point.
Birmingham staged one of the country’s first open-to-all marathons, the People’s Marathon, which ran from 1980-85 and was organised by late Solihull-based elite runner John Walker.
David Hart, Communications Director for the Great Run Company, organisers of the Birmingham International Marathon, said: “Coming hot on the heels of a hugely successful Great Birmingham Run 2016, we’ve been overwhelmed by the response to the first-ever Birmingham International Marathon with more than 4,000 people signing up in the two weeks since the event was opened for entries.
“And with a year to go before the event takes place, the Birmingham International Marathon has already reached an entry level that would make it the UK’s sixth largest 26.2-mile run.”
The debut People’s Marathon was held a year before the first London Marathon and Athletics Weekly predicted at the time that it would be ‘the event which triggered off the mass long-distance running movement in this country’.
The 2017 Birmingham International Marathon will be held on the same day as the Great Birmingham Run but neither course will include ‘the hill’.
The first Birmingham International Marathon will be a milestone for Steve Edwards, one of the world’s leading multi-marathon runners. He plans to run his 800th marathon in Brum and maintain his record of completing each challenge in under 3hrs20mins.
Conversely, Aston mum Shah Begum is planning to tackle her first marathon. Since taking up running, she shed six stone in just 18 months and is about to take on her first half marathon at the Great Birmingham Run on October 16, having completed her opening 10k, at the Great Birmingham 10k, in May.
Entry for the Birmingham International Marathon costs £55 and entrants must be 18 on the day of the event. The provisional entry limit is 10,000.
Sign up for the Birmingham International Marathon at https://www.greatrun.org/birmingham-international-marathon
Entries are now open for the Great Birmingham Run 2017. Sign up at https://www.greatrun.org/great-birmingham-run
Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of the Birmingham International Marathon
Snow Hill Square designs. Courtesy Broadway Malyan
Stunning new designs have been released to show how one of Birmingham’s busiest open spaces could look as part of a phased £10 million improvement project for the Snow Hill area of Colmore Business District.
Snow Hill Square will be completely redesigned in a £3.3m scheme to provide an attractive and welcoming gateway to the city centre from Snow Hill rail station. Putting pedestrians first, the square will establish a new benchmark for public space in the city, adding value and attracting investment.
The redesigned square is at the heart of a number of changes to the Snow Hill area that will consider street usage and provide more space and comfort for pedestrians as well as prioritising pedestrians wherever possible and introducing more ‘staying/stopping’ space.
Scheme details include:
- Introducing a new two-way traffic flow on Livery Street between Cornwall Street and the Livery Street car park entrance
- Swapping the location of a bus stop on Livery Street and the taxi rank in front of Snow Hill station
- Removing the right-turn from Livery Street to Colmore Row
- Rerouting bus routes 7, 46 and 101
- Reconfiguring the junction of Colmore Circus Queensway and Snow Hill Queensway
Colmore Business Improvement District (BID) is working alongside Birmingham City Council, Transport for West Midlands and architect and design practice Broadway Malyan on the proposals, along with property owners and tenants who are being consulted throughout.
Information about how the scheme will be funded will be made available during a month-long public consultation process.
Rob Valentine, Colmore BID Vice Chairman, said: “Snow Hill Square makes a suitable extension of the earlier work of Colmore BID in Church Street Square and Colmore Square.
“Though a technically and legally demanding project, involving a live railway tunnel and multiple ownership interests, this space is a true gateway into the Colmore Business District and needs to be a high quality environment.
“I’m very pleased with the design, and can’t wait to see this example of business-led place-making become a reality.”
Birmingham City Council Leader, Cllr John Clancy, described Snow Hill Square plans as ‘exciting’
“Snow Hill Station is an important gateway into Birmingham and these designs are a clear signal of our intent to develop a hugely important part of the city,” he said.
“Colmore BID and Birmingham City Council share a vision for Snow Hill Square and this exciting project is yet more proof that big things are happening in this city.”
The new square will create a decluttered environment with areas of calm providing opportunities for workers and visitors to enjoy the space throughout the day.
A proposed glass pavilion entrance to a new underground restaurant at One Colmore Row features prominently in the new square, alongside a large timber ‘City Bench’, designed to be a robust and beautifully detailed feature within the square.
Special attention is being paid to street and floor lighting throughout to enable better daytime and evening use of the square.
High quality natural stone has been selected to provide an enduring and unifying surface finish.
Wayfinding elements play on local Anglo Saxon history and topography with ground-level granite etched units featuring abstracted geometric details from Birmingham maps.
Broadway Malyan Director Danny Crump said: “Public open spaces are highly valuable to the liveability of city centre – that enigmatic quality that creates a sense of place and makes it feel good to be somewhere.
“Snow Hill Square is a real opportunity to properly utilise a valuable public space in really vibrant part of Birmingham while also providing an appropriate welcome for this key gateway into Birmingham.
“We have enjoyed working with key stakeholders and the local business community to evolve the concept proposals and it’s exciting to see the scheme move closer towards delivery.”
A Birmingham City Council public consultation will take place near the entrance to Snow Hill station between Thursday, October 6 and Wednesday, November 2, with special hoardings featuring the artists’ impressions, before a tender period throughout the winter and construction work beginning in spring 2017.
It is anticipated the project will be completed in summer 2018.
Find out more about the consultation process at https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/economy/snow-hill-public-consultation
Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of Colmore Business District
Solihull BIG Taste Festival
The biggest ever celebration of food and drink to take place in Solihull town centre is just weeks away.
With 24 food and drink stalls providing live cooking and tastes and aromas from around the world, Mell Square will become foodie central for the sixth annual BIG Taste food and beer festival on Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1.
Every one of the BIG Taste food and drink stalls features a Solihull town centre bar, restaurant or café to help promote local businesses large and small.
With free entry visitors can browse the stalls and watch live cooking by Solihull’s talented chefs and baristas, enjoy live music and plan which restaurant to visit next.
All BIG Taste visitors will receive a voucher booklet for huge discounts at town centre restaurants after the festival weekend has finished.
The festival is being promoted by Solihull Business Improvement District (BID) and is intended to help raise the profile of the town centre’s flourishing food and drink outlets.
Melanie Palmer, Solihull BID Director, said: “There are some truly amazing places to eat and drink in Solihull town centre and the biggest ever BIG Taste festival will celebrate this and more.
“From high street favourites to independent cafes and even a local brewery, there’s something to whet the appetite of all visitors and we look forward to welcoming them to Mell Square.”
An inflatable football darts competition on the Friday of BIG Taste will give one town centre employee the chance to win free car parking for a year, with other prizes up for grabs.
Among the many food and drink highlights is the recently-opened Beech House Restaurant, which will have its own Beech Hut stall offering pulled pork in Beech Hut BBQ sauce served in a brioche bun with slaw; lamb kofta with yoghurt, sweet chillies and slaw; smashed sweet potato with feta, yoghurt, cucumber and chilli and Beech Hut brownies with BBQ’d banana.
The popular Walkabout bar and restaurant on Poplar Road will be serving Aussie beef burgers, kangaroo burgers, wild boar burgers and classic hot dogs, along with a selection of Australian beers and wines.
The Mayor of Solihull, Cllr Mike Robinson, said: “I think the BIG Taste festival is a wonderful opportunity for our local businesses to show what they can do.
“There’s a lot on offer in Solihull and the food festival will be a great chance to show local people and visitors what the town centre is all about.”
For more information about the BIG Taste festival visit www.solihullbid.co.uk
The BIG Taste includes live cooking and stalls from:
The Assembly Rooms
The Flute and Flagon
The Masons Arms
The White Swan
Met Bar and Kitchen
The Delhi
House of Fraser Restaurant and Café
Walkabout
Thornton’s
Waitrose
Café Isabella
The Jiyaan Restaurant
Handmade Burger
George’s Bar at The Ramada
Encore Café
Marks and Spencer
Krispy Kreme
Giraffe
Wagamama
Café Rouge
The Beech Hut
Coast to Coast
Eb and Flow
Silhill Brewery
Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of Solihull Business Improvement District
The University of Birmingham’s new library building, designed by Birmingham-based Associated Architects
The University of Birmingham’s new £44 million Main Library has opened its doors to visitors.
The striking building, designed by Mailbox-based Associated Architects, is described as heralding a new generation of libraries in UK higher education. It opened its doors at the University’s Edgbaston Campus on Monday, September 19.
The milestone building will provide state-of-the-art facilities for students, staff and researchers, as well as a cultural hub for the University and the city, with some facilities being open to the public.
The library’s atrium
With some 62 kilometres of shelving, including 12km of open access bookshelves, the library will provide a new home for the thousands of books and publications owned by the University while also delivering what the University’s Director of Library Services Diane Job has described as ‘inspirational learning spaces embracing new and emerging technologies’. These include a new vanguard audio listening room and four video editing suite booths. Desks are placed near windows to maximise natural light and give spectacular views across campus.
The library has been tailor-made to suit modern users’ requirements and is designed to make more of the University’s extraordinary collections accessible to students and staff, with expert library staff on hand to help and advise on texts, support and resources.
Inside the University of Birmingham’s new library
The demolition of the deficient 1950s library will create a ‘green heart’ to the campus, improving both site circulation and the setting of the historic buildings. The new Library has a colonnaded front to this open space at the natural centre of the University.
The plan is bisected by two full height atria running north-south and east-west. 17,000sq.m of floor space is arranged over six levels with a series of double height spaces running through the building. Located on the Ground Floor are a café and an open plan atrium space, which can be utilised for exhibition/events to showcase research at the University. Energy use will be reduced by around 50% helping the University achieve its 20% CO2 reduction by 2020.
The new building has a contemporary aesthetic, with high level of glazing maximising views in and out to achieve optimum day-lighting to quiet perimeter study areas. Anodised aluminium fins and automatic blinds provide solar shading, adding a layer of detail to the elevations, with ceramic granite cladding to the cores. The importance of the south east corner beside the University Centre is emphasised by the tower, orientated toward the landmark University clock tower.
The library cafe
Diane Job said: “The opening of the library is the culmination of a huge amount of hard work to make sure our incredible resources are organised in ways which allow our students and staff to enjoy new ways of working and access the considerable materials we hold in the most straightforward way.”
The opening is being marked with a special exhibition, open to the public, showcasing works from the University’s collections, which have pushed the boundaries of Western knowledge over the last 500 years.
Organised by the University’s Library Services with the Cadbury Research Library, the exhibition, called Inspiring Knowledge: works of innovation and imagination that have shaped our world, will be staged in the new Library Lounge.
Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of Associated Architects
