ASSAULT ON BATTERY

03-06-2009

Word reaches The Stirrer that the last remnants of one of Birmingham’s great historical factories – the Battery and Metal Company in Selly Oak – has been demolished. That’s despite the fact that it was a Grade 2 listed.

The characterful office block which was knocked down overnight was the only surviving part of a building which dated back to 1871.

It was home to a business where metal was flattened into plates by hammers powered by water from the nearby River Rea (ie the battery process).

The Stirrer’s conservation-minded friends point out that while the Council talks about “reverse migration” ie persuading people of culture and education to come to the city, in practice it does little to preserve these characterful buildings.

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