Did one conference save Birmingham?

Birmingham city centre in the 80s was all dank subways and cars - the Highbury Initiative changed all that

Dear Patchers — In 1988, a group of around 80 architects, developers, planners, cultural figures and councillors gathered at the-then Albany Hotel on Smallbrook Queensway. The city centre was in dire straits. They needed a plan.

That meeting would go on to revolutionise Brummies’ relationship with the city. In today’s Dispatch, Jon Neale explores how the…