The UK’s oldest cinema could be facing the bulldozers. But the mayor wants to save it.
Plus: Your last chance to catch A Midsummer Night's Dream
Dear Patchers — welcome to your Monday briefing.
The Electric cinema — and potentially the whole of Station Street, if the rumours prove to be true — could face bulldozers. There’s a big petition doing the rounds and Andy Street has chimed in to say he has "no intention of standing by and seeing the region's cultural sector decline". Let’s hope he’s right. That’s the topic of our Big Story today.
Elsewhere, Dudley North MP Marco Longhi has thrown his support behind his suspended Conservative colleague Lee Anderson who is embroiled in an Islamaphobia row. We also have a useful link to a Ramadan calendar for those who are observing and yet more HS2 news.
Both of this week’s media picks are nostalgic: one is a poem about a legendary Wolverhampton gay club that featured in our weekend read, and another is a feature about Spaghetti Junction’s star role in film and TV of the last four decades.
On that note, thanks for the response to our weekend read, which explored the impact of the 1980s AIDS epidemic in Birmingham. On Twitter/X University of Birmingham Law professor Fiona de Londras said it was a “superb piece” and Matt said it was: “A long read” but one that was “absolutely worth” your time. We hope you all agree. Naturally, it was an emotional one to research but nonetheless fascinating to discover how the activism in the 1970s in Birmingham led to several groundbreaking moments in LGBT history.
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This week’s weather
Tuesday 🌤️: A dry and bright start to the day, with patches of cloud and the odd potential rain shower appearing later on.
Wednesday 😶🌫️: A cold start with some patchy fog that should clear by the afternoon to make way for plenty of sunny spells.
Thursday ⛅: More indecisions, with the weather alternating between cloudy and sunny.
Friday 🍃: Dry, bright and breezy.
Weekend ☔: Light rain and gentle to moderate breezes.
We get our weather from the Met Office and the BBC.
Big story: ‘I’m absolutely gutted’: The fight to save the Electric cinema is on
Top line: The oldest cinema in the country could be in peril. The Electric on Station Street, which opened way back in 1909, closed down suddenly last week. Since then rumours have been rife, with claims now emerging that a prominent developer intends to demolish the building. After a massive backlash, West Midlands mayor Andy Street has promised “an investigation”. But are the rumours actually true?
Let’s rewind. The building went up for sale in 2003 with a Preservation Order which restricted anyone from turning it into flats. Its new owners intended to use it as a recording studio, but fell in love with the building’s character, restoring the interior and continuing to show films. Kevin Markwick took over in 2021 but the cinema closed last week.

Flatpack fight back: The Director of Flatpack Film Festival, Ian Francis, published a blog post to the Flatpack website on Thursday. In it he reported that Markwick had made the “difficult decision” to close down “despite healthy attendances”.
Then came the twist. Francis claims that a property developer intends to apply for planning permission to demolish “most of Station Street — except for the Grade II listed Old Rep Theatre — to make way for a fifty-storey apartment block.” He said this would be “deeply damaging” for Birmingham on the following grounds:
The building has huge historical significance
The cinema is a successful business (not to mention one of the only independent cinemas in the city)
The Electric, which features in international travel guides and even the Legoland version of Birmingham, attracts visitors to the city
The Dispatch understands there are comprehensive plans for the whole Station Street block. Initial drawings of the potential development have been shared with some of the people connected with the buildings. To be clear, there isn’t yet confirmation that the developer behind the project does intend to demolish the cinema. Others have speculated that the cinema would remain under any new plans. Evidently, the silence thus far from the team with designs on Station Street is only fueling the rumour mill.
Last month it was announced that The Crown pub, also on Station Street, will not be restored as a cultural venue. Despite support from former council leader Ian Ward (and a council loan having previously been secured by Birmingham Open Media), the council’s financial woes led to this being retracted.
The backlash so far has been enormous. A petition by Darren John to designate Station Street a Historic, Cultural and Civic Asset last Thursday has received almost 15,000 signatures already. John said the Electric was a 115-year-old “Art Deco masterpiece” and The Crown is “Birmingham’s Cavern Club” — referring to the fact Black Sabbath played their first gig there.
Mayoral moves: West Midlands Mayor Andy Street then published a statement saying the potential loss of such an “iconic” building was “deeply concerning” and the WMCA was looking at how it could intervene. Street promised an investigation, saying he had "no intention of standing by and seeing the region's cultural sector decline".
Bottom line: Ian Francis told The Dispatch the response was “amazing” and he “feels far more positive” than he did. Although he added that defeatism from some quarters was to be expected given that “Birmingham is a bit punchdrunk from bad news at the moment”. He continued:
But there's also been a lot of determination to fight this any way we can. And I think we've seen the best of Birmingham in lots of ways, and it's clearly acting as a bit of a lightning rod for wider concerns about the redevelopment of the city.
Photo of the week
Despite the low temperatures, it felt — and say this next bit quietly — that the first buds of spring hit Brum this weekend. This delicately balanced picture from the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society captures the hope ahead of us for sunnier days (literally, and figuratively).
Brum in Brief
Dudley North’s Tory MP Marco Longhi has come out swinging in favour of former Conservative party deputy chairman Lee Anderson, saying he should be reinstated after losing the party whip. Anderson’s unsubstantiated claim on GB News that London mayor Sadiq Khan has given the capital city over to “Islamists” was widely condemned, including by senior Tories. But Longhi, Anderson’s friend as well as colleague, would like to see Anderson brought back into the Tory fold.
Ramadam is fast approaching, and Stechford Mosque has published its predicted Ramadan timetable for 2024. Some 30% of Birmingham’s population identify as Muslim, so the month of fast is critically important to the city. Stechford has shared its calendar, with timings for pre-fast meals, prayers, and post-fast meals. All these timings are subject to change per the first verified sighting of this month’s crescent moon. To learn more, and for timings, click through
One day, we’ll get through a whole Monday briefing free of HS2 news. Today is not that day (cue mass groaning and weeping). This week’s update: the GMB union has reached a major agreement with the construction firm overseeing the building of HS2’s Curzon Street station in Birmingham. More details at a click.
Home of the week
This sleek two-bed flat in the iconic Rotunda building is available for the reduced price of £300,000. It comes with two en-suites, a large terrace, and a big dose of modern history!
Media picks
📰I’ve been meaning to share one of our favourite features ever written about Birmingham and as today’s big story featured the Flatpack Film Festival, this is the perfect opportunity. Ian Francis’s ‘A Brief Cultural History of Spaghetti Junction’, which was published in I Choose Birmingham in 2021, traces the concrete megalith from its birth to its surprisingly common appearance in the arts through the decades. If you think a longread about a motorway interchange is unlikely to fascinate, Francis is here to change your mind.
💻The Dispatch’s weekend read on Birmingham’s gay community and the AIDS crisis in the 1980s led us down something of a research rabbit hole. One thing that was tricky to come by was photos and footage from the time, for obvious reasons: the lack of mobile phones during the period and the privacy concerns many people had. We were pleased to discover this recording of poet Gerry Potter, reciting a poem about his experience visiting legendary gay club The Silver Web in Wolverhampton in 1981.
Things to do
Tuesday
🎭 Dispatch readers have until the end of this month to catch A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Early week tickets start from just £5. Booking via this link.
🎶 The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is hosting concerts for people living with dementia and their parents. Audience members can chat or come and go as they please. Free for carers; £5 otherwise.
Wednesday
🎶 With CrossCurrents: New Music Festival underway, Colombian musicians Jorge Garcia and Santiago Lozano bring their experimental synth project to the University of Birmingham. What’s more: tickets are free.
🍻 Fans of both pub quizzes and famous musical venues should head down to the Hare and Hounds for 8.30pm. No booking necessary but worth getting down there in time to avoid disappointment.
Thursday
⚽ Aston Villa take the next step on their European adventure with 2,600 Brummies heading to Amsterdam for the Europa Conference League. For those missing out, popular Villa drinking spots like The Holte and Witton Arms are a solid second option. Kick off is at 5.45pm.
🗣️ For less than a fiver, Dispatch readers can head down to King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls on Thursday evening to see award-winning journalist Lorraine Candy in conversation about her new book What's Wrong With Me?: 101 things midlife women need to know. Tickets and info here.
Love that apartment in the Rotunda, perfect for a pied a terre in the city where I could get my fill of shows and exhibitions without having to travel back to Worcestershire afterwards ! Just need a spare 300K .
Note to self..must buy a lottery ticket.