BIG SCREEN FOR WOLVO AS BRUM ROW CONTINUES

04-06-2007

Wolverhampton’s attempted smash and grab raid on Birmingham’s controversial Big Screen isn’t necessary - the Black Country will soon be getting one of its own.

We’ve been told that the BBC plans to expand its current national network of seven screens to something closer to 30 - and Wolvo is almost certain to benefit.

The city’s former mayor Phil Bateman recently tried to take advantage of Birmingham’s ongoing row about its screen in Chamberlain Square by saying that he would be more than happy to find an alternative home for it.

Bateman was delighted at the prospect of Wolverhampton getting one it’s own, telling The Stirrer: “We’re one of the UK’s newest cities and we’re starting to get the ambition together to match that status, so this is really good news.”

Birmingham’s screen has been mired in controversy over recent months, with conservationists (including both the Civic Society and the Victorian Society) criticising its continued presence in Chamberlain Square - especially now that the Town Hall has been restored to its former glory.

City leaders want it to remain there throughout the summer to add lustre to their city centre beach.

The screen briefly operated without planning permission recently, but now has permission to stay until October.

BBC bosses are astonished at the degree of hostility being shown towards the screen, especially as it provides a unique showcase for local film-makers and shows live relays of top quality ballet and opera from London.

They are hopeful that a new location in Victoria Square will prove to be less controversial.

So keen are they to ensure that it blends in, they even plan to encase it in stone or a similar material so that it matches the colour of the Floozie in the Jacuzzi and the sphinxes.

The new surroundings will give Brum more chance of being featured on national telly when the Beeb hosts major events and scampers around the regions to get a local reaction - for some reason, the folk at network weren’t over-eager to showcase the scaffolding on the Town Hall.

It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction the new plan gets; but with local Wikipedia contributors taking our local row onto the national and international stage, there’s a danger that traditional Brummie negativity could yet see us lose out on a piece of equipment that other cities are queuing up to get their hands on.

(To see what’s coming up on the Big Screen click here)