Is the MIPIM property fair on the French Riviera really a golden investment opportunity which no self-respecting city can afford to miss, or is it just an excuse for men in suits to eat and drink to excess for five days? Public Affairs Correspondent Paul Dale reports

There was little in the way of iconic regeneration projects for Birmingham city council leader Mike Whitby to announce at this year’s Mipim property bash in Cannes, so rather than telling investors about something that is going to be built, he stuck to talking about something that is going to be knocked down.

The Central Library has finally had its day, allowing the council to move forward with a £500 million transformation of Paradise Circus.

Coun Whitby put it like this: “Birmingham is gaining real momentum as it delivers some iconic schemes, but moving ahead as a city doesn’t always involve building something new – this year we are announcing a demolition that will change the face of the city.”

It wasn’t really a new announcement at all. News of the Culture Minister Ed Vaizey’s decision to award a certificate of immunity from listing, giving the council five years to raze the 1970s building to the ground, has been around for weeks but wasn’t given much prominence since it was merely a rubber stamping of a previous government decision and entirely expected.

Then again, the Paradise Circus development will hardly have been breaking news to Mipim regulars either.

The huge scheme has regularly featured in the council’s presentations in the south of France, the only difference being that the project was valued at £1 billion when first launched at Cannes. Falling property values have seemingly cut the figure in half since then.

The story of Birmingham’s presence at Mipim since 2005 has been one of mixed fortunes, as you might expect from an event where participants routinely talk up embryonic property projects in the hope of attracting support from wealthy investors.

Often, however, the schemes the council unveils are already financed and going ahead, leaving critics to claim that this mega property fair where registration alone costs £1,300 per person is little more than a vanity parade where parties on luxury yachts in the harbour have become notorious for alcohol-fuelled excess.

The council doesn’t see it like that, insisting that Mipim is a unique five-day opportunity to network among the world’s leading real estate investors. A place where contacts can be made among the super-wealthy, who may just be prepared to buy into the Birmingham story at a future date.

Mipim has been notable for increasingly jingoistic pronouncements by Coun Whitby as he seeks to hammer home his “Birmingham is a major global city” message. And to be fair to the council leader, many of the projects he has unveiled have come to pass albeit not as quickly as had been expected.

Major successes include the refurbishment of Baskerville House and construction of The Cube, both premiered at Mipim in 2005 and 2006.

Another big Whitby announcement in 2006, plans to “light up the city centre like Lyons” never saw, er, the light of day.

Arena Central and the V Building, the huge mixed-use scheme scheduled for the former Central TV studios at the bottom of Broad Street, has been trotted almost as many times at Mipim as the celebrated trays of canapes and flutes of Champagne.

As for anything actually happening on the site, the recession and credit crunch appear to have put paid to any start in the foreseeable future.

Mipim 2008, the last before economic woes really set in, was based on media announcements every day detailing exciting plans for Birmingham.

Deutsche Bank and another, unnamed, bank, were to set up headquarters in Birmingham creating 5,000 jobs.

Deutsche Bank arrived at Brindleyplace but the other bank did not. The jobs tally so far is edging towards 1,000, and there are strong rumours that Deutsche Bank is looking to expand further and may even move into larger premises.

There were also announcements in 2008 about the Eastside City Park – building work will finally begin in May 2011 – and the prospective redevelopment of Curzon Street Station, which is yet to advance beyond pre-planning stage.

The 2008 gathering saw Coun Whitby speak at length about the creation of five eco towns in Birmingham, starting with Longbridge and Icknield Port Loop on the border of Edgbaston and Ladywood. The massive Longbridge scheme is proceeding in partnership with the council, St Modwen, Worcestershire and Bromsgrove councils, but Icknield Port Loop remains on the drawing board.

With the storm clouds of recession on the horizon, Mipim 2009 was characterised by Whitby’s “beer and sandwiches” approach, forsaking the previous year’s balti on the beach for a more workmanlike affair.

The aim was to promote a number of strategic development sites across Birmingham, with Coun Whitby telling investors, possibly more in hope than expectation: “We’ve got the plots, you’ve got the pots.”