The leader of Birmingham City Council can be forgiven his moment of triumphalism when announcing that the £500 million redevelopment of Paradise Circus is a major step closer to actually happening.

But for Mike Whitby, the Government’s decision to grant a five-year certificate of immunity stopping the Central Library from being listed, is just the end of the beginning for what will be extremely complex project.

As he jubilantly waved the immunity certificate at MIPIM property investors in the south of France, Coun Whitby would have been well advised to cross his fingers behind his back when talking up the biggest city centre regeneration project in Europe.

If all goes well, and we hope and expect it will, the redevelopment of Paradise Circus offers Birmingham a once in a lifetime opportunity to address some dreadful planning mistakes of the 1970s.

The rather odd collection of ugly concrete buildings surrounding Paradise Forum are not only uneasy on the eye, they form a virtual checkpoint making it extremely difficult for pedestrians to proceed from the city centre shopping area to Broad Street.

For visitors unsure of where to go, accessing the narrow walkway through the Forum often proves an impossible task. Many simply walk away scratching their heads in bemusement, unable to chart a course to the ICC, the NIA and Brindleyplace.

These buildings, particularly the library, are not sympathetic to their surroundings – Birmingham’s splendid Victorian heritage of the Town Hall, Council House and Museum. They will not be missed, other than by a small minority of enthuisiasts who profess to see beauty in John Madin’s brutalist library.