A filing mix-up has been blamed for a threatened Edwardian church hall being omitted from an official online council list of historic buildings.
The 1924 built Glynn Edwards Hall in Acocks Green could now be bulldozed after plans were submitted for a new community hall in its place.
The building is flanked by a pair of Grade II-listed buildings – Acocks Green Baptist Church chapel on Yardley Road and Arthur Moore Hall on the Alexander Road site.
The Baptist Church and Stockfield Residents Association, which is behind the plans, said the demolition and redevelopment would fund the restoration of the two listed buildings as well and provide a community hall more suited to 21st century demands.
But now it appears the Glynn Edwards Hall does have limited protection through a Grade A Birmingham City Council listing – even though it did not appear on the council’s online register.
Grade A is the highest rating a council can offer, implying the building might be worthy of English Heritage protection.
It has emerged that the building was added to the list 21 years ago and the typed listing was misfiled and later over looked when it was added to the council’s website. The paper record has now come to light and the local list removed from the council’s website while it is updated.
The additional, albeit limited, degree of protection could tip the balance in favour of retaining the building.
Julia Larden, who is campaigning to save the building for the Acocks Green Focus Group said: “We are relieved that it has finally been possible to solve the problem of the missing listing, which the other side has enjoyed making much capital out of.
“We appreciate that Conservation has taken this so seriously that they have, for now, pulled the plug on the City on-line Local List, until the Glynn Edwards can go digital.
“We intend to ensure the Glynn Edwards stays put on that list.”
The planning department has been inundated with letters over the proposal, including objections from the council’s own conservation officer, English Heritage and both the Victorian and Twentieth Century Societies.
