Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium was demolished without prior notice of proposed development
Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium currently being demolished to make way for more than 400 new homes.(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
An investigation is underway after it emerged the iconic Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium was demolished without all the proper permissions.
During the last month, bulldozers have reduced the historic racetrack to rubble – ending nearly 100 years of racing and speedway in the city.
The A34 Walsall Road site, opposite One Stop Shopping Centre, is earmarked for a development of 400 new homes.
But now Perry Barr councillor Jon Hunt has discovered not all the formalities were completed and approved by Birmingham City Council before the bulldozers moved in.
In a reply to a question posed by the councillor, the council said its legal and property team had launched an investigation into the matter.
Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium currently being demolished to make way for more than 400 new homes.(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
The authority said: “To confirm, no application for a ‘Prior Notification of Proposed Development’ was received by Birmingham City Council for the demolition of the Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium.
“A Section 80 notice under the Building Act 1984 was received by Building Control and was granted under Section 81 of the Act.
“These are statutory requirements in terms of health and safety but are not approval to demolish.
“The matter of the former Greyhound Stadium being demolished without prior notification is being investigated by the council through our legal and property teams, who are looking at the lease agreement, and we will keep the two Perry Barr councillors updated.”
Chris Black, Perry Barr’s general manager, told BirminghamLive earlier this year the closure came with sadness, not just for the Brummies speedway team and greyhound racing, but for the city too.
He said: “The stadium will be closing later this year for redevelopment of the site, which means the greyhound racing and the speedway team will move out of here very shortly.
“The stadium opened in 1928 and they’ve raced for the last nearly 100 years. It’s sad, not just for the people connected to the two sports, but I think for the city itself.
“It’s the last greyhound and speedway stadium in the city. Although Perry Barr is closing, we are moving to Dunstall Park in Wolverhampton to continue the greyhound racing.”