{"id":983730,"date":"2026-05-25T11:27:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T11:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/983730\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T11:27:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T11:27:36","slug":"promise-to-restore-birmingham-city-centre-street-left-scarred-by-eyesore-tarmac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/983730\/","title":{"rendered":"Promise to restore Birmingham city centre street left ‘scarred’ by ‘eyesore’ tarmac"},"content":{"rendered":"

National Grid has promised to restore a city centre street back to its former glory “as soon as possible” after it was left ‘scarred’ by ‘eyesore’ tarmac.<\/p>\n

Luxury paving stones laid along Colmore Row in 2024 were ripped up and replaced with patches of tarmac almost as quickly as they had appeared.<\/p>\n

The granite slabs outside Birmingham Council House<\/a> were dug up by National Grid workers who so far have failed to return the area to its original condition, sparking public backlash.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/b> HS2 cost could spiral to \u00a3102bn with high-speed trains now ‘slower’ than before<\/b> <\/a><\/p>\n

Reaction online has been fierce, with Brummies branding the temporary fix as “lazy” and “ghastly”.<\/p>\n

Many questioned why the slabs were not reinstated immediately following the works.<\/p>\n

One section of the pavement has remained covered in tarmac after being filled in over a year ago, while additional patches have appeared in the area in the past two months.<\/p>\n

Reiss Omari, who uses his social media platform to campaign for improvements in the city,<\/a> has long called for the area to be returned to its former glory.<\/p>\n

He questioned the point of spending “money on nice things” when firms are “allowed to do this”.<\/p>\n

“The patch around the lamppost has been there since February 2025,” he said.<\/p>\n

“You wouldn\u2019t accept that as temporary in your garden. Well, I certainly wouldn\u2019t.”<\/p>\n

While many online directed criticism at the city council, the authority told BirminghamLive on Tuesday it is National Grid’s responsibility to return the area to its original state.<\/p>\n

The council said it was “actively working” with the energy firm to “secure permanent reinstatement”.<\/p>\n

National Grid told us it was in talks with the authority regarding the ‘reinstatement method, sourcing approach and responsibility for the complexity involved’.<\/p>\n

It said its intention was to restore the pavement once an agreement had been reached and promised to carry out the repairs “as soon as possible”, acknowledging the frustration felt by the public.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the energy firm told BirminghamLive: “We know the current finish on Colmore Row isn\u2019t what people expect, and we understand the frustration that\u2019s been shared locally.<\/p>\n

“A temporary surface is in place to keep the area open and safe to use while a permanent solution is implemented, which is standard practice.<\/p>\n

“Reinstating the original granite slabs is more complex than standard paving.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re working closely with the council to agree the right approach, including responsibility, materials and delivery, and to restore the area properly as soon as possible.”<\/p>\n

A council spokesperson added: “The works currently taking place on Colmore Row are utility works being undertaken by National Grid following urgent works required due to faults within the adjacent building, which resulted in power outages.<\/p>\n

“The area has been temporarily reinstated in tarmac and National Grid has statutory powers to leave the interim reinstatement for up to six months.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, we are in regular dialogue with National Grid and are actively working with them to secure permanent reinstatement well in advance of the six\u2011month interim period.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"National Grid has promised to restore a city centre street back to its former glory “as soon as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":983731,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,273551,748,82881,64920,393,273550,4884,44838,273552,273549,16,15],"class_list":["post-983730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-birmingham","tag-birmingham","tag-birmingham-council-house","tag-britain","tag-city-centre-street","tag-colmore-row","tag-england","tag-granite-slabs","tag-great-britain","tag-national-grid","tag-paving-stones","tag-tarmac","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116634979423555016","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=983730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/983731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=983730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=983730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=983730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}