As you may have heard (or saw) in today's media, Historic England have granted "The Elmdon Building", The art deco original terminal building and the Birthplace of Birmingham Airport, Grade II listed status. Had it not been for regrettable internal alterations it would have been listed even higher!
My personal intervention came about as a result of frustration and disappointment having worked in the building and seeing first hand the VIP's that passed through the tired corridors and using toilets that would be more at home at a car boot sale! The first impression of the midlands to some of the biggest names in industry was an old tatty neglected building!
I started to look at old photographs and realised how much history it had and how elegant it once looked, then realised how great it would be as a museum! Like many I was surprised that it wasn't already listed. I even emailed the former CEO about 8 years ago who made it perfectly clear it was at the bottom of the priority list!
After the great flood in March this year I feared it would be the final nail in the coffin and the perfect excuse to knock it down quietly, so took to social media to draw attention to the tragedy that was unfolding.
Today is just the beginning... I hope one day my vision for a visitor centre will be realised, the building has so much history and so much potential, although I am not holding my breath... Finally I would like to thank personally each and everyone of you, (5400+) for signing and sharing the petition, and for leaving your stories and memories of it.
Thank you... Chris