The Royalty Harborne

11/10/2026

So the Royalty has a new owner. Will they come forward and engage? This is a chance for a new start. We don't think a proposal is feasable without our help even if they have bought at a knock down (no pun intended) price.
Come on new owner. Let's find a way to sort this building out.
There's an Enforcement Notice on the building but the Council don't know who to enforce. (or do they??) 🤔

05/08/2026

Interesting the local social media comments suggesting food spaces. This has been successful at the Mackie Mayor in Altrincham using an old market hall. We've also previously posted the restored lido in Bristol which has now a restaurant and other facilities around it. In the past pools were boarded over in the winter and used as dance halls.

06/06/2026

This Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the Circle Cinema. To celebrate tomorrow Sunday 7th June, Circle Cinema are putting on a double bill starting with the family favourite Ratatouille at 3pm followed by a fundraising event at 6pm with food, drink 🥂and live piano music 🎶 before the classic Casablanca at 7.15pm
You can buy tickets for each film online or on the door. Adults £6, u-16s £2, members £1
Congratulations to all those who have made the Circle Cinema showings such a success over the last 10 years and hopefully for many years more. Please do come along and support them.

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03/06/2026

Visited the Keswick Alhamba cinema one of the oldest continually operating cinemas in the country and heard the owners views on what makes a good small local cinema. All helpful and different takes on what makes a success.
www.keswickalhambra.co.uk

14/05/2026

We've kindly been allowed to post this AI generated image of what the frontage of the Royalty could look like created by James Cross. James was one of the recent candidates for Harborne and believes just like us there is a lot of opportunity for what the building could deliver for Harborne.
Meanwhile we've commissioned further architectural work to evaluate more options to try and get this building sorted out.

12/05/2026

A reminder from the Architectural Heritage Fund of what you can do with a courtyard space with some imagination.

12/04/2026

Today we were privileged to be invited to be part of the latest edition of the Birmingham History podcast hosted by Alison and James.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1BXGJTl3gpPPWJCaFpu9Ga?si=h_y5gYvTQampyNVscY3HRA
Fellow guest was Ben Waddington. Local historian, tour guide and author in Birmingham. Ben wrote 111 Places in Birmingham That You Shouldn't Miss.
The podcast takes you on a journey through the rich history of cinema of Birmingham and highlights the upcoming annual Flatpack Festival in Birmingham in May 2026.

The Silent Film era is discussed and the many venues across Birmingham that played silent films. This includes The Picture House (now a shopping arcade), The Futurist and The Electric. We discuss the recent developments with the Electric and hope that this may be saved as a cinema. We discuss our experiences going to this iconic cinema, the oldest cinema in the UK from 1909.

Ben discusses the current nook gallery and studies in the Birmingham suburb of King's Heath. Ben gives us a fascinating insight into his research. This led him to discover that the building was once a Silent Cinema in the 1910s and called the Cosy Cinema.

The era of sound in cinema is discussed and the different venues in Birmingham involved in this new era of cinema from the 1920s onwards. This includes the Harborne Royalty, (c32m 30) a cinema built by the renowned architect Horace Bradley in 1930. Rob discusses the efforts he and his team has made to try and bring this derelict building back to use.

Oscar Deutsch and the Odeon cinema chain is discussed. Oscar had strong links to Birmingham and the 1st branded Odeon cinema was in Perry Barr. It is debated what Odeon might stand for!

The Odeon New St is discussed and its remarkable history. It became an Odeon in 1942 and still is to this day! The unique Art Deco style of Odeon cinema architecture is discussed

The podcast delves into the lost cinema hidden underneath a building in Central Birmingham. It was once the successor to the Scala cinema. Ben takes us on a fascinating journey into that lost cinema. Did you know too the Picadilly Arcade was originally a cinema?

The iconic comic duo Laurel and Hardy came to Birmingham towards the end of their career. The podcast discusses this visit and their career which spanned the silent and sound era of cinema

Was Charlie Chaplain born just outside Birmingham in Smethwick? The podcast looks into this intriguing story

The acclaimed Flatpack Film Festival is held in Birmingham every year and is going from strength to strength. The next edition is from the 8th to 16th May 2026. Ben discusses his involvement and how he is bringing silent cinema back to the former Cosy Cinema!
Links: -

https://flatpackfestival.org.uk/

http://www.theroyaltyharborne.co.uk/- Learn more about the Harborne Royalty

28/03/2026

Arrest after major fire tears through Leek's historic Big Mill - BBC News https://share.google/eZvWKfB5dl01wPnFu

Another listed building goes up in flames......

The former silk mill has been derelict since 2007 and has attracted anti-social behaviour.

22/02/2026

Still no sign of any planning application. What a disgrace that the city is prepared to stand back and let a listed building deteriorate like this. The senior conservation officer has left and the city design manager so perhaps nobody on the bridge?

06/01/2026

As we've had nothing whatsoever back from the owner we're now reaching out to the head of planning at the city to see if we can get some movement (this year...). We'll report back.