Dear Richard,
Always constant transport (ring road and tram/railways) construction and destruction (eg. 50s tramways) and re-construction (eg 80/90s Metro tramway instead of railway reinstated).
Centenary Square was rebuilt three times between 2000 and 2020. The last version cost £16 million.
Smallbrook Queensway crescent of buildings built in the 60s and demolished now. John Christophers' excellent plan ignored.
After nearly 40 years of writing to the authorities, they still overlooked three mainline Brum/Black Country railways which could have been reinstated. All three were spoiled as mainline railways. My major success was playing a small part in stopping the Brum to Bristol mainline turned into part tramway to ruin it as a mainline railway! But it is taking, so far, nearly ten years - from 2016, to rebuild the three stations on the third mainline instead of tram stops, as originally planned!!
Trams first to get trains reinstated (which never materialise, of course) in this famous, absurd quote from 2000 by Tom well-meaning Magrath, Passenger Services Director, Centro (now TfWM):
"Light rail provision provides the basis for restoring heavy rail services at the appropriate time."
Thus, doubling, at a minimum, the cost is typical of how Brum has seen how it must do construction projects, even when the Black Country Mainline Railway is "of national strategic significance", according to a letter sent to me by Network Rail and the DfT!
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