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Birmingham Conservation Trust (BCT) is pleased to announce the appointment of a Lead Consultant, Oliver Architecture, to undertake the feasibility study and identification of urgent works for the Golden Lion in Cannon Hill Park.

Over the next three months Oliver Architecture will oversee building surveys which will determine repair costs to save the building as well as presenting us with three viable options for potential re-use. At that stage we hope to take the preferred option forward to the next stage of grant funding.

This is why the feasibility stage is so important and we are grateful for the grant funding secured from Historic England, W A Cadbury and Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF). Without this, finding a viable future for this building would be impossible to achieve. But with solid stats behind us, this will give us the concrete evidence we need to build on the work being undertaken this summer and move the project forward.

Over the next few months BCT and Oliver Architecture will be undertaking public consultation on community engagement days around the city, but also inside Cannon Hill Park itself.

As part of this feasibility study BCT will also be focussing on research into the Golden Lion, specifically by commissioning a building archaeology report, primary source research, as well as dendrochronology to ascertain an accurate timeline to date the building. This is the first time work of this sort has been carried out on the Golden Lion, so we expect to discover much about this it that has been lost to history.

Matt Faber, Associate said:

“After walking past the Golden Lion for many years and even visiting myself when it was open to the public, this is a dream project, and Oliver Architecture are extremely excited to be playing a part in finding a viable future for this building.’   

Benjamin Parker , BCT Trust Chair of Trustees said:

We feel privileged to be at the helm of finding a solution for this much-loved building and from our site visits over the past three months, it’s clear to see how saving the Golden Lion is also the priority of the many park users we’ve spoken to. Half of the battle when leading a project like this is finding support for it, but we have it in abundance and this will be key to the future use of the Golden Lion.

Special thanks to Birmingham City Council for allowing access to the Golden Lion to facilitate work leading up to this appointment.  

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