Council criticised over Birmingham Jewellery Quarter workshops sale

Birmingham City Council is facing criticism after placing a row of historic workshops on Vyse Street in the Jewellery Quarter up for sale without prior consultation with tenants, local businesses, or trade groups.

The move comes less than two weeks after the Quarter was awarded World Craft City status, the first in the UK, recognising its global significance as a centre of jewellery making and allied trades.

The Victorian two-storey workshops on Vyse Street house dozens of small firms that together produce much of the jewellery sold across Britain.

The National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) said the sale threatens an “ecosystem of interconnected skills” that has sustained Birmingham’s jewellery industry for centuries.

Local jewellers said they were not notified of the sale and only learned of it when “For Sale” boards appeared.

Industry bodies including the NAJ, the Birmingham Assay Office, the School of Jewellery, and the Jewellery Quarter Business Improvement District (JQBID) have since joined forces to oppose the decision.

Jewellery Quarter BID chief executive Luke Crane called the decision “deeply troubling”,saying: “These spaces are not just bricks and mortar – they are the living infrastructure of our city’s world-renowned jewellery trade.”

Campaigners say the sell-off reflects a wider pattern of gentrification that has seen traditional workshops replaced by residential developments.

Conservative councillor Ken Wood, deputy lord mayor and representative for Sutton Walmley and Minworth, said the sale “puts the World Craft City ‘at risk’” and warned it could “destroy the Quarter’s unique ecosystem of businesses forever”.

“The impact the unmaking of the Jewellery Quarter would have on the local economy and jobs cannot be understated. Generations of business, relationships, training and knowledge will be lost if the council does not reverse its decision.”

Ben Massey, chief executive of the NAJ, added: “The Jewellery Quarter is more than a place of business – it’s a living legacy of craftsmanship, community, and culture. Sustainable planning and meaningful consultation are essential to ensure this historic and world-recognised district thrives, not just survives.”

Representatives from the School of Jewellery also urged the council to reconsider. Associate professor Miranda Wells said it was “sad to hear of yet more traditional workshops being sold off for other uses”, while senior lecturer Katy Tromans said the move “undermines a community that’s just been publicly celebrated for its contribution to the city’s identity and economy”.

Jewellery Focus has contacted Birmingham City Council for comment.