The Birmingham developer behind a planned 50-storey apartment tower in the city says it remains committed to delivering "a landmark project" after its application for the scheme was mysteriously withdrawn.
Cordia Blackswan lodged plans last year to create a new residential scheme called Chung Ying Plaza in Thorp Street, next to Birmingham's famous Hippodrome theatre.
The centrepiece of the project was to be a 50-storey tower called Act One, containing 487 apartments and a host of facilities for residents including cinema, games room and garden alongside a 49th-floor restaurant and bar and public observation deck on the top floor.
New commercial units were also planned for the ground floor and the existing 17 Thorp Street building would have been retained, also for commercial use, while a bike hub, gym, spa and wellbeing area were also included in the designs.
Another key proposal was the return of Nicholas Monro's famous King Kong statue which once stood outside the old Bull Ring centre and at other locations in the city before taking up long-term residence in Edinburgh and latterly elsewhere in the UK.
Jewellery Quarter-based Cordia Blackswan has now withdrawn its application but offered no explanation for the project hitting the buffers.
In a statement, the developer said: "While our application for Thorp Street was withdrawn following discussions with Birmingham City Council, we remain committed to the delivery of a landmark project in the city centre.
"We're working closely with the council to achieve the best outcome for both the community and key stakeholders. We look forward to sharing more details in the future."
The name 'Chung Ying' is a Cantonese term which translates as 'China and England' and Chung Ying Street famously links Hong Kong and Shenzhen in mainland China.
The application site is currently home to the former Chung Ying Garden restaurant which closed in 2018 after it was fined £30,000 for food hygiene breaches and would have been demolished to make way for the new scheme.
