●
A familiar name is coming back to Birmingham city centre, it was announced in June.
Department store Lewis's closed down in Birmingham in 1991 but developers announced they planned to rename city centre office block Temple Court as The Lewis Building.
READ MORE: {}
Philanthropist David Lewis founded the department store chain in Liverpool in the 1850s and opened up several shops, with its Birmingham branch moving to Bull Street in the 1920s.
The site is currently undergoing a renovation programme which will see a new storey added to the top. It is due to be finished in May.
●
Plans were unveiled this month to transform the site of the old Tramps nightclub in Broad Street into a new apartment block.
The site has lain derelict for 25 years and been the subject of previous plans to bring it back into use.
Most Read
Moda Living wants to develop more than 400 homes at a plot which was previously home to the much-loved nightclub but has seen several schemes fall foul of recession.
The company revealed more solid plans later in 2016
●
Talks over the future of Channel 4 intensified as community leaders said the broadcaster would be strengthened by a move to Birmingham.
The Government was understood to be considering relocating the broadcaster from its current Westminster home during the summer - with Birmingham high on the list of possible locations.
It followed news that BBC Three was moving to the city and Peaky Blinders founder Steven Knight wanting to launch a production studio here.
While Channel 4 executives were understood to be opposed to the idea, senior politicians advocated a move.
Don’t miss
●
Hundreds of West Midlands jobs came under threat this month as the troubles facing high street retailer BHS continued to mount up.
Fears for the historic retailer, which collapsed in April 2016, were realised with administrator Duff & Phelps confirming its demise.
Last-minute hopes of a sale had not been realised, meaning the only option was for the business to be wound down.
It represented a major blow to the region's high street as the chain had 11 branches in the West Midlands including a flagship store in Birmingham city centre alongside outlets in Sutton Coldfield, Solihull and Walsall.
It represented the biggest retail loss since Woolworths in 2008.
●
Shoppers at the "Bicester Village of the Midlands" could be allowed to travel on the M6 Toll for free.
Mill Green Designer Outlet Village, which is set to attract the likes of Ralph Lauren and Lacoste when it opens in Staffordshire in 2018, received the go-ahead from planning chiefs.
And in a bid to ease fears over congestion, it was suggested that M6 Toll motorway could be used by shoppers to access the retail village.
Operators were in talks with Midland Expressway, which owns the 27-mile motorway, over a plan which would see drivers pay but have the cost refunded.
●
JLR's £500 million expansion plans in the West Midlands were signed off by central government this month.
The secretary of state decided not to 'call in' plans for the luxury car firm to expand its global headquarters near Coventry onto a 60-acre green belt site south of the A45.
The development was viewed as controversial by some, including the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, which raised concerns about building on the site.
Green belt building plans tend to be called in by the secretary of state but Greg Clark decided against doing so in this instance after the scheme was approved by Coventry City Council and Warwick District Council.
●
The fate of another Birmingham building designed by John Madin was sealed.
Chamber of Commerce House, in Edgbaston, was granted a Certificate of Immunity from Listing by the Government, meaning it could not be listed for five years.
The decree has made the site in Harborne Road far more appealing to property developers who will most likely want to demolish the building to make way for modern office or residential accommodation.
It is owned by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce which unveiled in 2014 that it wanted to sell the building to plug a pension deficit and move to a new HQ, with rumours later circulating that Chinese investors were eyeing the site.
●
After the 海角视频's historic election in June to leave the European Union, new data was released showing how Birmingham had voted.
The EU referendum created a huge divide in the city with more than three quarters voting to remain in some wards and the same ratio voting to leave in others.
The Brexit battle in the city was the most fierce in the 海角视频, with 50.4 per cent of more than 450,000 voters wanting to leave.
In all, 22 of Birmingham's 40 wards voted to Leave, and 18 wanted to remain.