£9,500. These buildings were most probably the first buildings built on the site as Birmingham began to expand during the 19th century. The site was cleared of all these buildings in 1888—9 to make way for the construction of the large post office. The Post Office opened for business on 3 August 1891. Demolition Proposal The building was given Grade II protection as a listed building on 25 September 1972. However, in 1973 a plan by the Midlands Postal Board to demolish the building and replace it with a high rise scheme by R. Seifert and Partners was granted permission. After a seven-year campaign by the Victorian Society, joined in 1976 by the Green Ban Action Committee, led by Pete Carter, the building was saved from demolition. The Victorian Society broke new ground in conservation tactics by submitting for planning permission an alternative scheme which retained the post office. The postal board adopted this scheme as a basis for the future development of the site. The future development involved the demolition of the red brick sorting office at the rear of building. The adjacent parcels office which was connected by a link bridge over Hill Street was also demolished, and was replaced in 1985 by One Victoria Square, designed by Watkins Grey Woodgate International. The preservation of the Post Office was one of the first and most important victories for architectural conservation by the Victorian Society. After the Post Office In 1990-91 the former Royal Mail sorting office was demolished and replaced with a six-storey modern office block bounded by Pinfold Hill, Hill Street and the tracks of New Street railway station. The office block was financed by John Laing Developments and SC Properties Limited, built by John Laing Construction and designed by Seymour Harris Partnership. The listed part of the building was retained, forming the entrance lobby to the offices beyond. The new building was completed on 23 December 1991 at a cost of £25 million. In 1992, TSB Bank plc made the building its national headquarters taking a lease of all six floors. The Post Office maintained a presence in the building with a branch office on the ground floor of the office block with entrances on Pinfold Street and Hill Street. TSB commissioned Antony Gormley's Iron: Man statue to stand outside the entrance of the building in 1993 during the redevelopment works to Victoria Square. TSB vacated