a tower of a 'V' shape rising from the base. The tower was unveiled at the MIPIM show in Cannes in March 2007. Its name had been changed from Arena Central Tower/ Arena Square Tower to V Building highlighting the 'V' shape on the Suffolk Street Queensway elevation. It was initially quoted as having 50 storeys and being 150 metres tall. The detailed planning application for the tower was submitted to the Birmingham City Council Planning Department on 13 June 2007 by agents Aims Ltd. The planning application for the tower also contained changes to the masterplan for the site. The proposal was described as: Erection of new tower to include flats, restaurant & bar together with landscaping, car parking & means of access. Updated masterplan for the Arena Central site, bound by Broad Street, Suffolk Street Queensway, Holliday Street & Bridge Street, in accordance with condition 3 attached to application No. C/04238/97/OUT The tower was approved by Birmingham City Council Planning Department on 4 October 2007. The Birmingham Post reported that it took two minutes for the councillors to make the decision. Construction of the tower was expected to begin in early 2008 for completion in 2013. Design The design of the tower had changed slightly from what was revealed at the MIPIM show in Cannes. The exterior of the building was a mixture of cladding with bars running across the windows. However, this was changed when the new renders for the tower were revealed after the submission of the planning application. The new renders showed the exterior to be brighter in colour. The planning application explained that the reasoning behind the height decrease from 175 metres to 147 metres was due to the refusal from the adjacent hotel building, Crowne Plaza, to move out of its building and be given hotel space in the new tower, which would have increased the height to 175 metres. The owners of Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, had submitted a planning application before the application for V Building to refurbish the hotel. At street level, near the entrance, there was to have been a plaza area which will consist of vertical concrete slabs with inscriptions written into them. The first two floors will be of double height, containing a restaurant and lounge for residents. The second floor will be cantilevered over the entrance. Beneath these would have been a two-storey underground car park.