The last, largest and most brutal of Birmingham's 1960s horror stories could be redeveloped as offices.

Development of the 379K SF Martineau Galleries would capitalise on the medium-term potential of east-of-centre locations close to the Curzon Street HS2 station, raising the prospect of it becoming Birmingham's Brindleyplace of the east.

Hammerson are signalling that the 6.5 acre Galleries site, dominated by IKEA and The Square shopping centre, will be subject to an office-led mixed development, Property Week reports.

A planning application is being prepared, which will replace the existing consent for a 2.9M SF redevelopment with a heavy focus on retail.

The earlier application also included potential for 535K SF of leisure space, including a hotel, and 850 apartments.

Martineau Galleries is the final part of three centres originally slated for development by the Birmingham Alliance. Partners Hammerson and Land Securities completed Martineau Place and the Bullring. Hammerson took sole control of the Galleries in 2014.

The brutalist concrete and Portland Stone assemblage was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd and opened in 1966. A small clocktower was added in the 1990s in an effort to humanise the mix of ramps, platforms and levels.