If ever we needed reminding how fortunate we are to live within a bus ride of England’s Second City, we got it in 2011, writes Andy Richardson.

Birmingham had a gloriously cultural year in which live music, ballet, classical music, theatre, comedy, poetry, street performance and other forms of entertainment came to the fore.

The city mixed highfalutin thrills like the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Birmingham Royal Ballet with easily accessible pantomime productions. There was cutting-edge comedy at Birmingham’s Glee Club and stadium-filling rock at the LG and NIA arenas.

Birmingham was alive with the best of entertainment and, remarkably, there is the promise of much more in years to come.

The creation of a new and improved Rep, off Broad Street, will consolidate the city’s reputation as being the most important location in the UK for theatre, outside London. The final curtain on the old Rep came down in January, so that work on remodelling the building as part of the new Library of Birmingham complex could commence.

When the work is complete, Birmimgham will boast an internationally unique centre of culture and knowledge in Centenary Square.

The plans follow several years of discussions between The Rep and the city council over the possible use of the car-park adjacent to the theatre. The result is an exciting joint development that will link the new Library of Birmingham with a refurbished Rep, with shared foyers, bars, restaurants and a new flexible 350- seat theatre.

While the Library of Birmingham and The Rep will retain their own clear identities, the development will bring together an exciting and complementary mix of cultural activity, opening up creative possibilities in shared interest areas such as new writing and the emerging artforms of performance poetry and live literature.

As the city’s only major producing theatre, the new 350-seat auditorium will significantly expand the range and number of dramatic works The Rep can produce and present.

The planned development attracted the enthusiastic support of the wider theatre community, including Dame Judi Dench, who directed productions in The Rep’s studio theatre during the 1980s.

She said: “I believe that theatre has the power to change lives. Birmingham Rep has shown that power again and again throughout its history in outstanding productions and performances from some of the greatest talents in theatre, making it an essential part of this country’s cultural landscape.

“This major development is a wonderful chance for the theatre to continue and broaden that tradition and a fantastic opportunity to reach out across communities and touch a new generation of theatregoers.”

With the Symphony Hall, revamped Town Hall and soon-to-open Rep, Birmingham can boast some of the finest venues in the UK.