Big City Plan - Work in Progress doucment 2008.pdf

7/27/2019 Big City Plan - Work in Progress doucment 2008.pdf

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DRAFT: WORK IN PROGRESS


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BIRMINGHAM IS A GLOBAL CITY WITH ALOCAL HEART. WE MUST LOOK TO THE

WORLD STAGE TO PRESENT OURSELVES

IN THE BEST LIGHT, BUT MUST ALWAYS

RECOGNISE THAT WE ARE A CITY WITH A

MILLION LOCAL VOICES.Councillor Mike Whitby, Birmingham City Council


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CONTENTSINTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

HOW DO I GET INVOLVED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1 THE OBJECTIVES OF THE BIG CITY PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2 TOWARDS A STRATEGY FOR THE CITY CENTRE. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3 CITY CENTRE ACTIVITIES THE ISSUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4 CITY CENTRE CONNECTIVITY THE ISSUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

5 THE SPATIAL STRUCTURE OF THE CITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

6 ISSUES & OPTIONS FOR THE POLICY AREAS6.1 THE INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

6.2 THE CORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

6.3 SOUTHSIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

6.4 HIGHGATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

6.5 WESTSIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

6.6 LADYWOOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

6.7 JEWELLERY QUARTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

6.8 GUN QUARTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

6.9 EASTSIDE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

6.10 DIGBETH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

7 DELIVERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

8 NEXT STEPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83


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BIG

CITYPLANBOUND

ARY

CORE

EXISTI

NG

CITY

Figure 0.1: The Big City Plan boundary and the existing city core

CrownCopyright


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1.1.1 Birmingham is a city o a million people at

the centre o a conurbation o two and a hal

million. Figure 0.1 shows the city in its city

region. Birmingham is Britains second city and

is big on the European scale. It has a young,

diverse and growing population. In the ace

o massive economic change, the city has

achieved great regeneration success and has

attracted large amounts o inward investment,

with more to come. It has new high technology

manuacturing, a rapidly growing business and

proessional services sector, a strong university

and research sector, and world-class business

conerence and exhibition acilities. It wants to

attract more high value international investment,

and register much more strongly on the

international scale. It wants to be an exciting and

attractive place where individuals and amilies

choose to live and stay. It wants to be a place

renowed or great public spaces and as a WaterCity.

1.1.2 This Issues and Options Report is a stage in

the development o The Big City Plan, a plan

or Birminghams city centre. The city centre is

the area within the Ring Road (Middleway), and

covers some 800 hectares. The Big City Plan will

develop the new vision or the city centre and

set a new direction or the city centre over the

next 20 years. The citys aspiration is to be in the

top 20 most liveable cities in the world within

20 years. The Big City Plan will be an important

instrument in realising that ambition.

1.1.3 The city centre is not only the core area o shops,

ofces and hotels, but all the myriad activities

that take place within Birminghams quarters

its homes, start up businesses, universities and

educational establishments, cultural scenes,

specialist services, creative industries in act,

everything within the area bounded by the Ring

Road. The plan will build upon Birminghams

success and will ensure that the city raises its

perormance and its prole nationally and inter-

nationally. It will provide a coherent approach to

regeneration and development and will help tomake the city centre a much more attractive and

liveable place.

1.1.4 The Big City Plan will be an Area Action Plan:

one o a new generation o orward-looking

development plan documents. We are also

producing a new Birmingham Plan, which will

be the core strategy or the whole city. The

Birmingham Plan and the Big City Plan will be

part o the Local Development Framework

(LDF). The LDF will be made up o a portolio o

documents including other Area Action Plans

and Supplementary Planning Documents, and

will be an important means through which to

deliver our vision or Birminghams city centre.

1.1.5 The Big City Plan has to be consistent with national

policy guidance, the Regional Spatial Strategy and

with the Birmingham Plan. The Regional Spatial

Strategy sets out some important requirements

or Birmingham: 50,600 new homes by 2026

over the city; a 130 hectare city-wide reservoir o

employment land with a longer term requirement

o 390 hectares; and 225,000 square metres o

comparison retail development by 2021 (355,000

sq m by 2026) and 590,000 square metres o ofce

development in the city centre.

1.1.6 There are many other plans which have been

produced or all or parts o the city centre in

recent years, including Birmingham Vision 2026.

We have considered them all in putting together

the ideas in this Issues and Options Report. I

you would like to read more about the planning

policy context or the Big City Plan, you will nd

more detailed inormation in Appendix 1.

1.1.7 Work on the Big City Plan is being carried out in

several stages. We have been undertaking research

or some months to gather inormation to ensure

that the proposals and policies which emerge later

in the process are grounded in robust, up to date

inormation. We are now at the issues and options

consultation stage where everyone interested in

the uture o the city centre has the opportunity to

get involved. In the next stage we will produce a

preerred options report which will be subject to

ormal consultation or 6 weeks. Ater that we will

produce a drat plan which will be submitted to

the Secretary o State or examination. We hope to

ormally adopt the Big City Plan in 2009.

INTRODUCTION


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1.1.8 The purpose o this report is to seek your views

on the issues that will aect development in

the city centre over the next twenty years. The

report sets out the main issues that we need to

consider in producing the Big City Plan, as well

as a number o broad options, or scenarios, or

the uture development o the city centre. These

issues and scenarios, however, are by no means

exhaustive and your views are welcome on any

other issues which you eel are relevant to the

production o the Big City Plan.

1.1.9 Please let us know your opinions on the issues

and options so that we can take them into

account as work on preparing the Area Action

Plan progresses. You can return your comments

by post in the reply-paid envelope to:

1.1.10 BIG CITY PLAN TEAM

16th Floor, Alpha Tower

Suolk Street QueenswayBirmingham

B1 1TU

1.1.11 Or by email to: [email protected]

1.1.12 For more details about how to get involved in

this consultation please visit our website:

www.bigcityplan.org.uk.

1.1.13 Details o other LDF documents that we are

preparing at the moment can be viewed at

www.birmingham.gov.uk

HOW DO I GETINVOLVED?You can ask or a copy o this

leaet in large print, another

ormat or another language.

We aim to supply what you need

within ten working days.Call 0121 303 3075 or email us

at [email protected]

I you have hearing difculties

please contact us via RNID

Typetalk 18001 0121 303 3075

or Relay Assist 08702 409598

Disclaimer: Please note that this document is not to be used or public consultation. It is a drat version o the

Work in Progress report and has been produced or preview purposes only.


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THE BIG CITY PLAN CHARTER

1.2.10 The Council held a rst stakeholder event

(the Big Ideas Event) in November 2007.

Ideas or the uture o the city centre were

discussed and shaped by a stakeholdergroup consisting o a team o international

experts together with the newly-ormed

Big City Team, a group o young people

rom Birmingham interested in shaping its

uture. Following this event, the Council

published its Big Ideas Charter. The

Charter is a statement o intent or the city

centre, which will help to dene strategic

objectives or the Big City Plan.

1.2.11 The ten global themes within the

Charter suggest how Birmingham can

pursue its ambitions to operate andcompete successully within the global

competitive market.

1.2.12 The Charter also sets out ten local ideas

which will appeal to the everyday concerns

and the uture aspirations o the million

or so people who live, work and use

Birminghams city centre. The ideas cover

the broadest cross section o interests.

The themes and ambitions o the Charter

run through this Issues and Options Report.

They will be used in helping to evaluate the

options set out later in this report.

GLOBAL THEMES

CENTRICITY Birmingham city centre should grow in

population, economic strength and cultural diversity.

The core and wider central area should house more

major businesses and world class retail and cultural andrecreational acilities. These central area activities will

expand out o the core into neighbouring parts o the

city centre.

AUDACITY Birmingham should be an imaginative and

ambitious city and a natural choice or major events.

The city should aim to host at least one additional

major international event within the plan period, such

as an international Expo, successul Year o Culture/

Architecture bid, or world sporting championship to

galvanise action in the city.

LIVEABLE CITY Birmingham should seek to raise

the quality o lie or individuals living within the city

centre, in order to attract visitors, inward investors, new

businesses and new citizens.

DIVERSE CITY Birmingham should actively seek

to reect the diversity o its population, through its

enterprises, businesses and housing, and through the

built environment, ood, music, theatres and art.

AUTHENTICITY Birmingham needs to nd expressions

o the uture that reect its roots and history and

concentrate on achieving excellent design quality and a

sense o unique place right across the city centre.

UNIVERCITY Birmingham must value its strong

academic base and turn it into city-based enterprise

i it is going to compete better on the world stage.

Technological enterprise should be encouraged by new

orms o workspace, exible learning and living space

and business support.

FAMILY CITY Birmingham should seek to increase

radically the number o amilies living in the city centre,

to balance out the recent growth in small apartments

and to support a wider range o city centre activities.

COMPLEX CITY Birminghams agencies should work

together to deliver the essentials or city centre amilyliving new parks, schools, health centres, meeting

places, local workplaces all delivered in tandem with

new homes.

SMART CITY Birmingham must lead the eld on

achieving smart growth. This means nding new ways to

reduce transport carbon; to manage energy in buildings;

to make good use o water; and to minimise waste.

CONNECTED CITY Birmingham should actively

promote the development o the high-speed rail

network to the city centre.

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LOCAL IDEAS

LIVE LOCAL Birmingham should accommodate a

great new amily neighbourhood within the city centre.

Birmingham should also provide or a range o housing

types and tenures.MOVE LOCAL Options or the running o the Metro,

bus routes and walking routes need to be considered,

so that the city centre is both accessible by public

transport and space is reed up or pedestrians.

STREET LOCAL Birmingham needs a strategy that

deals with all types o routes rom the biggest to the

smallest. This will make the most o the good access

that the outer ring road and other strategic routes

provides, whilst ensuring that at a local scale high

quality connections are provided to link new and

existing spaces.

START LOCAL Birmingham should master the art

o ostering new enterprise. The potential or working

close to home should also be explored and the widest

range o employment space should be provided.

CREATE LOCAL Birmingham should become the

ocus or creative industries to rival those in other cities.

PLAY LOCAL Birmingham needs a comprehensive

network o green spaces and canals. A range o smaller

local pocket parks or gardens squares and great parks

should be provided.

LEARN LOCAL I Birmingham is to accommodate anew urban neighbourhood then the best schools must

be located close by. These should be multi-purpose

buildings, which oer a range o activities or all sectors

o the community; adult education at nights, sports

acilities on the weekend, community meeting spaces,

and library acilities.

BUY LOCAL Birmingham should have a new Food

Quarter. Birmingham could also embrace the Slow

Food Movement and should actively market its cultural

diversity in its eating places and events.

RENEW LOCAL Birmingham could create its own

multi-utility services company (MUSCO) to supply its

new smart neighbourhoods on highly efcient basis

with water, electricity, heating and broadband.

BUILD LOCAL Birmingham could create a new way

o building smart neighbourhoods. A The Birmingham

House: something that reects the needs o modern

living but builds on the authenticity o the place.

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2 TOWARDS A STRATEGY FORTHE CITY CENTRE

2.1 INTRODUCTION

2.1.1 The Big City Plan will be ounded on a strategy

which is emerging rom work already undertaken

in connection with the Regional Spatial Strategy,

the Birmingham Plan, Visioning the Masterplan,

the Big Ideas Event, Birmingham Vision 2026

and the Birmingham Prospectus.

2.1.2 The strategy o the Big City Plan will aim to

provide the conditions or Birmingham City

Centre to:

Grow to serve the citys status as the UKst

second world city;

Raise the city much higher on global indicest

o liveability (such as the Mercer Index1);

moving into the top 20 cities rom its current

56th place;

Transorm itsel economically andt

environmentally;

Become a smart city, with strong economict

growth driven by the development and

implementation o green and digital

technologies.

IMPROVING LIVEABILITY

2.1.3 The most important actor in raising the citys

status is the citys liveability. This includes a

good physical environment to attract people

and improve the citys image, with well designed

buildings, streets and spaces; a range o attractive

homes and social acilities including schools,

local centres and open space, attractive and

sae walking routes, efcient and easy to use

public transport. The most liveable cities are

economically successul and desirable. People

want to live there; they attract highly qualied

people and hence investment. They promote

social inclusion. Figure 2.1 shows Birminghams

position on the Mercer liveability index. Liveability

is the essential ingredient in the recipe to raise

Birminghams role as a world city. The plan will

ocus on the objectives o world city and liveability:

the global city with a local heart. Working broadly

with the grain o the existing city centre structure

the urban structure o core and quarters the plan

will create the oundation or Birminghams growth

and its progress as a liveable city.

A GROWING CITY

2.1.4 Growth will be a key theme o the Big City Plan.

Birmingham will be a major ocus or growth in

England and within the West Midlands region. The

potential growth in population over this period

could be up to 10% or more, raising the population

to at least 1.1 million. Birmingham also has a young

population which is itsel an important driver o

growth, and the number o households and hence

the need or housing will also continue to grow.

2.1.5 It is clear that whichever option is ollowed within

the Core Strategy, the city centre must play its part

in accommodating the big rise in population and

households that is orecast or the city. This has

important implications in two areas. Firstly, the need

to create balanced communities with a ull range

o acilities that will encourage amilies to live in the

centre; and secondly, the need to adopt planning

policies that allow or the right kind o residential

growth within the centre. A growing population will

need more jobs, schools, more shops, places to go,

places to enjoy. This report suggests ways in which

these changes may be realised and delivered.

1 Mercers Quality o Lie Survey is released annually,

comparing 215 cities based on 39 criteria. New York is given

a score o 100 and other cities are rated in comparison.

Important criteria are saety, education, hygiene, recreation,

political-economic stability and public transportation (www.

mercer.com)


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EXPANDING THE CENTRAL AREA

2.1.9 To raise the citys status, a number o actors

need to come together. The plan will need

to provide opportunities or central area uses

such as prime ofces and shops to expandand or the city to continue to stage high level

international events in modern, quality acilities.

It will need to create the right conditions or

the urther development o the cultural assets

o the city including developing the concept o

the city itsel as a gallery; the raising o the citys

academic and research prole; and or starting

and growing central area businesses and niche,

specialist activities. Less easily planned or, it

must aim to create or oster the conditions that

add human interest, excitement and diversity

to the city. The central area will thereore

expand urther out o the core, and there will

be a transition zone outside this area which will

contain a mixture o city centre and more local

activities, shown on Figure 5.2. The questions in

the later sections o this report ask what can be

done in the city centre to enable Birmingham to

realise the ollowing ambitions as a global city:

A world player in business and high valuet

commercial operations

A big international presence in arts and culturet

A leader in the development and applicationt

o digital technology

A major seed bed or spino research,t

development and new enterprise rom the

universities

A protable and growth-orientedt

environment or clusters o emerging high

technology and green industries

A amed range o entertainment andt

leisure acilities

Shopping and town centre services andt

environment commensurate with globalcity status

Supportive conditions or the strongt

development o creative and ringe uses

and activities

Outstanding open spaces and public placest

An attractive city centre living environment ort

a diverse range o residents, especially amilies

Outstanding accessibility, both physicalt

and virtual, through high quality sustainable

transport and user-riendly transport

interchanges and high speed next generation

telecommunication

PRIORITISING TRANSPORT

2.1.10 The plan will propose transport priorities which

will include the creation o an attractive and sae

network o city streets and investment in public

transport networks and services. These mightinclude extensions to the existing and currently

proposed Metro services, new bus-based rapid

transport (BRT) services, enhancements to the

conventional bus services and a dynamic trafc,

parking and street management system. This

report contains options or these transport

priorities. It also seeks ideas or the expansion o

digital and communications technologies.

MAKING BIRMINGHAM CITY CENTRE

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

2.1.11 The Big City Plan will consider how Birminghamcan best reduce greenhouse gases and the

consumption o nite resources and enhance

biodiversity. Measures will include building

perormance, more efcient means o energy, water

supply and drainage, air quality improvements and

opportunities or habitat creation.

2.1.12 The rst and most eective method will be

to ensure that buildings, spaces, land uses

and movement networks are arranged in a

complementary manner, and that opportunities or

digital media communication are urther exploited,

since these are the best ways o reducing the needto travel by less sustainable modes.

2.1.13 Moreover, Birmingham with its manuacturing

tradition is in a good position to base research

and economic growth on the development o

green technologies. The issue is how ar the Big

City Plan can encourage and plan or the growth

o this part o its economy.

2.1.14 The Issues and Options report will ask how

Birmingham can be a leading-edge environmen-

tally smart city and play a ull role in delivering

Birminghams Climate Change Strategy. The

concept o the smart city will be a strong theme

running through the whole o the Big City Plan.

2.1.15 The BCP will also explore opportunities to

create a necklace o urban waterside and green

spaces that are enjoyable, exciting and the very

highest quality. We will look at creating new

and expanded green spaces and improving the

links between them; raising the prole, saety

and diversity o the canal network; revealing the

course o the River Rea; and creating green and

blue eatures across the city centre, including

green roos and walls and owing water. We

want Birmingham to have a beautiul city centre.


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BIRMINGHAM IS A

BIG CITY WITH BIG

AMBITIONS...IT HAS

HAD A BRILLIANT FIRSTACT, BUT IT NEEDS

A STEP CHANGE

IN THINKING AND

ACTION IF IT IS TO

MOVE FORWARD WITHOTHER BIG CITIES


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3 CITY CENTRE ACTIVITIESTHE ISSUES

3.1 INTRODUCTION

3.1.1 Birmingham is a city with a huge number o

assets; its economy is steadily growing; agship

projects have helped to raise the prole o the

city; it has a vibrant, young and cosmopolitan

population; there are strong centres o research

and education, and good transport connections.

But there are a great many issues and

opportunities that need to be considered and

addressed as part o the Big City Plan. These

are considered under a number o headings

within the ollowing section. Further inormation

on these subjects is contained in the Baseline

Report, which can be ound on the website

www.bigcityplan.org.uk.

3.2 BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

INTRODUCTION

3.2.1 Birminghams city centre has undergone

considerable change over recent years, shiting

rom a heavy reliance on manuacturing towards

the higher value added service sector. This

transition has had a number o successes; health

and education, nance and business services

and creative industries are demonstrating

growth; the city centre is increasingly seen as

an attractive ofce location; and Birmingham

is the largest retail centre in England outside

London. Currently, public administration, health

and education, nance and business services,

retail, hotels and restaurants, and manuacturing

supply 86% o all city centre jobs. Creative

industries with 5.2% o Birminghams jobs also

have a modest but potentially growing role. Thenumber o jobs in the construction and retail

sectors is also growing, whereas the recent

growth in public sector jobs is slowing down. In

Birmingham 60% o new jobs are expected to be

in nance and business services, and growth is

predicted in sotware, radio and television and

live music.

3.2.2 On the other hand, Birmingham remains under-

represented in the higher value added sectors

that generate greater wealth and pay higher

wages. Its employment in the Financial and

Business sector is still lower than the UK Core

Cities average. It has ewer jobs in R&D and

knowledge-intensive business services. The

working age population in the city has lower

skills than the national average and this is seen

as inhibiting its growth potential. Universities

and education generally are seen as one o thekey tools or raising the citys perormance.

3.2.3 Economic change and the skills base have an

impact on the level o worklessness, because

the new jobs created do not necessarily match

the skill sets o those who were ormerly in

manuacturing. For Birmingham as a whole

unemployment rates are above the national

average and economic activity rates are below

the national average. The economic activity

rate or Birmingham at 66% is around 8% below

the national average, although some o this is

accounted or by students. As a result there area large number o individuals either claiming

Job Seekers Allowance or who are economically

inactive people o working age who are not

working, are not in ull-time education or training

and are not actively seeking work. To address

this on a city wide scale the city is investing in

ICT and research and development, under-rep-

resented businesses such as those run by ethnic

minorities and women, and social enterprise.

A series o high tech developments are

planned along the A38 running through central

Birmingham to Longbridge and beyond known

as the Central Technology Belt.

3.2.4 Overall the population o Birmingham is

projected to increase by 100,000 and the

working age population by 65,000. Thus jobs

need to be created just to keep pace with this

growth. But the city needs to go beyond that

to raise its employment rate. Whilst preparing

a higher skilled uture or all its residents, the

plan must seek to integrate the existing workless

through providing a range o employment and

occupational opportunities.

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3.2.5 An analysis o present development proposals

clearly shows that the majority o city centre

growth alls within in the core. 70% o currently

proposed ofce development is located in

the core. The only other signicant areas o

proposed development are Eastside (19%)and Westside (8%). The sum total o schemes

currently in the development pipeline would

generate 670,000 sq m o ofce and 35,000

sq m o retail. There is clearly a need to ensure

that the other city centre quarters benet rom

higher levels o economic activity and growth.

OFFICES

3.2.6 The options in the emerging Birmingham Core

Strategy ocus ofce growth within the city

centre. The city centre has a well dened belt o

major ofce buildings, which stretches rom the

Fiveways area through Brindleyplace and Broad

Street, to Snow Hill and Colmore Row, The last

phase o Brindleyplace is under construction

and there are several major schemes recently

completed or under construction at Colmore

Plaza and Snow Hill. Eastside and the southern

end o the Jewellery Quarter are emerging parts

o this ofce belt, with the latter orming a ocus

or proessional ofces.

3.2.7 Birmingham prime ofce rents are high even

on an international scale and suggest a historic

constriction on supply. There may be a need

to look at ways in which a range o new ofce

accommodation can be brought on stream

perhaps as part o mixed use schemes like

Brindleyplace and Eastside to appeal to a variety

o potential occupiers.

3.2.8 The Plan needs to respond to the RSS

requirements o 590,000 square metres o new

ofce development by 2026 in the city centre. I

Birmingham is looking to create a step-change

in its economic perormance it may take time

to create the right conditions inrastructure and

image to deliver this. Thus commercial ofce

oorspace may not be delivered at an even

rate throughout the plan period. Rather than

an average o 30,000 sq m p.a., higher rates o

development might be expected in the latter

part o the period.

3.2.9 Trying to create too much space beore the

market is ready will be counter-productive.

Equally a choice may need to be made over

the phasing o development areas so that they

do not compete with each other and send out

conused messages to the development market.For example whilst the core is the obvious rst

area or development a choice may need to be

taken over when to bring orward development

in Eastside, Westside and Southside.

INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY

3.2.10 The core o the city centre, and related areas

such as Brindleyplace, are sel-evidently

successul, but this success is ar rom universal

across the whole city centre. Future employment

trends show a continued move away rom

manuacturing towards high skilled jobs

including business and proessional services,

and in certain quarters the employment trend

away rom manuacturing is very rapid indeed.

Overall the amount o occupied industrial

space in Birmingham city as a whole and in

Birmingham city centre in particular is expected

to decline. Whilst there may be dierent views

about the rate o decline the overall trend is

clear. Forecasts o employment prepared by

Cambridge Econometrics would suggest that or

the city centre the overall loss is orecast to be

around 80,000 sq m, with this loss being spreadacross the city centre quarters.

3.2.11 Whilst not seeking to drive out existing

productive rms the city must plan to make

best use o land and property. As industrial

land and premises become vacant the task o

the planning system is to recycle it back into

productive use quickly.

3.2.12 Options are to leave industrial activity scattered

around the city or to try and consolidate it in one

or two key locations. Existing industrial premises

may be in the city centre or historic reasons.

But the rms there may not be occupying

the optimal locations or premises or modern

industrial activity. An active policy o managing

this change may see rms requiring good access

relocated closer to motorway networks, those

requiring low cost premises relocated to other

employment areas o the city, whilst those rms

that need a city centre location or labour or

product market reasons may stay where they

are or move to more appropriate central area

premises, assisted by environmental, urban

design and public realm improvements.


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3.2.13 The Gun Quarter or example lost approximately

25% o its manuacturing jobs in the 3 years

rom 2003 to 2006 and the trend is continuing.

This trend is already very clearly demonstrated

on the ground in the city centre. There is a

very strong contrast between the ongoingmajor ofce construction projects and vibrant

shopping streets o the core, and the substantial

swathes o under-used and vacant industrial

premises within certain sectors o the city centre,

particularly the Gun Quarter, Digbeth and even

the Jewellery Quarter. Genuine manuacturing

has become the exception rather than the rule

and parts o the centre lack activity and vibrancy.

Despite the retention o employment premises

through protective policies, the evidence is

that business start-ups in the city centre are low

in relative terms given the supply o potentialpremises.

3.2.14 The economic trends within certain city centre

quarters also have a negative eect on the

appearance o the city centre and its potential

to attract inward investment: parts o the city

centre outside the core have a depressed

character in which the low level o economic

activity ails to support the maintenance o

the building stock. There may also be issues

o poor street level security through the lack

o activity and surveillance. The Big City Plan

must anticipate a new role or the city centresmanuacturing quarters and adopt the right

policies to help improve their prospects.

CREATIVE SECTOR AND MIXED USE

3.2.15 Whilst it is essential to encourage urther

development in the core, it is important to

ensure that growth is generated within the areas

around the core. The growth o the creativeindustry sector can be part o this growth. The

creative and cultural industries are a particular

sub-set o knowledge based industries. They

currently account or around 6% o Birminghams

employment and are a growth sector. They

also have some wider spin-o in that links with

social, cultural and inrastructure networks have

been shown to have a positive correlation with

productivity.

3.2.16 The creative sector covers a wide range o

activities, rom jewellery manuacture and the

creation o decorative arteacts, through creativeproessional services such as architecture, to

media-related activities. The Jewellery Quarter

already has a concentration o such activities and

Digbeth (with the Custard Factory particularly

notable) and Eastside are emerging as creative

areas (see Baseline Report or more detail). A

urther potential area or growth is spino rom

university-related research and development.

At present these links are poorly developed and

there is scope to improve on this or the uture.

Eastside is in a good position to capture growth

in this area notably with proposals or creation o

the digital and arts academy or 14-19 year olds.

3.2.17 The property requirements o the creative

industries vary by segment, but the sector is

well suited to making use o old converted

buildings that can not be viably redeveloped or

mainstream commercial use. As such a policy o

limited intervention may best suit the needs o

this sector. Creative industries location choices

are more strongly related to economic processes

than planning designations. The Big City Plan

will thereore need to accept that there will be

change over time. Indeed, it might be a sign

o success i, in thirty years time, the creative

industries were priced out o Digbeth and were

colonising a new, less auent area o the city in

search o lower rents.

Traditional industrial premises in Southside


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3.2.18 New Drat PPS 4 on economic development

recognises mixed use as a way orward or

economic development. Indeed it advises

against using single designations to restrict

economic development - arguing or more

mixed use developments. Mixed use worksbetter on a larger scale than in small sites.

It needs to be possible to create a genuine

mixed use character where both employment

and residential happily co-exist and can even

generate mutual benets, giving a greater sense

o security and vitality or both parties. Small

ofce/workshop type uses are those that work

best in a mixed use environment. Units with

exibility or a multitude o uses or dierent

business types, including incubation and

move-on space, will widen demand or space

and enable businesses to grow within the samelocation. In most cases such development will

generate higher levels o employment than low

density industrial use, will increase the number

o dwellings and improve the environment.

3.2.19 The Jewellery Quarter already exhibits some o

the characteristics o a mixed use area and could

be developed urther along these lines.

QUESTIONS

B1. How can we improve the amount andrange o accommodation or ofcesand high value business activities

that will urther Birminghamsambitions as a global city?

B2. What steps are needed to makeBirmingham highly appealingto a variety o occupiers toencourage diversity in businessand employment? What deliverymechanisms are required toencourage such variety?

B3. Where should this new ofceand business development beaccommodated, to create a more

diverse range o locations ordierent types o business?

B4. What kinds o new business start-upsshould be encouraged in the citycentre? What mechanisms and stepsare required to create a supportiveenvironment or these activities?

B5. What can be done to capitalise onthe closeness o the Universities as adriver or skills raising and business?

B6. How can creative and cultural

industries be supported, what typeo space is needed and where? Howmight the Custard Factory model bedelivered in other parts o the centre?

B6. How can support best be givento the potential growth clustersin environmental technologies,medical/biosciences, advancedengineering and digital media?

B7. To what extent and how should theplan support the continuation o

manuacturing and other B2 uses inthe city centre?


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3.3 RETAILING

3.3.1 Birmingham is ranked the largest retail centre

in the country outside o central London and

has about 300,000 sq m retail oorspace.

Retail provision within the city centre is ocusedaround High Street, New Street, the Bull Ring

and Corporation Street. In addition, the city

centre has a high proportion o managed

retail oorspace including the Bull Ring,

the Pallasades, Priory Square, the Mailbox,

Martineau Place and Pavillion Central. There

are a number o planning permissions or

urther retail development in the city centre

such as Phase 2 o Martineau Galleries (85,000

sq m approx), The Cube (7,800 sq m approx)

and the Jewellery Box (5,500 sq m approx). In

addition, the Birmingham New Street Station

redevelopment involves the reurbishment o

approximately 34,830 sq m o retail oorspace.

3.3.2 Despite the recent success and pipeline

development, Birmingham will need to continue

to invest in the quantity and quality o its

retail oer to maintain its leading position and

respond to threats posed by its competitors

such as the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in

Dudley. The Regional Spatial Strategy requires

Birmingham city centre to plan or an additional

gross non ood retail oorspace o 225,000 sq m

between 2006-2021 and an additional 130,000

sq m between 2021-2026. This is a substantial

requirement to accommodate, reecting

Birminghams ambitions as a global city.

3.3.3 There are major issues about where such growth

should be accommodated. One approach would

be to consolidate around the opposite end o

the High Street rom the Bull Ring to create

another magnet o attraction. Another would be

to recognise the shit in gravity that has occurredas a result o the Bull Ring development and look

at expanding the shopping area southwards.

3.3.4 Birmingham has an excellent shopping oer in

terms o mainstream ashion outlets and multiple

retailers but independent and niche retailers are

not strongly represented compared with some

other cities. This results in a degree o blandness

in the city centres shopping streets. A city o

Birminghams size should have one or more

areas o interesting specialist and niche shops. In

some cities there are several o these areas each

specialising in dierent things, such as ashion,

urnishings or ood. These shopping areas can

cater or very upmarket shopping requirements

or can provide aordable and interesting

alternatives to the usual multiple shops. The Big

City Plan provides an opportunity to think about

how Birmingham can harbour and encourage

these specialist areas and where they might go.

3.3.5 The same applies to Birminghams markets.

Developing a street market or markets within

the ringe or transitional areas around the city

core will greatly help to enliven the city streets.

As with specialist retailing, dierent markets can

specialise in dierent ranges o produce, rom

ethnic oods to antiques. There is huge scope

or more edgy, ringe, ethnic, music or student

related markets or specialist retailers reecting

Birminghams youthulness and diversity.

...should Birmingham create an vibrant area o

independent and niche high street chains?

Birminghams arcades oer an alternative shopping

experience, but...


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QUESTIONS

R1. What kind o additional shops andservices are needed in Birminghamin the uture to set it apart rom its

competitors and develop its globalreputation?

R2. Where can shopping activity expandwithin the city centre and nicheshopping areas or particular typeso product be developed?

R3. How can the city develop a largerspecialist retail sector?

R4. Is there a role or street-basedmarkets and can market streets bedeveloped as a tourist destination?

R5. What improvements should becarried out to the City Centresshopping streets to create a moreattractive environment and enhancethe citys global reputation?

3.4 COMMUNITY, POPULATION ANDHOUSEHOLDS

3.4.1 The residential population o Birmingham city

centre is actually quite small. In 2001 it was

about 23,000; since that date there have beenseveral residential developments which have

raised it to around 30,000. Although the centres

population is the size o a small town, it is tiny

compared with that o the city as a whole.

Population density over the 800 hectares o the

centre is relatively low and there is still great

potential or residential growth in the centre.

3.4.2 The emerging Core Strategy proposes three

options or the growth o Birmingham as a whole.

All three o these options involve a signicant

increase in population. All will require substantial

growth in the city centre. Accommodatingsignicant numbers o new dwellings throughout

the city centre will require a new and resh look at

planning proposals and policies.

3.4.3 The requirement or more housing can

bring substantial benets to the city centre.

Birminghams younger than average population

and its ethnic mix are assets or the city. But

outside the core shopping and ofce areas and

outside working hours, much o the city centre

lacks vibrancy owing partly to an absence o

city centre residents to support local activities

combined with an pattern o land use whichdoes not attract people in the evenings. In the

evenings, much o the centre, including most o

the main shopping areas, are all but deserted. I

the Big City Plan is to improve the interest and

vibrancy o the wider centre it must bring about

an increase in the city centres population and a

more diverse pattern o land use.

3.4.4 The city centre comprises several areas o

distinct character which were ormerly largely

industrial, such as the Gun Quarter, Jewellery

Quarter and Digbeth. One o the clear trends

rom the economic analysis (see above) isthe reducing level o manuacturing and

the resultant stock o vacant and underused

buildings within these quarters. Some o

the more attractive building stock has been

converted to residential use and there has also

been some residential development. However,

there is still a lot o vacant and under-used

oorspace and some vacant sites and these

could present a major opportunity or residential

growth on browneld land within a stones throw

o the city core.


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AN OPPORTUNITY

COMES AROUND

ONCE A GENERATION

TO PRODUCE A PLAN

ON THIS SCALE


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4.1.5 With regards to other public transport, the

primary issue to be addressed by the Big City

Plan is whether and how the Midland Metro

system might be extended, given the need to

put together a practical unding package. This

issue is closely inter-related with initiatives toimprove both conventional bus services and to

introduce Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) operations.

Another important issue is on-street congestion

in the city core. Streets simply do not have the

physical capacity (space) to accommodate all

the movement and other demands that are and

are likely to be placed upon them (pedestrians,

buses, trams, quality public realm). Resolving

these conicts and determining priorities on

a street-by-street basis is required. Increased

demand will also need to be met through

improvements to alternative modes o transport,as well as demand management.

4.1.6 The Council has developed a new transportation

model or the city centre. Detailed land use

surveys have established a 2004 database

and scenarios have been produced or 2011,

2021 and 2031 to identiy possible changes in

transport demand. This has considered uture

levels o population, housing, employment and

other activities. The preparation o the Big City

Plan will interact with transport modelling, and in

combination will establish required inrastructure

improvements or the city centre.

4.2 PRIVATE MOTOR VEHICLES/GENERAL TRAFFIC

4.2.1 Trafc congestion is currently related primarily

to key junctions on the Ring Road, while the A38

corridor also continues to experience high levels

o trafc demand. The main areas o congestion

in the centre are at the junctions o Holloway

Circus, Paradise Circus, St Chads, around the

gyratory systems at Bull Ring/Moat Lane and

at Masshouse. While access by car is and will

remain vital or the success and vitality o the city

centre, reducing trafc levels will be necessary

i carbon emissions targets are to be met, while

reduced congestion will also benet the city.

Improving the quality o alternatives to the car

will clearly be essential (see later sections). The

negative impacts o the physical trafc and

highway inrastructure on the development and

overall attractiveness o the city centre must also

be addressed.

4.2.2 The A38 corridor within the city centre could

be radically recongured to greatly enhance

the city centre environment and improve

pedestrian/cycle crossing links between the core

and the rest o the city centre. Comprehensive

restructuring would enable areas to the west othe corridor to ull their ull potential as integral

parts o the city centre. Lowering Great Charles

Street, dismantling the Suolk Street viaduct or

changing its slip road arrangements and lling

in the Holloway Circus underpass are all major

engineering projects that could be pursued.

The road would still retain an important trafc

carrying unction. However, depending on the

extent o the changes to the road inrastructure,

capacity could be reduced and this could have

an eect on congestion, so any proposals would

require modelling to establish the impact onaccessibility and design.

4.3 FREIGHT AND SERVICING

4.3.1 Increased residential population and expansion

o retail and employment uses in the city centre

will generate signicant additional goods

vehicle movements. Measures will be required

to mitigate the eects o these vehicles on the

unction and quality o sensitive streets and on

congestion generally, through improved street

management and delivery consolidation.

4.3.2 One approach would be to develop an Urban

Freight Consolidation Centre outside the

city centre. This would create a hub in a less

sensitive built environment where large goods

vehicles could trans-ship their loads to a eet o

small, low-emissions vehicles that would then

redistribute the goods to individual premises

within the city centre. The centre would need to

be close to the centre to work efciently.

4.3.3 Another possibility would be to establish

a network o suitable routes or service/

delivery vehicles in each sector o the city.This would involve investigating a network o

service routes, including certain bus lanes, that

prioritises access or service vehicles during

limited hours. As part o this network, methods

or consolidating service deliveries would be

explored to reduce the impact o servicing on

city centre streets.


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4.3.4 A low emission zone would signicantly reduce

trafc congestion by deterring the worst

polluting diesel-powered goods vehicles,

coaches and buses accessing the city centre or

core through initiatives such as the Urban Freight

Consolidation Centre or pricing mechanisms. Inturn this would greatly improve air quality, health

and quality o lie in the city centre

4.3.5 Time based vehicle restrictions could be

introduced. These require businesses to better

manage the delivery o goods and services to

periods that do not conict with other street

activities and the quality o the public realm. In this

way conicts between deliveries and pedestrian or

bus activity can be eectively managed.

4.4 PARKING PROVISION4.4.1 The control and management o the parking

supply is usually a vital tool in inuencing trafc

levels. In Birmingham city centre, however, there

is currently an over-supply o publicly available

parking in certain areas. This allows us to think

about the possibility o developing on some

existing car parking sites. A city parking strategy

is in preparation, or consultation in the Autumn.

This will consider parking provision in the

wider context o improvements in other modes

o transport, the control o parking and the

potential or more park and ride capacity.

4.5 RAIL

4.5.1 The number o trips made by rail to and rom

Birmingham has increased notably in recent

years. Growth could be heading or 100% by

2035. Additional services and longer trains will

handle some o this growth and the New Street

Gateway redevelopment will provide a better

arrival experience. Improved rail requencies

will be provided to the Airport through double

tracking and, in addition, improvements to the

Bordesley Chords will allow new services to access

central Birmingham. These improvements may not

be able to handle all the predicted growth.

4.5.2 The opportunity or European High Speed Trains

to serve Birmingham should be rmly grasped.

The Big City Plan should help inuence the

ultimate choice o route and station location or a

uture HST connection to the city centre, providing

the opportunity or strengthened national and

international rail connections in the uture. Further

work is required to understand what alignment

the track would take, and requisite processes or

saeguarding land requirements.

4.6 MIDLAND METRO

4.6.1 Centro, in partnership with Birmingham City

Council, has identied our metro routes that will

radiate rom the city centre:

The existing Line 1 running between Snowt

Hill and Wolverhampton.

The planned Line 1 extension heading throught

the city centre to New Street Station then

heading along Broad Street to terminate at

Edgbaston and later at Junction 3 o the M5.

A route to Birmingham International Airportt

extension running along Digbeth High Street.

A route to Great Barr, using the alignment ot

New Town Row.

4.6.2 Centro has obtained a Transport Works ActOrder, enabling them to progress with the

extension o Line 1 along Bull Street, Corporation

Street, through Victoria Square to Broad Street.

This option would require the removal o buses

rom Corporation Street in avour o the tram, but

would not permit its ull pedestrianisation. Centro

predicts that this alignment will lead to major

increases in Line 1 patronage simply through

creating a direct Metro link to the New Street

Gateway. To pick up urther routes a one-way

city centre loop is proposed to serve Southside,

Eastside and Westside. (See Figure 4.1 or

alternative metro routes)


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4.10.4 The creation o a Virtual Birmingham is

another valuable concept. Starting with a 3D

representation o the City Centre, it would

enable city planners, developers, stakeholders

and the public to plan and visually re-shape

the city centre and consider its impacts. Itwould enable citizens and both national and

international visitors to view and navigate the

city centre more eectively and interactively,

providing a richer experience and engagement.

It would encourage inward investment by

acting as a showcase to attract national and

international interest and open up opportunities

to explore the art o the possible.

4.10.5 Finally, in line with the concept o the exible

and adaptable home, all new households should

be equipped with a technology inrastructure t

or 21st century living capable o delivering the

inormation, entertainment and communications

needs or amilies across all generations.

4.10 DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY

4.10.1 Digital technologies have been a key driver in

inuencing society and shaping 21st Century

living. Digital opportunities will need a 21st

Century telecommunication inrastructure tobecome the norm or city centre development,

and changes in working, learning and social

patterns need to be incorporated in the uture

spatial design. This will need a city centre that

is equipped or the growth in inormation, data

access and communication associated with the

21st century knowledge society. The city needs

a connected inrastructure that will support

the citys international competitiveness, sustain

existing growth and attract new high value

businesses and establish itsel as a leading and

iconic digital city.

4.10.2 It is essential that the city centre has interactive

and intelligent real time inormation systems

to navigate and explore the city by all modes

and through physical waynding and legibility

systems, variable message signage, mobile

devices and satellite navigation systems. These

will enable greater linkages between the various

quarters within the city centre, provide a richer

visitor experience and reduce vehicle congestion

through managed intelligent inormation and

navigation systems.

4.10.3 In addition, we should ensure that newdevelopment is uture prooed with suitable

digital inrastructure to meet both existing and

uture digital and communication needs. This

will require suitable ducting to enable a wired

and wireless digital inrastructure capable

o delivering next generation connectivity

or transport, business development and

innovation, open spaces such as public squares

and parks and to new buildings and business

premises. The concept o an underlying digital

inrastructure is inherent in each o the options

in this report.

Real time inormation systems and pleasant waiting

environments are vital to making bus travel appealing


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WE ASPIRE TO

SATISFY PEOPLES

GENUINE NEED

FOR PUBLIC LIFE


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6.2 THE CORE

6.2.1 The Core is the area that visitors will initially

identiy as being Birmingham. They will see

with a critical eye the quality o its streets, its

buildings, its shops, its leisure and cultural

acilities and its transport system. They will also

see the connections, or lack o them, within the

city centre. National and international businesses

will be sensitive to the availability o high

quality new accommodation in an attractive,

culturally rich and sound economic environment.

These things are crucial to the global status

and image o Birmingham and its ability to

attract investment. And at a local level, the

core o the city is central to civic pride and the

attractiveness o Birmingham as a place where

local people want to live.

6.2.2 This area is the traditional economic hub o

Birmingham with prime ofces and a large retail

oer. It contains the retail Golden Triangle o

New Street, Bullring and the High Street. It is

home to the primary public transport hub o

Birmingham New Street Station and is thereore

a key arrival point into Birmingham.

6.2.3 The Core is densely built up making efcient use

o land, historically established with good street

layout and street enclosure. The high quality

historic environment o the Core is interspersed

with many post war and modern developments,

a combination which accentuates the historic

environment. Much o the historic environment

is protected by conservation area designations

which aim to preserve and enhance the

character and appearance o the conservation

areas. There are several landmark buildings, the

most notable being the Bullring development,

the Rotunda, Council House and adjoining

Museum and Art Gallery and the Town Hall.

6.2.4 There are numerous buildings that are statutorilylisted, including ten Grade I listed buildings.

The centrepiece space is St. Philips Churchyard.

This successul and attractive open space has

a clear and well enclosed pedestrian link to

Victoria Square to the west which is impressively

overlooked by the Grade I listed Town Hall

building and the Grade II* Council House.

Colmore Row and Environs Conservation Area

contains a ne ensemble o attractive buildings.

The series o connected open spaces and

squares continues beyond Victoria Square

through to Chamberlain Square and thenonwards via Paradise Forum and alongside the

Library o Birmingham to Centenary Square.

These interconnected open spaces and public

squares oer a great walking environment.

6.2.5 Much o the north east area o St Philips is within

Steelhouse Conservation Area. The Victorian Law

Courts within the conservation area are Grade I

listed and there are many other Grade II* and Grade

II listed buildings. The Childrens Hospital is within

the conservation area and this is locally listed.

6.2.6 In terms o movement, the walking routes

within the area do not connect well in the

vicinity o New Street Station or in the direction

o the Jewellery Quarter. There is noticeable

pedestrian congestion in some places and also

signicant bus congestion.

6.2.7 The traditional core is too small or a city the

size o Birmingham. Central area uses have

expanded with the dismantling o the worst

parts o Queensway and have the potential or

urther expansion (see Figure 5.2).

6.2.8 Some areas have development proposals at an

advanced stage in the planning process, orexample the Natwest Tower and the area around

Snow Hill Station. Other developments rom

the 1950s to the 1980s which do not contribute

positively to the built environment may become

the ocus or redevelopment during the lie o

the plan.

6.2.9 The core will remain the ocus or Grade A

ofces but opportunities should be sought

outside the established ofce belt or new ofce

development which will add to the variety o

accommodation in the city centre.

THECORE


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6.5 WESTSIDE

6.5.1 Westside has seen several waves o expanding

central area uses: the ofces around Five

Ways, Baskerville House and Alpha Tower; the

cultural area including the Rep theatre, the NIA,

Brindleyplace and the Mailbox; and the leisure

area along Broad Street including the Broadway

Entertainment Complex and the Cineworld.

6.5.2 Westside also includes the Attwood Green area

and the ongoing development at Park Central,

the rst phase o a large 10 year housing

regeneration programme, which is well underway and is substantially occupied. Park Central

creates a new urban neighbourhood close to the

cultural, retail, and commercial heart o the city

with a range o housing sizes and tenures set

around Sunset Park.

6.5.3 Near Attwood Green is the Bath Row and

Holloway Head area - an area on the ringe o

the city core that has seen little change over

the last 30 years. The area is still home to a

mix o light industrial / warehouse uses, some

community activities and ofce uses, some o

which may have unctional connections with thecity centre. Two towers, the sentinels, mark a

gateway at Holloway Head with Beetham Tower

(the Radisson Hotel) beyond. The pedestrian-

level environment here is not o high quality.

6.5.4 As a result Westside has a mixed character. The

area is pulled together by Centenary Square

and the Broad Street movement axis and by the

canal network, but still tends to unction as a

series o disparate elements. The high quality

environment in Centenary Square, Brindleyplace

and Gas Street Basin does not continue into

Broad Street or Five Ways, and the NIA hasa poor rontage with multi storey car parks

ronting the sensitive canalside.

6.5.5 There are still a number o landmark projects inthe pipeline, including the Cube, the V building,

Arena Central, Baskerville Whar, Paradise Circus

and the relocation o the Library o Birmingham.

These quality developments will bring a critical

mass o people into the area which could help to

support niche and specialist shops.

6.5.6 The Bath Row / Holloway Head area represents

the most signicant remaining redevelopment

opportunity in the area and its redevelopment

is being guided by a development brie; so

ar, not much development has come orward.

There are major opportunities to provide better

pedestrian links between Park Central, Westside

and Southside through Holloway Head.

6.5.7 In addition to these development proposals

which are already in the pipeline, there may be

other opportunities in the uture. The National

Indoor Arena occupies a valuable city centre

location adjacent to areas o major change,

including Arena Central and as discussed above

does not have an attractive presence. We

need to think about how urther improvements

might be made in this area. There are also

signicant opportunities to improve the quality

o the public realm within the Westside area,

particularly in the area around Fiveways, along

Broad Street and the NIA and along some o the

canal network.

6.5.8 The Broad Street area is an important ocus

or Westside; although it developed an

entertainment unction in the 1990s, its role in

the uture may be more akin to the local high

street with shops and services or the growing

residential and business communities around it.

WESTSIDE


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WESTSIDE OPTIONS

WESTSIDE OPTION W1:

Westside as a commercial quarter. This option would

encourage uture commercial redevelopment withinthe Westside area, including higher value ofce, retail

and leisure uses. This would build on the success

o Brindleyplace and capitalise on the proximity o

Westside to the legal and nancial centre o the city.

WESTSIDE OPTION W2:

Westside as a specialist shopping area. Specialist

retailing would develop urther in the area, ocused

on the canal, The Mailbox, The Cube, the area around

Bridge Street and the NIA area. This option will

encourage higher end retailing to locate in Westside,

thereore consolidating the existing retail oer at theMailbox. The Cube would act as an anchor and as a

springboard or uture specialist retailing.

WESTSIDE OPTION W3:

Westside as an entertainment quarter. Broad Street

would become a major entertainment boulevard.

Much more commercial leisure development would be

encouraged with larger scale buildings, wide pavements

and vibrant advertising along the street to create the

character o a brash and buzzy entertainment boulevard.

WESTSIDE OPTION W4:

Westside as a local centre. Broad Street and Fiveways

would be the ocus o the growing residential and

business community and would provide a range

o locally-oriented shops and services or those

communities, with good links through to Park Central,

Ladywood and Icknield Port Loop.

WESTSIDE OPTION W5:

Walking Westside. Create a tree lined avenue along

the route o Suolk Street Queensway, lined with tall

buildings, to create a pedestrian riendly boulevard.

This could require the removal o the slip road adjacent

to the Orion Building and its replacement with a wider

pavement and trees. It might even involve the removal

o some o the heavy duty highway structures such as

the yover over Navigation Street. Further attention

would be given to improving the pedestrian links

between the Core and Westside through Paradise

Circus and Holloway Head, and between Broad Street

and the neighbouring residential areas. Road crossings

would be at grade wherever possible rather than via

bridges and underpasses.

Broad Street as a brash and buzzy entertainment

strip?


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6.6 LADYWOOD

6.6.1 Ladywood is a housing area o variable quality,

with some local shopping and social acilities

and an environment that could benet rom

signicant improvement. Designed in part on

the now old ashioned principles, with separate

pedestrian and vehicle routes, the area alls

signicantly short against a number o urban

design criteria. Streets and spaces are not

overlooked, back gardens are exposed, leading

to a perception o insecurity, there is no sense o

enclosure, some o the spaces have a let-over

and poorly maintained eel, and the area is

inward-looking and not easy to navigate.

6.6.2 Yet Ladywood is very close to the city centre

and adjacent to the canal and could be a very

desirable place to live.

6.6.3 Most o the housing is Council owned and is very

low density with the two to three storey housing

appearing suburban and not reective o its

location close to the city centre. The residential area

is interspersed with a ew high-rise council towers.

6.6.4 The newest development has taken place on

the canalside, being mainly 9-10 storey, privately

owned apartments that turn their backs to the

rest o the Ladywood estate and restrict access

to the canal by residents o that estate.

6.6.5 Gradual improvement o Local Authority housing

stock in Ladywood has taken place. However,

this area presents a great opportunity or major

transormation into a successul neighbourhood

with a strong community ocus. The quality o

the housing can be signicantly improved along

with the conguration o open space. The canal

rontage can then be utilised to its ull potential

and linkages through the area and to the core

and NIA can be much improved.

6.6.6 A new high quality residential development o

our to seven storeys is already taking place

along Ryland Street. Based on perimeter blocks

with landscaped courtyards, a variety o colours,

material and heights.

6.6.7 The Icknield Port Loop area immediately tothe west o Ladywood is being developed as

a sustainable urban neighbourhood o mixed

housing types and tenures with the canal loop

as its ocus. Its present disadvantage is that it is

slightly isolated rom the city centre as the ring

road, canal and railway all orm barriers. The Big

City Plan creates the opportunity o investigating

how those barriers can be overcome and create

a number o routes through Icknield Port Loop,

Ladywood and on to the city centre, eectively

merging the two neighbourhoods.

6.6.8 Aligning housing, planning and education policy

and projects within Ladywood gives us the

opportunity to create a properly unctioning

neighbourhood.

Schools should be a integral part o an urbanneighbourhood and be o high quality in terms o

achievement and environment.

LADYWOOD


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How do you want to see Ladywood transormed?


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6.7 JEWELLERY QUARTER

6.7.1 The Jewellery Quarter has strong unctional

links with its past, retaining specialist jewellery

manuacturing and designing as well as retailing.

It also has a growing entertainment, commercial

and proessional business sector in the part

nearer to the city centre around St Pauls

Square. It has many high quality buildings set

in an uncompromisingly industrial streetscape,

is protected by a conservation area and is a

potential candidate as a World Heritage Site.

6.7.2 The centrepiece o the historic environment inthe Jewellery Quarter is St Pauls Square. The

quarter is also home to Key Hill Cemetery and

the Church o England Cemetery on Warstone

Lane. These are the only areas o open space in

the quarter.

6.7.3 The earliest buildings in the Jewellery Quarter

were residential. Later demand or industrial

uses led to the conversion o properties in a

number o ways. Some o them continued to be

lived in with little division between domestic

and industrial accommodation. Buildings

containing both houses and workshops arenow rare. An example being 27-32 Mary Street.

Today the area is characterised by purpose built

manuactories and workshops rom the 19th

Century. Fringe central area activities occupy

land ronting Great Charles Street / Queensway,

and more domestic scale ofce and residential

developments abut St. Pauls Square and the

Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.

6.7.4 The views o the city centre rom the quarter

accentuate its proximity to the core. An important

connection to the core is Church Street which

connects St Pauls and St Philips. This is howeversevered by the Queensway. The Big City Plan

should examine how the connections between

the Jewellery Quarter and the Core can be

improved and whether redevelopment o

major sites presents an opportunity to improve

pedestrian connections. Metro Line 1 runs

through the Jewellery Quarter and provides

connection rom Snow Hill to Wolverhampton.

A railway line also runs through the quarter rom

Snow Hill to Stourbridge and Solihull.

6.7.5 Although generally regarded as a success,there remain signicant levels o under-use

and vacancy in the area. The area has proved

popular with residential / mixed use developers,

with major redevelopment taking place in

the less historic industrial ringe, but in the

more traditional parts o the quarter there are

potential tensions between residential growth

and the retention o workshop accommodation.

Indeed, at the moment, the Councils existing

policy restricts non-industrial activity within the

heart o the Jewellery Quar ter, particularly within

the Golden Triangle and the Industrial Middle.In light o these actors, the Big City Plan should

examine options or dierent planning policy

approaches in the quarter.

6.7.6 The Big City Plan will need to consider the

opportunities or mixed use development

within the Jewellery Quarter. There are already

a number o development proposals in the

pipeline, including a new development around

Carver Street, Camden Street and Pope Street,

and there are discussions regarding the uture

o the sites on Great Charles Queensway.

Furthermore, the existing UDP identiesopportunities or mixed use development the

urban village proposal encourages the provision

o space or small businesses as well as new

residential development.

6.7.7 Improved transport linkages between the

Jewellery Quarter, the Core and the Convention

Centre can provide urther opportunity or a

smoother transition rom the quarter to the core.

JEWELLERYQUARTER


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6.8 GUN QUARTER

6.8.1 The Gun Quarter is dominated by industrial uses

with some commercial uses around Queensway

and Lancaster Circus. The area has links with

its traditional roots and there are still gun

manuacturers and traders based in the quarter.

However, most o the area has long lost its

traditional associations. The area has seen the

growth o commercial ofces adjacent to the

city core. The majority o the urban abric o

the area, however, is characterised by industrial

and warehouse buildings, which do not relate to

Birminghams global city ambitions.

6.8.2 There are high levels o vacancies and

underuse in the industrial stock o the area and

manuacturing employment has declined rapidly.

The area now exhibits relatively low activity

levels within a stones throw o the City Core.

The building stock is generally o mediocre

quality.

6.8.3 The only exception to the industrial character

o this area is a large pocket o housing in the

north west area o the quarter. The area contains

schools and community acilities but it is veryclose to the declining industrial area and the

poor quality o the underused stock gives the

housing area a poor setting. Walking routes

through to the city centre are poor and do not

appear secure.

6.8.4 A strength o the urban abric is that it generally

ollows a traditional street pattern. The City

Centre Canal Corridor Framework recognises

this strength as presenting an opportunity to

introduce other land uses i the industrial uses

cease to operate in this area.

6.8.5 The presence o the existing residential area

with its school and open spaces provides

a basis on which to build a larger mixed

residential community, i the existing area o

industry is reduced in size, like Highgate this

could be developed as an exemplar amily

neighbourhood.

6.8.6 The proximity o the Gun Quarter to the citycentre presents an opportunity to maximise the

land values at this location. The canal rontage

along the southern boundary o the quarter

presents a urther opportunity. Buildings

currently turn their back to the canal. The canal

rontage is suitable or domestic scale mixed

residential, ofce, leisure/tourism uses. Indeed,

this mix o uses is encouraged within the Canal

Corridor SPG.

6.8.7 The connections with the city centre need to

be made more accessible, particularly across

Queensway to maximise the potential o this quarter.

Already recent improvements to St Chads Circus

have made the city centre more accessible rom the

Gun Quarter. Account should also be taken o the

need or physical connections with the potential

mixed-use proposals on the opposite side o the

Ring Road in the emerging drat Preerred Option

or the Aston, Newtown and Lozells Area Action Plan

(also a Development Plan Document).

6.8.8 While there are no signicant developments

taking place within the Gun Quarter, there are a

number o developments in the pipeline that are

in close proximity. These include proposals at

Snow Hill and Lancaster Circus.

6.8.9 Lancaster Circus is seen as an area o major

opportunity with vacant under utilised sites.

The UDP encourages commercial development

around Queensway and Lancaster Circus,

with urther opportunities existing towards

Birmingham and the Fazeley Canal. In the longer

term retail and wholesale premises ronting

Constitution Hill may be suitable or mixed use

development including housing. Further out the

junction o New John Street, Dartmouth Circus

seen as suitable or retail warehousing.

6.8.10 A recent study o Birminghams Housing

Capacity suggests that there is more potential

or residential development concentrated along

the southern boundary o the Gun Quarter.

GUNQUARTER


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GUN QUARTER OPTIONS

GUN QUARTER OPTION GQ1:

Gun Quarter the workshop quarter. The building

stock would be retained as an industrial resource.The industrial use o buildings would be protected

and incremental improvements would be promoted

to the condition o the built environment. The Gun

Quarter could be a resource or accommodating

small businesses displaced rom elsewhere in

the city centre as a result o redevelopment; or

example, i major residential development were to

take place at Highgate, the displaced employment

could nd accommodation in the Gun Quarter. The

space available in the Gun Quarter may need to be

modernised and adapted to acilitate this option.


Gun Quarter or high end business. This option would

encourage higher value city centre uses and high tech

manuacturing within the Gun Quarter. The continual

improvement and modernisation o existing premises

within the area would be encouraged. The quarter

could take businesses related to the growing ofce area

nearly in the core. Although the Gun Quarter would

remain a predominantly employment based area, a

mixture o uses including residential and supporting

local services could be encouraged where appropriate,

or example along the Fazeley Canal. This would help

to raise values within the area, ensuring the continual

improvement and modernisation o existing premises

and uses.


Gun Quarter as a residential as well as business area.

This option would envisage a substantial expansion

o the existing housing area and a major reduction in

the old industrial area, which is already substantially

vacant. The option would help considerably to meet

Birminghams housing needs, could help to oster a

more mixed amily-oriented residential community and

would greatly improve the surroundings o the existing

estate and neighbouring schools. This option would

also require improved linkages to the city centre. The

option would work with Option 2 above, enabling the

upgrading o selective industrial areas and at the same

time providing coherent residential neighbourhoods.


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6.9 EASTSIDE

CONTEXT AND ANALYSIS

6.9.1 Eastside is an area that is already in transition.

The removal o the barrier created by

Queensway