Comment

Midlands and HS2: On track to deliver growth

Following the Government’s announcement earlier this month, giving the go-ahead for HS2, Senior Director, Planning Midlands, Mat Jones discusses the significant development and economic investment opportunities already being created in the Midlands on the back of the confidence brought to the region.

Even before the first tickets have been booked, the evidence of the ‘HS2 effect’ on the ground in the Midlands is clear. The region is already delivering a return on the planned major Government expenditure, with a notable upswing in activity over recent years. This has been largely stimulated by the prospect of three new high quality, high speed stations (at Curzon, the Interchange Station, and at Toton), which has helped to spark increased investor interest supported by ambitious plans for substantial new development and urban regeneration.

The Curzon Masterplan, published in July 2015, for example, set out Birmingham City Council’s proposed ‘big moves’ to capture the opportunity for ambitious growth around Curzon station in the city centre. The document was prepared to maintain momentum on the back of the Big City Plan (2011), and what was then the emerging Birmingham Development Plan up to 2031. It describes the potential for 600,000 sq m (gross) for a range of employment generating uses, around 4,000 new homes, over 36,000 (net) jobs, and around £3.1bn of cumulative GVA uplift. While this scale of growth is yet to materialise, there have been a number of projects that have shown a shift of interest, and commercial viability, within parts of the city centre that are well connected to HS2, and which had previously been considered fringe.

Within Eastside the growth of a ‘knowledge and enterprise’ quarter is already underway, supported by Birmingham City University’s relocation to the area which began around seven years ago, and by investment from Aston University, Bruntwood SciTech, and others. The recent confirmation of the Transport and Works Act Order for the Metro extension into Eastside will further open up opportunities to the east of the city core.

Permissions granted over the last 12 months for One Eastside, Exchange Square and Eastside Locks are all partly in anticipation of the enhanced connectivity to come. Digbeth, further to the south and east of the core, is also benefiting from major new interest with a number of significant projects in the pipeline, including a major regeneration framework around the Custard Factory, potential development at Typhoo Wharf, and rumours of exciting plans for a new studio being brought forward by Stephen Knight, one of the creative forces behind Peaky Blinders.

The recent approval of the Martineau Galleries proposals on the doorstep of the HS2 Curzon station exemplifies the scale and confidence of investment in the city. The site, in the heart of the city centre and within the Curzon Masterplan area, has long been earmarked for major mixed-use regeneration and has suffered false starts in the past. The proposals will create a vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood that will include up to 1,300 new homes, together with shops, bars, cafes, leisure facilities, a hotel, and over 100,000 sq m of new offices and workspaces. The proposals befit the city’s international aspirations and are consistent with the emerging environmental goals. The aim is to achieve BREEAM excellence while delivering upon a number of inclusivity objectives by providing substantial accessible public open space and affordable housing.

Recent regeneration proposals within the city centre indicate a change in mind-set, which in turn suggest that longevity, as well as social and environmental responsibility, could become hallmarks of the next phase of renaissance in Birmingham and the wider region. Whether measured by the scale, number, height, or quality of the planning permissions being granted; the calibre of local, national, and international investors and their commitment to the region over the longer term; or by the shift to delivering social value, well-being, and more sustainable outcomes for the built environment, there is no doubt that the Midlands remains on track to deliver major growth over the next decade and beyond.

For more information, please contact Mat Jones.

27 February 2020