3.2 Business and industry

3.2.1 Introduction

Plain English Version

Birmingham’s City Centre used to have a lot of manufacturing companies based there, but there is now a lot more office work and services. Some of the types of business are doing well; health and education, finance services, and creative (arts and design).

Surveys say that Birmingham is an attractive office location, and it does have the largest shopping centre in England (not including London).

New jobs created in Birmingham are likely to be in finance and business, but some will be in construction shops, software, radio, TV or live music.

Original Document

Birmingham’s city centre has undergone considerable change over recent years, shifting from a heavy reliance on manufacturing towards the higher value added service sector. This transition has had a number of successes; health and education, finance and business services and creative industries are demonstrating growth; the city centre is increasingly seen as an attractive office location; and Birmingham is the largest retail centre in England outside London. Currently, public administration, health and education, finance and business services, retail, hotels and restaurants, and manufacturing supply 86% of all city centre jobs. Creative industries with 5.2% of Birmingham’s jobs also have a modest but potentially growing role. The number of jobs in the construction and retail sectors is also growing, whereas the recent growth in public sector jobs is slowing down. In Birmingham 60% of new jobs are expected to be in finance and business services, and growth is predicted in software, radio and television and live music.

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3.2.2

Plain English Version

Birmingham still has fewer jobs that other cities in some high-pay areas like finance and some business types like research.

The people old enough to work in Birmingham have, fewer skills than people in some other cities — and are less skilled than average workers in the UK — we see that as a reason that Birmingham may not be as successful.

Universities and other education could help this.

Original Document

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 fewer 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 of the key tools for raising the city’s performance.

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3.2.3

Plain English Version

When the type of work available in a place changes, the amount of people who have a job is affected. For example the new jobs created do not necessarily match the skill sets of those who were formerly in manufacturing.

Birmingham as a whole has higher unemployment and less economic activity than the average for the UK – but as we have a lot of students this might be slightly better than that.

There are a lot of people in Birmingham that are out of work, and to try and get them jobs the council is spending money on computers and technology, and developing businesses run by the sorts of people who don’t run many businesses – such as  ethnic minorities and women, and social enterprise.

A series of high-tech business areas are planned  along the A38 (Bristol Road) running through the City Centre to Longbridge and beyond — we call this the “Central Technology Belt“.

Original Document

Economic change and the skills base have an impact on the level of worklessness, because the new jobs created do not necessarily match the skill sets of those who were formerly in manufacturing. 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 for Birmingham at 66% is around 8% below the national average, although some of this is accounted for by students. As a result there are a large number of individuals either claiming Job Seekers Allowance or who are economically inactive – people of working age who are not working, are not in full-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-represented businesses such as those run by ethnic minorities and women, and social enterprise. A series of high-tech developments are planned along the A38 running through central Birmingham to Longbridge and beyond known as the ‘Central Technology Belt’.

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3.2.4

Plain English Version

The population of Birmingham is expected to rise by 100,000 — which will mean 65,000 who will need jobs.  This means we have to create jobs just to make sure unemployment doesn’t get worse.

To make things better the ‘Big City Plan’ will aim to create even more jobs – by helping to train people, including those already living here and out of work.

Original Document

Overall the population of 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 future for all its residents, the plan must seek to integrate the existing workless through providing a range of employment and occupational opportunities.

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3.2.5

Plain English Version

Building work that is planned already is mostly within the very centre of the city (known as the ‘Core’), with some in Eastside and Westside. This work would create 670,000 square meters of offices and 35,000 square meters of shops.

We need to make sure that the other areas of the city centre get enough new offices, factories and shops.

Original Document

An analysis of present development proposals clearly shows that the majority of city centre growth falls within in the core. 70% of currently proposed office development is located in the core. The only other significant areas of proposed development are Eastside (19%) and Westside (8%). The sum total of schemes currently in the development pipeline would generate 670,000 sq m of office and 35,000 sq m of retail. There is clearly a need to ensure that the other city centre quarters benefit from higher levels of economic activity and growth.

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3.2.6 Offices

Plain English Version

The choices in the Birmingham Core Strategy suggest most grow will be in the city Centre. There are already a lot of major office buildings in the centre, from Five Ways Edgbaston and in Brindley Place, Broad St, Snow Hill and Colmore Row. The last pieces of Brindley Place is being built and there are lots of buildings just or nearly finished in ‘Colmore Plaza’ and Snow Hill. Eastside and the south end of the Jewellery Quarter are also places that are seen as for offices. The Jewellery Quarter is often used by professional companies.

Original Document

The options in the emerging Birmingham Core Strategy focus office growth within the city centre. The city centre has a well defined belt of major office buildings, which stretches from the Fiveways area through Brindleyplace and Broad Street, to Snow Hill and Colmore Row, The last phase of 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 of the Jewellery Quarter are emerging parts of this office belt, with the latter forming a focus for professional offices.

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3.2.7

Plain English Version

The rents for offices in Birmingham are high compared to other cities in the World – which might be because there aren’t enough to go round.

It’s possible that new types of development – perhaps offices in buildings that are also something else (like the Mailbox or those in Brindley Place) – would be good.

Original Document

Birmingham prime office 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 of new office accommodation can be brought on stream perhaps as part of mixed use schemes like Brindleyplace and Eastside to appeal to a variety of potential occupiers.

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3.2.8

Plain English Version

The Regional Spatial Strategy says Birmingham needs 590,000 square metres of new offices in the city centre by 2026. Because of the cost and performance of the economy, it’s likely that this won’t happen at a steady rate of 30,000 square meters a year. It’s possbile that more of it may have to wait until nearer 2026.

Original Document

The Plan needs to respond to the RSS requirements of 590,000 square metres of new office development by 2026 in the city centre. If Birmingham is looking to create a step-change in its economic performance it may take time to create the right conditions infrastructure and image to deliver this. Thus commercial office floor-space may not be delivered at an even rate throughout the plan period. Rather than an average of 30,000 sq m p.a., higher rates of development might be expected in the latter part of the period.

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3.2.9

Plain English Version

Creating too many office before they’re needed won’t work. We also need to back a choice over where the offices are built first, so that it’s clear to everyone what’s happening.

The ‘core’ (inner city centre) is a obvious first choice, but when should we add further offices in Eastside , Westside or Southside.

Original Document

Trying to create too much space before the market is ready will be counter-productive. Equally a choice may need to be made over the phasing of development areas so that they do not compete with each other and send out confused messages to the development market. For example whilst the core is the obvious first area for development a choice may need to be taken over when to bring forward development in Eastside, Westside and Southside.

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3.2.10 Industrial Activity

Plain English Version

Trends say that there will be less jobs in manufacturing and more in high-skilled jobs. The amount of industrial space that is being used in Birmingham as a whole and in the city centre in particular is expected to go down.

Forecasts vary, but Cambridge Econometrics suggest that for the city centre the overall loss will be about 80,000 square meters.

Original Document

<strong>3.2.10 </strong>The core of the city centre, and related areas such as Brindleyplace, are self-evidently successful, but this success is far from universal across the whole city centre. Future employment trends show a continued move away from manufacturing towards high skilled jobs including business and professional services, and in certain quarters the employment trend away from manufacturing is very rapid indeed. Overall the amount of occupied industrial space in Birmingham city as a whole and in Birmingham city centre in particular is expected to decline. Whilst there may be different views about the rate of decline the overall trend is clear. Forecasts of employment prepared by Cambridge Econometrics would suggest that for the city centre the overall loss is forecast to be around 80,000 sq m, with this loss being spread across the city centre quarters.

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3.2.11

Plain English Version

We don’t want to make companies move, but we will if it helps the city overall.

It is the job of the planning system to make sure that empty land or buildings are used.

Original Document

Whilst not seeking to drive out existing productive firms the city must plan to make best use of land and property. As industrial land and premises become vacant the task of the planning system is to recycle it back into productive use quickly.

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3.2.12

Plain English Version

The choice is to leave industrial work scattered around the city as it is now, or try to make it happen in one or two places.

Some firms might be in the city centre because that’s where they’ve always bee, but that might not be best for them. If we decide to move them they might be better near motorways, or in areas where there are cheaper factories. Some might need to be in the city centre, but the council could help them find better places there.

Original Document

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 for historic reasons. But the firms there may not be occupying the optimal locations or premises for modern industrial activity. An active policy of managing this change may see firms requiring good access relocated closer to motorway networks, those requiring low cost premises relocated to other employment areas of the city, whilst those firms that need a city centre location for 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

Plain English Version

The Gun Quarter lost almost a quarter of the jobs in manufacturing there in between 2003 and 2004. We can see that although there are lots of new offices being built and new shops there are areas of the City Centre with lots of empty factories and warehouses. This is especially obvious in the Gun Quarter, Digbeth and the Jewellery Quarter.

There isn’t much manufacturing left, which makes parts of the city feel empty. There are enough spaces in the city centre for industry, but few new businesses to fill them.

Original Document

The Gun Quarter for example lost approximately 25% of its manufacturing jobs in the 3 years from 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 ongoing major office construction projects and vibrant shopping streets of the core, and the substantial swathes of under-used and vacant industrial premises within certain sectors of the city centre, particularly the Gun Quarter, Digbeth and even the Jewellery Quarter. Genuine manufacturing has become the exception rather than the rule and parts of the centre lack activity and vibrancy. Despite the retention of employment premises through protective policies, the evidence is that business start-ups in the city centre are low in relative terms given the supply of potential premises.

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3.2.14

Plain English Version

Because some of the parts of the city centre look bad, which affects people’s desire to base firms there. In some areas there isn’t enough spending to keep the buildings looking good. Also if the areas aren’t used they may not feel or be safe.

The Big City Plan must think a new way these areas can be used and make plans to help make them better.

Original Document

The economic trends within certain city centre quarters also have a negative effect on the appearance of the city centre and its potential to attract inward investment: parts of the city centre outside the core have a depressed character in which the low level of economic activity fails to support the maintenance of the building stock. There may also be issues of poor street level security through the lack of activity and surveillance. The Big City Plan must anticipate a new role for the city centre’s manufacturing quarters and adopt the right policies to help improve their prospects.

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3.2.15 Creative sector and mixed use

Plain English Version

While we want to have more in ‘the Core’ we want to make sure that other areas get more development. Helping to grow the Creative Industry is one way we think we can achieve that.

Creative and cultural work is about 6% of the jobs in Birmingham but that is growing. It has also been shown that culture can help productivity.

Original Document

Whilst it is essential to encourage further development in the core, it is important to ensure that growth is generated within the areas around the core. The growth of the creative industry sector can be part of this growth. The creative and cultural industries are a particular sub-set of knowledge based industries. They currently account for around 6% of Birmingham’s employment and are a growth sector. They also have some wider spin-off in that links with social, cultural and infrastructure networks have been shown to have a positive correlation with productivity.

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3.2.16

Plain English Version

The ‘creative sector’ means things like jewellery making, architecture and the media amongst others. The Jewellery Quarter has a lot of these and Digbeth (around the Custard Factory) and Eastside are also starting to get more.

University-related research and development is another area that could be improved, at the moment there isn’t much of this. Eastside is in a good position to do this, as there is a plan to open a digital and arts academy (school) for 14-19 year olds.

Original Document

The creative sector covers a wide range of activities, from jewellery manufacture and the creation of decorative artefacts, through creative professional services such as architecture, to media-related activities. The Jewellery Quarter already has a concentration of such activities and Digbeth (with the Custard Factory particularly notable) and Eastside are emerging as creative areas (see Baseline Report for more detail). A further potential area for growth is spin-off from university-related research and development. At present these links are poorly developed and there is scope to improve on this for the future. Eastside is in a good position to capture growth in this area notably with proposals for creation of the digital and arts academy for 14-19 year olds.

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3.2.17

Plain English Version

Different parts of the “Creative Industries” need different types of buildings to work in, but often they can use older converted buildings that are not suited to other commercial uses.

We might not need to do anything to help these types of businesses as they often chose places on cost rather than other things. The Big City Plan may need to take into account that where they locate might change over time. It might be a success if in 30 years time the ‘Creative Industries’ had been priced out of Digbeth and have moved somewhere cheaper.

Original Document

The property requirements of the creative industries vary by segment, but the sector is well suited to making use of old converted buildings that can not be viably redeveloped for mainstream commercial use. As such a policy of limited intervention may best suit the needs of this sector. Creative industries’ location choices are more strongly related to economic processes than planning designations. The Big City Plan will therefore need to accept that there will be change over time. Indeed, it might be a sign of success if, in thirty years’ time, the creative industries were priced out of Digbeth and were colonising a new, less affluent area of the city in search of lower rents.

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3.2.18

Plain English Version

New Draft PPS 4 (Planning Policy Statement) [pdf link] about economic development suggests that mixed-use developments (buildings where residential, offices and shops may sit side-by-side) are the best plan. Mixed-use is better in bigger buildings.

Small offices or workshops work best in mixed-use developments. Different types and sizes of these would allow different types of business to start, grown and even more to new places within the same buildings.

In most cases these types of buildings create more jobs that industrial use, as well as making more places for people to live.

Original Document

New Draft PPS 4 (Planning Policy Statement) on economic development recognises mixed use as a way forward for economic development. Indeed it advises against using single designations to ‘restrict’ economic development - arguing for more mixed use developments. Mixed use works better 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 benefits, giving a greater sense of security and vitality for both parties. Small office/workshop type uses are those that work best in a mixed use environment. Units with flexibility for a multitude of uses for different business types, including incubation and move-on space, will widen demand for space and enable businesses to grow within the same location. In most cases such development will generate higher levels of employment than low density industrial use, will increase the number of dwellings and improve the environment.

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3.2.19

Plain English Version

The Jewellery Quarter already has a lot of mixed-use development — and we could encourage more.

Original Document

The Jewellery Quarter already exhibits some of the characteristics of a mixed use area and could be developed further along these lines.

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Question B1

Plain English Version

How can we have more and a bigger variety of buildings for offices and high value business activities?

Original Document

How can we improve the amount and range of accommodation for offices and high value business activities that will further Birmingham’s ambitions as a global city?

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Question B2

Plain English Version

What do we need to do to attract a wide range of companies to Birmingham that would mean a variety of business types and jobs?

Original Document

What steps are needed to make Birmingham highly appealing to a variety of occupiers to encourage diversity in business and employment? What delivery mechanisms are required to encourage such variety?

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Question B3

Plain English Version

Where should we make this new area for offices and businesses, so that we have more variety in places for different types of business?

Original Document

Where should this new office and business development be accommodated, to create a more diverse range of locations for different types of business?

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Question B4

Plain English Version

What kind of brand new businesses should we encourage in the city centre? What can we do to make sure that these brand new businesses have the support they need?

Original Document

What kinds of new business start-ups should be encouraged in the city centre? What mechanisms and steps are required to create a supportive environment for these activities?

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Question B5

Plain English Version

How can we make the most of the fact that the universities are nearby to help skills and business?

Original Document

What can be done to capitalise on the closeness of the Universities as a driver for skills raising and business?

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Question B6

Plain English Version

How can we support creative and cultural industries? What type of space do they need and where? How could have something similar to the Custard Factory in other parts of the city centre?

Original Document

How can creative and cultural industries be supported, what type of space is needed and where? How might the Custard Factory model be delivered in other parts of the centre?

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Question B7

Plain English Version

How can we give support to groups of businesses involved in:

  • technology to do with the environment
  • medical/biosciences
  • advanced engineering
  • digital media?

Original Document

How can support best be given to the potential growth clusters in environmental technologies, medical/biosciences, advanced engineering and digital media?

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Question B8

Plain English Version

Should the plan support manufacturing and industrial use (such as factories) in the city centre and, if so, how?

Original Document

To what extent and how should the plan support the continuation of manufacturing and other B2 uses in the city centre?

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