Plain English Version
Birmingham city centre has a core surrounded by distinct quarters and we are using this a framework for our proposals.
The Core contains offices for international and national businesses, shops with attract people from across the region, leisure facilities, a major museum, art gallery and library all of which contain important collections. The core also has key tourist attractions and top theatre and concert venues. It includes the Colmore Row Conservation Area, civic buildings and spaces, several listed buildings, and the main public transport interchanges.
Around the outside of the historic Core we find the distinctive quarters and neighbourhoods of Birmingham. These quarters are largely based on historic clusters of common businesses, some of which continue to this day. We want to protect these distinct qualities whilst planning to allow the quarters scope to change in the future.
Some of the quarters are more defined and historically established than others, and there are more opportunities for change in certain quarters than in others. Some will be transformed whilst others need their exiting qualities to be improved. Where roads and canals form a boundary between the areas it is important to make that both sides of roads and canals are treated in similar ways.
We define the city centre as stopping at the Ring Road, however we also need to find ways to improve the ways the city centre connects to outlying neighbourhoods. This particularly applies to sites such as Birmingham Wheels and Icknield Port Loop.
The part of the Big City Plan which deals with the layout of the newly enlarged city centre will be based on the following areas (see Figure 5.1):
Image 5.1 Existing quarters and proposed new quarters. Click on the map for a larger image.
- The City Core
- Southside
- Highgate
- Westside
- Ladywood
- Jewellery Quarter
- Gun Quarter
- Eastside
- Digbeth
Some of these policy areas are neighbourhoods people will largely recognise, such as the Jewellery Quarter, the Gun Quarter, Highgate and Ladywood. Others are newly defined neighbourhoods. For example Southside includes the Chinese Quarter, Gay Village and the Entertainment District around the Hippodrome. Westside includes Brindleyplace, the Convention Quarter, Attwood Green and Park Central plus Broad Street as far as Fiveways. Digbeth includes the Irish Quarter.
The individual quarters that make up these new areas still exist and will continue to do so.
Before we look at these areas in more detail first let us look at how we should deal with the general expansion of Birmingham city centre:
Original Document
The urban structure of Birmingham city centre is uniquely characterised by distinct quarters around the core. The Big City Plan will use this urban structure as a framework for its proposals and policies.
The Core is at the heart of the city. It contains office space for international and national businesses, a varied retail offer catering to a supra-regional catchment area, leisure facilities, a major museum and art gallery and major library containing important arts, cultural and heritage collections, key tourist attractions, and top theatre and concert venues. It also contains the Colmore Row Conservation Area, major civic buildings and spaces, several listed buildings, and the main public transport interchanges.
Located around the outside of the historic Core are the distinctive quarters and neighbourhoods of Birmingham. These quarters are largely based on historic clusters of related business uses, some of which continue to this day. This distinctiveness must be maintained as it is part of the essential character of the city. At the same time the quarters must change and adapt to meet future needs and to support Birmingham’s global city agenda. Some of the quarters are more defined and historically established than others, and there are more opportunities for change in certain quarters than in others. Some will see transformational change and others a strengthening and enhancing of their existing character. Physical edges such as roads and canals form a natural boundary between the areas although it is important to ensure that opposite sides of roads and canals are treated consistently.
Although the defined city centre stops at the Ring Road, it will be important to consider how connections from the centre to the neighbourhoods outside can be enhanced. This particularly applies in the case of the important potential development sites outside the centre, such as Birmingham Wheels and Icknield Port Loop.
The spatial structure of the Big City Plan will be based on the following policy areas (see Figure 5.1):
- The City Core
- Southside
- Highgate
- Westside
- Ladywood
- Jewellery Quarter
- Gun Quarter
- Eastside
- Digbeth
Some of these policy areas relate directly to existing quarters and neighbourhoods – such as the Jewellery Quarter, the Gun Quarter, Highgate and Ladywood. Other policy areas are an amalgamation of quarters and neighbourhoods. For example, the Southside policy area includes the Chinese Quarter, the Gay Village and the Entertainment District around the Hippodrome. Westside includes Brindleyplace, the Convention Quarter, Attwood Green and Park Central and Broad Street as far as Fiveways. Digbeth includes the Irish Quarter. The individual quarters of course still exist, and will continue to do so. The structure, which is shown in Figure 5.1, will form the framework for a more detailed masterplan.
Later stages of this report set out the issues and options for these quarters and neighbourhoods. However, before discussing these in more detail, it is necessary to consider how the growth of the city centre and the expansion of central area uses should be dealt with. This is addressed in the following section.
Plain English Version
Central areas include (among many things) expensive offices and other businesses, a large variety of shops, flats, leisure, tourism and cultural facilities. Mostly these are in the very centre of the city, within the Queensway (inner ring road).
However, the city can change and as it develops, we will need a larger central area. In fact, this has already been happening. Changes to the Queensway have made it for the central area to expand and in the last 10 years, it has spread out to the west around Brindleyplace. If we look at the large office area at Fiveways, we could say that changes to the central area have been happening for almost 50 years. Recently, the central area has started spreading out to the east.
Brindleyplace has been very successful and is an easy walk from New Street. The Mailbox, Baskerville House and the leisure uses along Broad Street have also expanded the central area to the west. The Bullring to the south has helped improve people’s knowledge and opinion of Birmingham. It fits in well with the shops on New Street.
The central area will expand further while the Big City Plan is happening. The Plan will help make the central area bigger and better quality. The next place that the central area will spread out into is Eastside. The Masshouse development and Millenium Point have already started this process.
We have a great chance to improve the area to the south of the Historic Core, starting with the re-building of New Street Station. The new station will be very important in improving people’s knowledge and opinion of Birmingham and will make the experience of visitors arriving in the city much better.
Also, the Wholesale Markets are a very large site near the central area. These two areas will make up a large part of changes to the south of the traditional Historic Core. They can be used to improve the quality of the streets, spaces and transport links in the whole of the southern part of the city centre. We should think about the areas of New Street Station and the Wholesale Markets together.
So, even though the way the Big City Plan is organised is based on the existing central area, it will expand into nearby areas particularly Eastside, Westside and Southside. We want these areas to have lively and different features: for example the Gay Village and Chinese Quarter in Southside, leisure uses in Westside, the learning district in Eastside and food and specialist services and markets in Southside.
So, when you are reading the following sections, please remember that although the policy areas are set up by lines on a map, the activities in the city are changing and the central area activities will not really be limited by these boundaries.
Original Document
Central areas include (among many things) high value offices and commercial uses, a varied and large retail offer, high density city centre living, leisure, tourism and cultural provision. Traditionally these were contained within the Historic Core at the heart of the city, an area mostly bounded by the Queensway.
However, the city is not static and Birmingham’s growing role as a global city will require a wider area to accommodate these central area uses. In fact, this has already been happening for some time. The Queensway has become more permeable in recent years, and in the last 10 years central area uses have expanded to the west around Brindleyplace. Arguably, this process has been going on for almost 50 years if the large scale office development in the Fiveways area is taken into account. More recently, central area functions have begun to expand to the east.
The expansion to the west in the form of Brindleyplace has been very successful and is easily walkable from New Street. The Mailbox, Baskerville House and the leisure uses along Broad Street have also expanded the city’s central area functions westwards. The iconic Bullring development to the south has made a very positive contribution towards raising the profile of Birmingham. It integrates well with the retail offer in New Street.
During the life of the plan, there will be further expansion of the central area functions beyond the historic core. The Big City Plan will be the catalyst for expanding the scale and improving the quality of these functions. The next location for central area expansion is Eastside. The Masshouse development and Millennium Point have already started this process.
There is also huge potential to improve the built environment to the south of the Historic Core, beginning with the redevelopment of New Street Station. This transformational development will be fundamental to raising the profile of Birmingham as a global city. The proposals for New Street Station will be immensely beneficial to improving the arrival experience into the city.
In addition, the Wholesale Markets are a very large site close to the heart of the city. These two big opportunities will form the basis of a major transformation to the south of the traditional Historic Core. They form two poles of growth which can be used to transform the quality of the streets, spaces and transport links in the whole of the southern part of the city centre. To get the most out of these opportunities, New Street Station and the Wholesale Markets must be considered together.
Thus although the structure of the plan is based on the defined policy areas for the sake of convenience, central area uses will expand beyond the historic core into neighbouring areas of the city centre, and in particular into Eastside, Westside and Southside. The intention is that these areas will develop vibrant distinctive characters: for example the Gay Village and Chinese Quarter in Southside, leisure uses in Westside, the learning quarter within Eastside and food and specialist functions and markets in Southside.
In reading the following sections, therefore, it is important to bear in mind that, whilst the policy areas are defined by lines drawn on a plan, the activities within the city are changing and dynamic and the central area functions will not be confined by these boundaries. An important part of the Big City Plan will be to allow for the growth and expansion of Birmingham’s central area functions.