Options GQ 1 to GQ 3

Option GQ1

Plain English Version

Gun Quarter: the workshop quarter

If we follow this plan, we will keep the buildings for industrial use. We will protect these buildings, and gradually we will restore them to a respectable standard.

Small businesses may have to leave other areas. Some of these will be able to move to the Gun Quarter.

For example: we want to create more homes in Highgate, which will mean some businesses will have to move out. Under this plan there will be room in the Gun Quarter for them. However, for this to happen we may need to improve the space that is available in the Gun Quarter.

Original Document

Gun Quarter – the workshop quarter. The building stock would be retained as an industrial resource. The industrial use of buildings would be protected and incremental improvements would be promoted to the condition of the built environment. The Gun Quarter could be a resource for accommodating small businesses displaced from elsewhere in the city centre as a result of redevelopment; for example, if major residential development were to take place at Highgate, the displaced employment could find accommodation in the Gun Quarter. The space available in the Gun Quarter may need to be modernised and adapted to facilitate this option.

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Optoin GQ2

Plain English Version

Gun Quarter for high-end business

If we follow this plan, we will want a better quality of business in the Gun Quarter. These will be similar to those that are already in the city centre. We will continue to try and improve the buildings, and to make them suitable for modern business use.

Nearby in the city centre, there is an area of offices that is getting bigger. We want this to grow, so that it stretches out into the Gun Quarter. We will still want the Gun Quarter to be mainly a business area.

However, there is also the possibility for other things such as housing and local services, if appropriate. For example, these may be along the Fazeley Canal. By doing this we will help to lift the value of the area, and encourage people to keep developing and improving the area.

Original Document

Gun Quarter for high end business. This option would encourage higher value city centre uses and high tech manufacturing within the Gun Quarter. The continual improvement and modernisation of existing premises within the area would be encouraged. The quarter could take businesses related to the growing office area nearly in the core. Although the Gun Quarter would remain a predominantly employment based area, a mixture of uses including residential and supporting local services could be encouraged where appropriate, for example along the Fazeley Canal. This would help to raise values within the area, ensuring the continual improvement and modernisation of existing premises and uses.

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Option GQ3

Plain English Version

Gun Quarter as a residential as well as business area

If we follow this plan, the Gun Quarter will have a lot more housing and a lot less industry. We will get rid of a large chunk of the industrial area, which is not used much anyway. This will be a great help for Birmingham’s housing needs. It may also mean that a more mixed, family-friendly community develops. And we will improve the nearby estate and schools.

For this to work, we will need to make better links to the city centre. As in ‘Gun Quarter for high-end business’ (above), we will want to improve some of the industrial areas of Gun Quarter as well as providing good residential neighbourhoods.

Original Document

Gun Quarter as a residential as well as business area. This option would envisage a substantial expansion of 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 Birmingham’s housing needs, could help to foster a more mixed family-oriented residential community and would greatly improve the surroundings of 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 of selective industrial areas and at the same time providing coherent residential neighbourhoods.

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