6.5 Westside

6.5 Westside

Plain English Version

Westside been redeveloped a number of times, with:

  • the offices around Five Ways
  • Baskerville House and Alpha Tower
  • the cultural area including the Rep theatre, the NIA, Brindleyplace and the Mailbox
  • the leisure area along Broad Street (including the Broadway Entertainment Complex and Cineworld)

all being added.

The area we’re calling Westside also includes the Attwood Green area. Attwood Green is the new name given to the Central Area Estates. It includes the areas of Lee Bank (Five Ways Estate and Cleveland and Clydesdale Towers), Benmore, and Woodview.

It also includes the development at Park Central, which the first phase of a large 10 year housing regeneration programme. It is  well under way and is already occupied. Park Central has of housing sizes and tenures set around “Sunset Park”.

Near Attwood Green is the Bath Row and Holloway Head area – an area on the fringe of the ciy Core that has seen little change over the last 30 years. The area is  home to a mix of light industrial / warehouse uses, some community activities and offices, some of which may have functional connections with the city centre.

Two towers block of flats  mark a gateway at Holloway Head with Beetham Tower (the Radisson Hotel) beyond. At ground level it’s not easy to walk around this area.

Westside has a mixed character. The area is pulled together by Centenary Square and Broad Street and by the canal network, but it isn’t seen as a complete “area”

Centenary Square, Brindley Place and Gas Street Basin look nice, but Broad Street and Five Ways don’t look as good. The NIA is nto attractive fron outside, and has car parks spoiling the view canalside.

Some development is already planned including:

It’s hoped that these developments will bring enough people to live and work in the area to help to support niche and specialist shops.

The Bath Row / Holloway Head area is the last place avalable to redevelop and is being guided by a development brief; so far there are not many plans. There is a good chance that we could provide better pedestrian links between Park Central, Westside and Southside through Holloway Head.

As well as the existing plans, there may be other opportunities in the future. We need to think about how to make the National Indoor Arena more attractive.

We could also improve the public spaces in the area around Fiveways, along Broad Street and the NIA and along some of the canal network.

Broad Street as a brash and buzzy entertainment strip? (See image)

The Broad Street area is an important thing to think about. Although it’s now mainly for entertainment, it could turn into something like a local “high street” with shops and services for the growing number of people that would like and work around it.

Westside (See image)

Original Document

Westside has seen several waves of expanding central area uses: the offices 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.

Westside also includes the Attwood Green area and the ongoing development at Park Central, the first phase of a large 10 year housing regeneration programme, which is well under way and is substantially occupied. Park Central creates a new urban neighbourhood close to the cultural, retail, and commercial heart of the city with a range of housing sizes and tenures set around Sunset Park.

Near Attwood Green is the Bath Row and Holloway Head area - an area on the fringe of the city core that has seen little change over the last 30 years. The area is still home to a mix of light industrial / warehouse uses, some community activities and office uses, some of which may have functional connections with the city 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 of high quality.

Broad Street as a brash and buzzy entertainment strip? (Popup full image)
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 function as a series of 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 has a poor frontage with multi storey car parks fronting the sensitive canalside.

There are still a number of landmark projects in the pipeline, including the Cube, the V building, Arena Central, Baskerville Wharf, Paradise Circus and the relocation of the Library of Birmingham. These quality developments will bring a critical mass of people into the area which could help to support niche and specialist shops.

The Bath Row / Holloway Head area represents the most significant remaining redevelopment opportunity in the area and its redevelopment is being guided by a development brief; so far, not much development has come forward. There are major opportunities to provide better pedestrian links between Park Central, Westside and Southside through Holloway Head.

In addition to these development proposals which are already in the pipeline, there may be other opportunities in the future. The National Indoor Arena occupies a valuable city centre location adjacent to areas of major change, including Arena Central and as discussed above does not have an attractive presence. We need to think about how further improvements might be made in this area. There are also significant opportunities to improve the quality of the public realm within the Westside area, particularly in the area around Fiveways, along Broad Street and the NIA and along some of the canal network.

The Broad Street area is an important focus for Westside; although it developed an entertainment function in the 1990s, its role in the future may be more akin to the local “high street” with shops and services for the growing residential and business communities around it.

3 comments


Option W1

Plain English Version

Westside as a commercial quarter.

This would encourage higher value office, shops and leisure facilities to build on the success of Brindleyplace and act as an extension to the  legal and financial core of the city.

Original Document

Westside as a commercial quarter. This option would encourage future commercial redevelopment within the Westside area, including higher value office, retail and leisure uses. This would build on the success of Brindleyplace and capitalise on the proximity of Westside to the legal and financial centre of the city.

1 comment


Option W2

Plain English Version

Westside as a specialist shopping area.

This option would develop more high end, specialist shops in the area with a  focus on the canal, The Mailbox, The Cube, the area around Bridge Street and the National Indoor Arena.  The Cube would play a significant part in encouraging such shops.

Original Document

Westside as a specialist shopping area. Specialist retailing would develop further in the area, focused 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, therefore consolidating the existing retail offer at the Mailbox. The Cube would act as an anchor and as a springboard for future specialist retailing.

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Option W3

Plain English Version

Westside as an entertainment quarter.

Broad Street would become a major entertainment street. Much more commercial leisure development would be encouraged with bigger buildings, wider pavements and vibrant advertising to create a brash and buzzy entertainment boulevard.

Original Document

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 of a brash and buzzy entertainment boulevard.

2 comments


Option W4

Plain English Version

Westside as a local centre.

Broad Street and Fiveways would be the focus of a growing residential and business community.  They would  provide a range of local  shops with good links through to Park Central, Ladywood and Icknield Port Loop.

Original Document

Westside as a local centre. Broad Street and Fiveways would be the focus of the growing residential and business community and would provide a range of locally-oriented shops and services for those communities, with good links through to Park Central, Ladywood and Icknield Port Loop.

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Option W5

Plain English Version

Walking Westside.

Create a tree lined avenue along  Suffolk Street Queensway to create a pedestrian friendly boulevard. This could mean replacing the slip road next to the Orion Building with a wider pavement and trees. It might even involve getting rid of some of heavy duty concrete roadssuch as the flyover over Navigation Street.  Thisn option would alos involvee more detailed work to improve walking routes between the Core and Westside through Paradise Circus and Holloway Head, and those between Broad Street and the neighbouring residential areas. Pedestrian crossings should be at street level.

Original Document

Walking Westside. Create a tree lined avenue along the route of Suffolk Street Queensway, lined with tall buildings, to create a pedestrian friendly boulevard. This could require the removal of the slip road adjacent to the Orion Building and its replacement with a wider pavement and trees. It might even involve the removal of some of the heavy duty highway structures such as the flyover 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.

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