Posts Tagged ‘Baskerville House’

5.2 Uses of the city centre

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.

Comments Off


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