Plain English Version
The core of the city centre has a good network of public squares. The older squares including St. Philips and St. Pauls have been complemented by modern projects including Centenary Square, Victoria Square, Brindley Place, St. Martins Square, and Millennium Point. They link attractions such as the Ikon Gallery, Symphony Hall, the REP theatres, and the Library.
These together with the pedestrian routes down New Street to the Bull Ring create a pleasant walking environment through the centre.
There are less public spaces near New Street Station and the south side of the city centre.
Original Document
The core of the city centre has a distinctive network of public squares. The older spaces including St. Philips and St. Pauls have been complemented by successful modern public realm projects including Centenary Square, Victoria Square, Brindleyplace, St. Martins Square, and Millennium Point, linking several attractions such as the Ikon Gallery, Symphony Hall, the REP theatres, and the Library of Birmingham. These together with the pedestrian routes down New Street to the Bull Ring create a pleasant walking environment along a central spine through the centre, although the areas around New Street Station and the south side of the city centre are less well endowed with public spaces.
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.
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.