We think that Birmingham should be a centre for creative industries (such as art, design, and publishing) that is just as good as other cities.
Birmingham should become the focus for creative industries to rival those in other cities.
This report also suggests choices based on policy for the districts whose economic activity is staying still or falling such as the Gun Quarter, Digbeth and the Jewellery Quarter. These choices include ideas to expand business, the creative industries and housing in these areas.
This report also suggests policy-based options for the quarters that have experienced stagnating or declining economic activity including the Gun Quarter, Digbeth and the Jewellery Quarter, which include ideas for the expansion of business, creative industries and housing within these areas.
The ‘creative sector’ means things like jewellery making, architecture and the media amongst others. The Jewellery Quarter has a lot of these and Digbeth (around the Custard Factory) and Eastside are also starting to get more.
University-related research and development is another area that could be improved, at the moment there isn’t much of this. Eastside is in a good position to do this, as there is a plan to open a digital and arts academy (school) for 14-19 year olds.
The creative sector covers a wide range of activities, from jewellery manufacture and the creation of decorative artefacts, through creative professional services such as architecture, to media-related activities. The Jewellery Quarter already has a concentration of such activities and Digbeth (with the Custard Factory particularly notable) and Eastside are emerging as creative areas (see Baseline Report for more detail). A further potential area for growth is spin-off from university-related research and development. At present these links are poorly developed and there is scope to improve on this for the future. Eastside is in a good position to capture growth in this area notably with proposals for creation of the digital and arts academy for 14-19 year olds.
Different parts of the “Creative Industries” need different types of buildings to work in, but often they can use older converted buildings that are not suited to other commercial uses.
We might not need to do anything to help these types of businesses as they often chose places on cost rather than other things. The Big City Plan may need to take into account that where they locate might change over time. It might be a success if in 30 years time the ‘Creative Industries’ had been priced out of Digbeth and have moved somewhere cheaper.
The property requirements of the creative industries vary by segment, but the sector is well suited to making use of old converted buildings that can not be viably redeveloped for mainstream commercial use. As such a policy of limited intervention may best suit the needs of this sector. Creative industries’ location choices are more strongly related to economic processes than planning designations. The Big City Plan will therefore need to accept that there will be change over time. Indeed, it might be a sign of success if, in thirty years’ time, the creative industries were priced out of Digbeth and were colonising a new, less affluent area of the city in search of lower rents.
How can we support creative and cultural industries? What type of space do they need and where? How could have something similar to the Custard Factory in other parts of the city centre?
How can creative and cultural industries be supported, what type of space is needed and where? How might the Custard Factory model be delivered in other parts of the centre?
How much and what types of housing should we have alongside the small businesses and creative industries in districts such as the Jewellery Quarter, Digbeth and the Gun Quarter?
How far and in what ways can we accommodate more housing within mixed use quarters and traditional industrial quarters like the Jewellery Quarter, Digbeth and the Gun Quarter whilst retaining small businesses and creative industries in those areas?
The Jewellery Quarter (for a larger version click on the map)
The Jewellery Quarter has many high quality buildings set in a very industrial area. It is protected by a conservation area and is a potential candidate as a World Heritage site.
Specialist jewellery makers, designers and shops still exist in the quarter. Now though they work alongside a growing entertainment, commercial and professional business sector in the area around St Paul’s Square, a neighbourhood we consider the centrepiece of the historic environment in the Jewellery Quarter.
This part of Birmingham wasn’t always about industry. The first buildings there were homes. These started to change as small businesses converting bedrooms into workshops. Buildings containing both houses and workshops are now rare, although one example is 27-32 Mary Street. Today the character of the area is shaped by purpose built factories and workshops from the 19th Century. Fringe central activities (sorry the previous phrase is tricky to translate) occupy land by Great Charles Street/Queensway. There are more modest offices and some residential developments next to St. Paul’s Square and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. The only open spaces are Key Hill Cemetery and the Church of England Cemetery on Warstone Lane.
You only need to look out from the Jewellery Quarter to see just how close it is to the core part of the the city centre. However getting there can be a problem. For example: Church Street traditionally linked St Paul’s Church to St Philips Cathedral but is now cut by the Queensway.
So this plan should find ways to make it easier for people to travel between the Jewellery Quarter and the core of the city centre. We may find that redevelopment of some major sites presents an opportunity to make it easier for people to walk. The Metro Line 1 runs through the Jewellery Quarter and provides a connection from Snow Hill to Wolverhampton whilst a railway line also runs through the quarter from Snow Hill to Stourbridge and Solihull.
We think the Jewellery Quarter is generally considered a success, but there are still many empty and under used buildings. Developers have been keen to build homes and buildings which are used as homes and offices on the less historic industrial fringe, but in the more traditional parts of the quarter there are tensions. Here the Council’s current policy stops developers buildings homes. It is a policy designed to protect the historic core as a place for factories, workshops and business. The Big City Plan should take another look at the planning policy for the quarter.
The Big City Plan will need to consider the opportunities for mixed use development within the Jewellery Quarter. There are already a number of proposals, including a new development around Carver Street, Camden Street and Pope Street and the future of sites on Great Charles Queensway are also being discussed. The existing Unitary Development Plan (you can find the whole document it through this link, the section on the Jewellery Quarter is here.) includes a proposal to create an urban village which will provide for a mixture of small businesses and new homes.
The Jewellery Quarter has strong functional links with its past, retaining specialist jewellery manufacturing and designing as well as retailing. It also has a growing entertainment, commercial and professional business sector in the part nearer to the city centre around St Paul’s Square. It has many high quality buildings set in an uncompromisingly industrial street-scape, is protected by a conservation area and is a potential candidate as a World Heritage Site.
The centrepiece of the historic environment in the Jewellery Quarter is St Paul’s Square. The quarter is also home to Key Hill Cemetery and the Church of England Cemetery on Warstone Lane. These are the only areas of open space in the quarter.
The earliest buildings in the Jewellery Quarter were residential. Later demand for industrial uses led to the conversion of properties in a number of ways. Some of them continued to be lived in with little division between domestic and industrial accommodation. Buildings containing both houses and workshops are now rare. An example being 27-32 Mary Street. Today the area is characterised by purpose built manufactories and workshops from the 19th Century. Fringe central area activities occupy land fronting Great Charles Street / Queensway, and more domestic scale office and residential developments abut St. Paul’s Square and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.
The views of the city centre from the quarter accentuate its proximity to the core. An important connection to the core is Church Street which connects St Paul’s and St Philips. This is however severed by the Queensway. The Big City Plan should examine how the connections between the Jewellery Quarter and the Core can be improved and whether redevelopment of major sites presents an opportunity to improve pedestrian connections. Metro Line 1 runs through the Jewellery Quarter and provides connection from Snow Hill to Wolverhampton. A railway line also runs through the quarter from Snow Hill to Stourbridge and Solihull.
Although generally regarded as a success, there remain significant levels of under-use and vacancy in the area. The area has proved popular with residential / mixed use developers, with major redevelopment taking place in the less historic industrial fringe, but in the more traditional parts of the quarter there are potential tensions between residential growth and the retention of workshop accommodation. Indeed, at the moment, the Council’s existing policy restricts non-industrial activity within the heart of the Jewellery Quarter, particularly within the Golden Triangle and the Industrial Middle. In light of these factors, the Big City Plan should examine options for different planning policy approaches in the quarter.
The Big City Plan will need to consider the opportunities for mixed use development within the Jewellery Quarter. There are already a number of development proposals in the pipeline, including a new development around Carver Street, Camden Street and Pope Street, and there are discussions regarding the future of the sites on Great Charles Queensway. Furthermore, the existing UDP identifies opportunities for mixed use development – the urban village proposal encourages the provision of space for small businesses as well as new residential development.
Improved transport linkages between the Jewellery Quarter, the Core and the Convention Centre can provide further opportunity for a smoother transition from the quarter to the core.