Plain English Version
This report suggests a number of choices for the ‘City Core’ central area and each of the districts. We recommend that the main areas for change are:
- the opening up of the Southside area south and west of New Street Station and linking with the redevelopment of the Wholesale Markets to create a new lively area that has a mixture of central area activities, with an important thing being a new lake where there used to be a moat;
- finishing the improvement of the Eastside area, including changing how the routes and spaces work to create an area where the city centre, university, research and media activities all fit together well;
- the renewal of Highgate and its improvement as a good example of a district where families live within walking distance of the city centre;
- the renewal of Ladywood as a good residential neighbourhood with a mixture of homes with Icknield Port Loop.
Original Document
This report suggests a number of options for the core and each of the quarters. The four recommended major areas of transformation are:
- the opening up of the Southside area south and west of New Street Station and linking with the redevelopment of the Wholesale Markets to create a new vibrant area containing a mixture of central area activities, with a major focus at a new lake based on the site of the original moat;
- the completion of the Eastside regeneration, involving the reconfiguration of routes and spaces to create a coherent area of city centre and university, research and media related uses;
- the renewal of Highgate and its regeneration as an exemplar quarter for family living within walking distance of the core;
- the renewal of Ladywood as high quality residential neighbourhood with a mixture of homes, connected with Icknield Port Loop.
Plain English Version
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.
Original Document
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.
Plain English Version
Building work that is planned already is mostly within the very centre of the city (known as the ‘Core’), with some in Eastside and Westside. This work would create 670,000 square meters of offices and 35,000 square meters of shops.
We need to make sure that the other areas of the city centre get enough new offices, factories and shops.
Original Document
An analysis of present development proposals clearly shows that the majority of city centre growth falls within in the core. 70% of currently proposed office development is located in the core. The only other significant areas of proposed development are Eastside (19%) and Westside (8%). The sum total of schemes currently in the development pipeline would generate 670,000 sq m of office and 35,000 sq m of retail. There is clearly a need to ensure that the other city centre quarters benefit from higher levels of economic activity and growth.
Plain English Version
Creating too many office before they’re needed won’t work. We also need to back a choice over where the offices are built first, so that it’s clear to everyone what’s happening.
The ‘core’ (inner city centre) is a obvious first choice, but when should we add further offices in Eastside , Westside or Southside.
Original Document
Trying to create too much space before the market is ready will be counter-productive. Equally a choice may need to be made over the phasing of development areas so that they do not compete with each other and send out confused messages to the development market. For example whilst the core is the obvious first area for development a choice may need to be taken over when to bring forward development in Eastside, Westside and Southside.
Plain English Version
Birmingham’s academy schools (state schools set up with the help of outside spponsors) are an important part of the Transforming Education programme in the city and by 2012 seven academies are planned throughout Birmingham. Of these St Albans CE (Angelina Street) is located in the city centre, Heartlands High School (Great Francis Street, Nechells) is close to the city centre and the Digital Media and Performing Arts Academy will be located in Eastside by Millennium Point. This Academy will take pupils from across the West Midlands and is walkable from New Street Station.
Original Document
Birmingham’s academies are an important part of the Transforming Education programme in the city and by 2012 seven academies are planned throughout Birmingham. Of these St Albans CE (Angelina Street) is located in the city centre, Heartlands High School (Great Francis Street, Nechells) is close to the city centre and the Digital Media and Performing Arts Academy will be located in Eastside by Millennium Point. This Academy will take learners from across the West Midlands and is walkable from New Street Station.
Plain English Version
The view of the city centre varies depending on where you are in the city. It looks impressive where there are landmarks, such as the BT Tower, Beetham Tower and the Rotunda, rising above other large buildings. This happens with the distant views from the M6 motorway; indeed, we could say that Birmingham is in the best place of any UK city in having a dramatic view close to a main national transport route. There are other good views from several places including the entrance to the city along the Aston Expressway and more close-up views in Highgate and Digbeth. The night time views of tall lit-up buildings are impressive when you enter Navigation Street from the back exit of New Street Station. On the other hand, entering the city by rail gives a poor view of the city – although Eastside will try and change this – and it is not impressive for people arriving at the station and catching taxis.
Original Document
The city centre’s visual image and presence varies depending on the viewpoint. The image is at its most impressive where the centre displays a strong baseline of large buildings above which rise a number of landmarks, such as the BT Tower, the Beetham Tower and the Rotunda. This is particularly the case in distant views from the M6 Motorway; indeed, Birmingham is arguably in the best position of any UK city in having a dramatic presence close to a major national transport route. Other significant images are gained from several locations including the approach along the Aston Expressway and in nearer views such as from Highgate and Digbeth. Night time views of tall illuminated buildings are especially impressive on emerging into Navigation Street from the rear exit of New Street Station. On the other hand, the rail approach into New Street Station gives a poor image of the city – although the Eastside proposals will go some way to change this – and the taxi arrival experience from the station is unimpressive.
Plain English Version
The City Council tries to put all tall buildings along the ridge (from Fiveways to Lancaster Circus). There is room to develop a group of taller buildings in the centre, in Westside, around Snow Hill, in Eastside and around the rebuilding of New Street Station. There may also be room for taller buildings in Southside although this is below the ridge and we could have medium height buildings here instead. We need to take care where we put tall buildings to avoid harm to conservation areas and housing conditions and to avoid affecting air travel. The City Council will continue to develop its approach to tall buildings along with other organisations it affects including Birmingham International Airport and the Civil Aviation Authority.
Original Document
The City Council operates a tall buildings policy which seeks to group tall buildings along the ridge. There is scope to develop a cluster of taller buildings in the centre, in Westside, around Snow Hill, in Eastside, around the New Street Station redevelopment. There may also be scope for taller buildings in Southside although this is below the ridge and an alternative here would be mid-rise development. Care needs to be taken in the placing of tall buildings to avoid harm to conservation areas and residential living conditions and to avoid prejudicing the operational needs of aviation. The City Council will continue to develop its approach to tall buildings in consultation with stakeholders including Birmingham International Airport and the Civil Aviation Authority.
Plain English Version
Centro have worked with Birmingham City Council and come up with four metro routes that will lead out from the city centre:
- The existing Line 1 running between Snow Hill and Wolverhampton
- The planned Line 1 extension leading through the city centre to New Street Station then heading along Broad Street to end at Edgbaston and later at Junction 3 of the M5.
- A route to Birmingham International Airport extension running along Digbeth High Street
Key (Popup full image)
Centro has got hold of a Transport Works Act Order, which allows them to carry on with the extension of Line 1 along Bull Street, Corporation Street, through Victoria Square to Broad Street. This option would need us to remove the buses from Corporation Street in favour of the tram, but would not allow us to fully pedestrianise it. Centro thinks that doing this would mean that a lot more people would use Line1 because it creates a direct Metro link to the New Street Gateway. To pick up further routes, they suggest a one-way city centre loop to serve Southside, Eastside and Westside. (See Figure 4.1 for alternative metro routes)
Figure 4.1 shows the suggested future metro network developed by Centro in partnership with Birmingham City Council. As well as the Line1 extension mentioned above, a one-way city core loop is suggested serving the Eastside, Southside and Westside districts. The route, which runs around the south of the Bull Ring and immediately north of the international markets, will mean a lot more people can use the trams and will improve public transport in these areas. This loop would be needed to have the airport extension from Digbeth High Street. A further extension is planned out to Great Barr via New Town Row. The image also shows a route along Sherlock Street which would infill a route to the south.
Proposed Metro Routes (Popup full image)
For some routes, we could have ‘Bus Rapid Transit’ (BRT) instead of the Metro. Many modern cities have seen the benefits of trams in terms of transport and regeneration, setting them up is expensive and there are other practical issues. They can also affect other modes of transport (such as pedestrians in crowded streets). Bus Rapid Transport is halfway between buses and trams, with optional features such as better vehicles, priority through guideways, and not as many stops as normal buses. BRT may be a cheaper alternative to trams in some places and along some routes. Centro have suggested routes to Bartley Green, Chelmsley Wood and (as a pre-metro) to Perry Barr.
Original Document
Centro, in partnership with Birmingham City Council, has identified four metro routes that will radiate from the city centre:
- The existing Line 1 running between Snow Hill and Wolverhampton.
- The planned Line 1 extension heading through the city centre to New Street Station then heading along Broad Street to terminate at Edgbaston and later at Junction 3 of the M5.
- A route to Birmingham International Airport extension running along Digbeth High Street.
- A route to Great Barr, using the alignment of New Town Row.
Centro has obtained a Transport Works Act Order, enabling them to progress with the extension of Line 1 along Bull Street, Corporation Street, through Victoria Square to Broad Street. This option would require the removal of buses from Corporation Street in favour of the tram, but would not permit its full pedestrianisation. Centro predicts that this alignment will lead to major increases in Line1 patronage simply through creating a direct Metro link to the New Street Gateway. To pick up further routes a one-way city centre loop is proposed to serve Southside, Eastside and Westside. (See Figure 4.1 for alternative metro routes)
Figure 4.1 shows the proposed future metro network developed by Centro in partnership with BCC. As well as the Line 1 extension referred to above, a one-way city core loop is proposed serving Eastside, Southside and Westside quarters. The route, running around the south of the Bull Ring and immediately north of the international markets, will greatly improve tram system capacity and improve public transport accessibility in these areas. This loop would be required to deliver the airport extension from Digbeth High Street. A further extension is planned out to Great Barr via New Town Row. A route along Sherlock Street is also shown, which would infill a route to the south.
An alternative to Metro for some routes would be to implement ‘Bus Rapid Transit’. While the transport and regeneration benefits of trams are well understood in many modern cities, the costs and practical issues surrounding their implementation are considerable, while they can have adverse impacts on other modes (e.g. on pedestrians in crowded streets). Bus Rapid Transit is an intermediate mode between buses and trams, with optional features such as better vehicles, enhanced priority through guideways, and less frequent stops than conventional buses. BRT may be a more cost-effective alternative to tram in certain locations/corridors. Centro have suggested routes to Bartley Green, Chelmsley Wood and (as a pre-metro) to Perry Barr.
Plain English Version
Birmingham city centre has a core surrounded by distinct quarters and we are using this a framework for our proposals.
The Core contains offices for international and national businesses, shops with attract people from across the region, leisure facilities, a major museum, art gallery and library all of which contain important collections. The core also has key tourist attractions and top theatre and concert venues. It includes the Colmore Row Conservation Area, civic buildings and spaces, several listed buildings, and the main public transport interchanges.
Around the outside of the historic Core we find the distinctive quarters and neighbourhoods of Birmingham. These quarters are largely based on historic clusters of common businesses, some of which continue to this day. We want to protect these distinct qualities whilst planning to allow the quarters scope to change in the future.
Some of the quarters are more defined and historically established than others, and there are more opportunities for change in certain quarters than in others. Some will be transformed whilst others need their exiting qualities to be improved. Where roads and canals form a boundary between the areas it is important to make that both sides of roads and canals are treated in similar ways.
We define the city centre as stopping at the Ring Road, however we also need to find ways to improve the ways the city centre connects to outlying neighbourhoods. This particularly applies to sites such as Birmingham Wheels and Icknield Port Loop.
The part of the Big City Plan which deals with the layout of the newly enlarged city centre will be based on the following areas (see Figure 5.1):
Image 5.1 Existing quarters and proposed new quarters. Click on the map for a larger image.
- The City Core
- Southside
- Highgate
- Westside
- Ladywood
- Jewellery Quarter
- Gun Quarter
- Eastside
- Digbeth
Some of these policy areas are neighbourhoods people will largely recognise, such as the Jewellery Quarter, the Gun Quarter, Highgate and Ladywood. Others are newly defined neighbourhoods. For example Southside includes the Chinese Quarter, Gay Village and the Entertainment District around the Hippodrome. Westside includes Brindleyplace, the Convention Quarter, Attwood Green and Park Central plus Broad Street as far as Fiveways. Digbeth includes the Irish Quarter.
The individual quarters that make up these new areas still exist and will continue to do so.
Before we look at these areas in more detail first let us look at how we should deal with the general expansion of Birmingham city centre:
Original Document
The urban structure of Birmingham city centre is uniquely characterised by distinct quarters around the core. The Big City Plan will use this urban structure as a framework for its proposals and policies.
The Core is at the heart of the city. It contains office space for international and national businesses, a varied retail offer catering to a supra-regional catchment area, leisure facilities, a major museum and art gallery and major library containing important arts, cultural and heritage collections, key tourist attractions, and top theatre and concert venues. It also contains the Colmore Row Conservation Area, major civic buildings and spaces, several listed buildings, and the main public transport interchanges.
Located around the outside of the historic Core are the distinctive quarters and neighbourhoods of Birmingham. These quarters are largely based on historic clusters of related business uses, some of which continue to this day. This distinctiveness must be maintained as it is part of the essential character of the city. At the same time the quarters must change and adapt to meet future needs and to support Birmingham’s global city agenda. Some of the quarters are more defined and historically established than others, and there are more opportunities for change in certain quarters than in others. Some will see transformational change and others a strengthening and enhancing of their existing character. Physical edges such as roads and canals form a natural boundary between the areas although it is important to ensure that opposite sides of roads and canals are treated consistently.
Although the defined city centre stops at the Ring Road, it will be important to consider how connections from the centre to the neighbourhoods outside can be enhanced. This particularly applies in the case of the important potential development sites outside the centre, such as Birmingham Wheels and Icknield Port Loop.
The spatial structure of the Big City Plan will be based on the following policy areas (see Figure 5.1):
- The City Core
- Southside
- Highgate
- Westside
- Ladywood
- Jewellery Quarter
- Gun Quarter
- Eastside
- Digbeth
Some of these policy areas relate directly to existing quarters and neighbourhoods – such as the Jewellery Quarter, the Gun Quarter, Highgate and Ladywood. Other policy areas are an amalgamation of quarters and neighbourhoods. For example, the Southside policy area includes the Chinese Quarter, the Gay Village and the Entertainment District around the Hippodrome. Westside includes Brindleyplace, the Convention Quarter, Attwood Green and Park Central and Broad Street as far as Fiveways. Digbeth includes the Irish Quarter. The individual quarters of course still exist, and will continue to do so. The structure, which is shown in Figure 5.1, will form the framework for a more detailed masterplan.
Later stages of this report set out the issues and options for these quarters and neighbourhoods. However, before discussing these in more detail, it is necessary to consider how the growth of the city centre and the expansion of central area uses should be dealt with. This is addressed in the following section.
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.