Plain English Version
The Big City Plan will be set up, based on work which we have already done for these other plans:
Original Document
The Big City Plan will be founded on a strategy which is emerging from work already undertaken in connection with the Regional Spatial Strategy, the Birmingham Plan, Visioning the Masterplan, the Big Ideas Event, Birmingham Vision 2026 and the Birmingham Prospectus.
Plain English Version
The “Issues and Options Report” will ask how Birmingham can be a leading environmentally smart city and help achieve the aims set out in the plan “Cutting CO2 for a Smarter Birmingham“. The ‘smart city’ idea is important in the Big City Plan.
Original Document
The Issues and Options report will ask how Birmingham can be a leading-edge environmentally smart city and play a full role in delivering the city’s strategic framework - ‘Cutting CO2 for a Smarter Birmingham. The concept of the ‘smart city’ will be a strong theme running through the whole of the Big City Plan.
Plain English Version
The plan of action for the Big City Plan aims to make it possible for Birmingham City Centre to:
- Grow to be able to cope with being the UK’s second most important city;
- Score much higher in charts of places where people most want to live in the world (such as the “Mercer Index“); and move from number 56 into the top 20;
- Change its economy and environment for the better;
- Become a ‘smart’ city, reaching its target of cutting carbon emissions by 60% by 2026, as well as making the economy stronger.
Original Document
The strategy of the Big City Plan will aim to provide the conditions for Birmingham City Centre to:
- Grow to serve the city’s status as the UK’s second world city;
- Raise the city much higher on global indices of liveability (such as the Mercer Index 1 ); moving into the top 20 cities from its current 56th place;
- Transform itself economically and environmentally;
- Become a ‘smart’ city, delivering its 60% CO 2 emissions target by 2026, coupled with strong economic growth.
Plain English Version
The most important way to improve how people see the city is to make it a nice place to live. This can be done by having:
- well-designed buildings, streets and spaces
- a range of nice homes
- social facilities including schools, local centres and open space
- nice and safe walking routes
- public transport that is easy to use and works well.
The cities where people most want to live have a good economy and are attractive. They attract highly qualified people and investment. They make all of the people who live there feel valued. Table 2.1 shows where Birmingham is on the “Mercer liveability Index” (a chart of where people most want to live). The plan will focus on the aims of Birmingham becoming one of the most important cities in the world and also one of the cities where people most want to live. The plan will work with the way the city centre is set out now (the central part and the districts) and make a base on which Birmingham can grow and become a city where people want to live.
Original Document
The most important factor in raising the city’s status is the city’s liveability. This includes a good physical environment to attract people and improve the city’s image, with well designed buildings, streets and spaces; a range of attractive homes and social facilities including schools, local centres and open space, attractive and safe walking routes, efficient and easy to use public transport. The most liveable cities are economically successful and desirable. People want to live there; they attract highly qualified people and hence investment. They promote social inclusion. Table 2.1 shows Birmingham’s position on the Mercer liveability index. Liveability is the essential ingredient in the recipe to raise Birmingham’s role as a world city. The plan will focus on the objectives of world city and liveability: the global city with a local heart. Working broadly with the grain of the existing city centre structure – the urban structure of core and quarters – the plan will create the foundation for Birmingham’s growth and its progress as a liveable city.
Plain English Version
New Draft PPS 4 (Planning Policy Statement) [pdf link] about economic development suggests that mixed-use developments (buildings where residential, offices and shops may sit side-by-side) are the best plan. Mixed-use is better in bigger buildings.
Small offices or workshops work best in mixed-use developments. Different types and sizes of these would allow different types of business to start, grown and even more to new places within the same buildings.
In most cases these types of buildings create more jobs that industrial use, as well as making more places for people to live.
Original Document
New Draft PPS 4 (Planning Policy Statement) on economic development recognises mixed use as a way forward for economic development. Indeed it advises against using single designations to ‘restrict’ economic development - arguing for more mixed use developments. Mixed use works better on a larger scale than in small sites. It needs to be possible to create a genuine mixed use character where both employment and residential happily co-exist and can even generate mutual benefits, giving a greater sense of security and vitality for both parties. Small office/workshop type uses are those that work best in a mixed use environment. Units with flexibility for a multitude of uses for different business types, including incubation and move-on space, will widen demand for space and enable businesses to grow within the same location. In most cases such development will generate higher levels of employment than low density industrial use, will increase the number of dwellings and improve the environment.
Plain English Version
When the type of work available in a place changes, the amount of people who have a job is affected. For example the new jobs created do not necessarily match the skill sets of those who were formerly in manufacturing.
Birmingham as a whole has higher unemployment and less economic activity than the average for the UK – but as we have a lot of students this might be slightly better than that.
There are a lot of people in Birmingham that are out of work, and to try and get them jobs the council is spending money on computers and technology, and developing businesses run by the sorts of people who don’t run many businesses – such as ethnic minorities and women, and social enterprise.
A series of high-tech business areas are planned along the A38 (Bristol Road) running through the City Centre to Longbridge and beyond — we call this the “Central Technology Belt“.
Original Document
Economic change and the skills base have an impact on the level of worklessness, because the new jobs created do not necessarily match the skill sets of those who were formerly in manufacturing. For Birmingham as a whole unemployment rates are above the national average and economic activity rates are below the national average. The economic activity rate for Birmingham at 66% is around 8% below the national average, although some of this is accounted for by students. As a result there are a large number of individuals either claiming Job Seekers Allowance or who are economically inactive – people of working age who are not working, are not in full-time education or training and are not actively seeking work. To address this on a city wide scale the city is investing in ICT and research and development, under-represented businesses such as those run by ethnic minorities and women, and social enterprise. A series of high-tech developments are planned along the A38 running through central Birmingham to Longbridge and beyond known as the ‘Central Technology Belt’.
Plain English Version
The choices in the Birmingham Core Strategy suggest most grow will be in the city Centre. There are already a lot of major office buildings in the centre, from Five Ways Edgbaston and in Brindley Place, Broad St, Snow Hill and Colmore Row. The last pieces of Brindley Place is being built and there are lots of buildings just or nearly finished in ‘Colmore Plaza’ and Snow Hill. Eastside and the south end of the Jewellery Quarter are also places that are seen as for offices. The Jewellery Quarter is often used by professional companies.
Original Document
The options in the emerging Birmingham Core Strategy focus office growth within the city centre. The city centre has a well defined belt of major office buildings, which stretches from the Fiveways area through Brindleyplace and Broad Street, to Snow Hill and Colmore Row, The last phase of Brindleyplace is under construction and there are several major schemes recently completed or under construction at Colmore Plaza and Snow Hill. Eastside and the southern end of the Jewellery Quarter are emerging parts of this office belt, with the latter forming a focus for professional offices.
Plain English Version
The Regional Spatial Strategy says Birmingham needs 590,000 square metres of new offices in the city centre by 2026. Because of the cost and performance of the economy, it’s likely that this won’t happen at a steady rate of 30,000 square meters a year. It’s possbile that more of it may have to wait until nearer 2026.
Original Document
The Plan needs to respond to the RSS requirements of 590,000 square metres of new office development by 2026 in the city centre. If Birmingham is looking to create a step-change in its economic performance it may take time to create the right conditions infrastructure and image to deliver this. Thus commercial office floor-space may not be delivered at an even rate throughout the plan period. Rather than an average of 30,000 sq m p.a., higher rates of development might be expected in the latter part of the period.
Plain English Version
Although Birmingham has had a lot of good new shopping areas opened, and more are planned we need to keep working at it as we are in competition with other places like Merry Hill.
The Regional Spatial Strategy says that Birmingham must have and extra 225,000 square metres of non-food retail floor-space between 2006-2021 and an additional 130,000 square meters between 2021-2026.
Original Document
Despite the recent success and pipeline development, Birmingham will need to continue to invest in the quantity and quality of its retail offer to maintain its leading position and respond to threats posed by its competitors such as the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Dudley. The Regional Spatial Strategy requires Birmingham city centre to plan for an additional gross non food retail floor-space of 225,000 sq m between 2006-2021 and an additional 130,000 sq m between 2021-2026. This is a substantial requirement to accommodate, reflecting Birmingham’s ambitions as a global city.
Plain English Version
Ladywood, please click on the picture to go to a larger version
Ladywood is very close to the main city centre, has it’s own canals and could be a very desirable place to live.
At the moment though Ladywood needs significant improvement. The quality of the houses, shops and public facilities vary significantly. The overall design is based on out of date ideas. The place is inward-looking, hard to navigate and can make people feel insecure.
The Council owns most of the housing and has been making gradual improvements. The two to three storey homes are low density, which means more people could live on this land, and they look too suburban for somewhere so close to the city centre. There are also a few high-rise council towers.
The newest development is of privately owned 9-10 storey buildings beside the canal. These apartments turn their backs on the rest of the Ladywood estate and make it harder for the people who live there to reach the canal.
We think this area presents a great opportunity to create a successful neighbourhood with a strong community focus but it will mean major change. The quality of the housing can be improved significantly, as can the way we use the open space. The canal can then be used to its full potential and we can improve the way the neighbourhood connects to the National Indoor Arena area and the core of the city centre.
Some work is already happening. A new high quality residential development of four to seven storeys is already taking place along Ryland Street. The Icknield Port Loop area immediately to the west of Ladywood is being developed into a new neighbourhood which will makes the most of the old industrial canal loop. There will be a mixture of styles of homes, some owned by the people who live in them, others rented by private landlords of housing associations. At the moment it is cut off from the city centre by the ring road, canal and railway . The Big City Plan is a chance to investigate how those barriers can be removed. This would create a number of routes through Icknield Port Loop, Ladywood and on to the city centre, effectively merging the two neighbourhoods.
So we belive that if we bring together housing, planning and education policy and projects within Ladywood we can create a neighbourhood which works well for the people who live there.
Original Document
Ladywood is a housing area of variable quality, with some local shopping and social facilities and an environment that could benefit from significant improvement. Designed in part on the now old fashioned principles, with separate pedestrian and vehicle routes, the area falls significantly short against a number of urban design criteria. Streets and spaces are not overlooked, back gardens are exposed, leading to a perception of insecurity, there is no sense of enclosure, some of the spaces have a left-over and poorly maintained feel, and the area is inward-looking and not easy to navigate.
Yet Ladywood is very close to the city centre and adjacent to the canal and could be a very desirable place to live.
Most of the housing is Council owned and is very low density with the two to three storey housing appearing suburban and not reflective of its location close to the city centre. The residential area is interspersed with a few high-rise council towers.
The newest development has taken place on the canalside, being mainly 9-10 storey, privately owned apartments that turn their backs to the rest of the Ladywood estate and restrict access to the canal by residents of that estate.
Gradual improvement of Local Authority housing stock in Ladywood has taken place. However, this area presents a great opportunity for major transformation into a successful neighbourhood with a strong community focus. The quality of the housing can be significantly improved along with the configuration of open space. The canal frontage can then be utilised to its full potential and linkages through the area and to the core and NIA can be much improved.
A new high quality residential development of four to seven storeys is already taking place along Ryland Street. Based on perimeter blocks with landscaped courtyards, a variety of colours, material and heights.
The Icknield Port Loop area immediately to the west of Ladywood is being developed as a sustainable urban neighbourhood of mixed housing types and tenures with the canal loop as its focus. Its present disadvantage is that it is slightly isolated from the city centre as the ring road, canal and railway all form barriers. The Big City Plan creates the opportunity of investigating how those barriers can be overcome and create a number of routes through Icknield Port Loop, Ladywood and on to the city centre, effectively merging the two neighbourhoods.
Aligning housing, planning and education policy and projects within Ladywood gives us the opportunity to create a properly functioning neighbourhood.
Ladywood (Popup full image)
Plain English Version
We think that Birmingham should have a new Food district. Birmingham could also support the ‘Slow Food Movement‘ and should promote its different cultures in its eating places and events.
Original Document
Birmingham should have a new Food Quarter. Birmingham could also embrace the Slow Food Movement and should actively market its cultural diversity in its eating places and events.
Plain English Version
We think that Birmingham should support the idea of a high-speed rail network to the city centre.
Original Document
Birmingham should actively promote the development of the high-speed rail network to the city centre.
Plain English Version
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.
Original Document
Birmingham should become the focus for creative industries to rival those in other cities.
Plain English Version
This is an unofficial ‘plain English’ version of the section of the Big City Plan Work in Progress, originally entitled “Foreword“.
The ‘Big City Plan’ is a city-wide development project to plan for the next 20 years of change in Birmingham. We aim to be one of the top 20 cities in the world where people most want to live.
We started this process in 2006 when we asked Professor Michael Parkinson from Liverpool John Moores University to do a study [link to PDF document]. We took the next step in 2007, when we named the project the “Big City Plan” and asked some Birmingham experts their opinions. We wrote a report containing their thoughts and ideas, which came out at the start of 2008. I am very excited about the work that has happened so far. We won an award for the best city plan in the world, beating Singapore and Abu Dhabi.
The ‘Big City Plan’ deals with the area within the ring road (the pink line on this map) and covers the physical environment (such as buildings, roads, transport, and so on), the economy, culture and creativity (such as art, design, music, dance, and so on). We need everyone’s help to acheive this, by discussing the ‘Work in Progress Report’.
We have split up the ‘Work in Progress Report’ to match areas within the ring road. We have come up with ideas about housing, creative workplaces, more shops and offices, and more public areas (such as parks). We also have ideas about transport, how different types of places fit together and how to make sure we can keep them going. We want you to help decide the future of Birmingham. How do you see Birmingham becoming an exciting and attractive place to live and work? What sort of culture do you think Birmingham should have? How do you and your family want to use the city and travel around it? We need to think about these questions and many more and I hope that the information in the Work in Progress Report will help you have your say.
We don’t just want your opinions on the things in the Work in Progress Report, we want to hear about anything that you think is important to include in our plans. We think that these plans will also help the whole of the city of Birmingham (not just the parts within the ring road) – see our ‘Core Strategy‘ plan for more information. We will ask for more feedback from the public and permission from the Planning Committee in the future, and that will be affected by what you tell us now. We hope to officially start work on the ‘Big City Plan’ during 2009.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts about what we can achieve in the city centre and the whole of Birmingham. I am excited about the ideas in the ‘Big City Plan’ for Birmingham and the choices we are thinking about to make it happen. The finished plan will be something very special and will let everyone involved with Birmingham (including the Government and the Council) know exactly what we plan to do for Birmingham in the future to make sure it continues to do well.
Original Document
The ‘Big City Plan’ is the most ambitious and far-reaching citywide development project ever undertaken in the UK: to create a world class city centre by planning for the next 20 years of transformation, to be in the top 20 most liveable cities in the world and to ultimately progress the city’s continued regeneration, in the spirit of Birmingham, as ‘a global city with a local heart’.
The process for a new masterplan for Birmingham began in 2006 when Birmingham City Council commissioned a visioning study led by Professor Michael Parkinson. During 2007, the framework for a city centre masterplan, known as the ‘Big City Plan’ was taken to the next stage, by engaging leading thinkers in Birmingham to help shape the future of the city. Their initial thoughts and ‘Big Ideas’ were captured in a charter which we launched earlier this year as the council’s statement of intent. I am very excited about the progress that has been made to date and highly impressed that accolades are now following our work in progress. An example of this was winning the award for the best emerging city master plan in the world, beating Singapore and Abu Dhabi to the accolade.
Covering the greater city centre, within the ring road, the ‘Big City Plan’ will create the foundation for Birmingham’s future growth, to shape and revitalise the city; physically, economically, culturally and creatively. Extensive engagement with colleagues, partners, stakeholders and citizens will be required to help achieve this: the Work in Progress Report is the catalyst for debate.
In the Work in Progress Report, we have matched relevant themes and ideas to specific areas within the ring road, identifying proposals to address city living, creative industries, expansion of the retail and commercial offers and creating and connecting public spaces. These are supported by recommendations about connectivity and transportation, sustainability and cultural development. We want you to help shape the city’s future. How do you see Birmingham developing as an exciting and attractive place to live and work? How would you like to see Birmingham’s cultural offer expanded? How would you and your family want to use the city and travel within it? These and many other issues need to be addressed and I hope that the information contained within the Work in Progress Report will encourage you to take part in the debate.
I want to assure you that the options within the Work in Progress Report are by no means exhaustive: your views are welcome on any other issues which you feel are relevant to the production of the ‘Big City Plan’. Similarly, while our initial proposals sit alongside the City’s Core Strategy and its review of the options for the wider city of Birmingham as a whole, there will be obvious synergy and economies of scale to be gained as both initiatives progress. Your response to this consultation will help inform the preferred options on which further public consultation and Planning Committee approval will be sought. We hope to formally adopt the ‘Big City Plan’ during 2009.
What we can achieve in the city centre and Birmingham as a whole, I look forward to receiving your thoughts. I for one am excited by the prospects presented by the ‘Big City Plan’ for Birmingham and the options currently being considered to realise and deliver our vision!The prize will be something that is quite exceptional, and none the least providing clarity, certainty including and consistency for everyone , investors, developers, funders, Government and ourselves at the City Council for the long term context for continued growth and revitalisation of our great city in these challenging economic time.
Plain English Version
A million people live in Birmingham, and if you include surrounding towns and cities nearly two and a half million people live nearby. Birmingham is Britain’s second biggest city, and is also big when compared to most cities in Europe. The average age of the people of Birmingham is young when compared to other towns, and also contains people of a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. The population is also growing. So far, we think the regeneration of the city centre has been a success and it has attracted a lot of money into the city.
We would say that Birmingham has:
- new high technology manufacturing
- a fast growing amount of professional services, and other business
- good universities, and researchers
- conference facilities comparable to the best in the World
We think Birmingham should aim to:
- attract more investment from abroad
- be better known internationally
- be an exciting and attractive place
- to be know for it’s great public spaces
- be known as a “Water City”
This report is to help us produce what we call ‘The Big City Plan” – which is a plan for the future of Birmingham’s City Centre. When we say City Centre we mean the area within the Ring Road (the Middleway) inside the pink line on this map. This is 8 square kilometres or 3.09 square miles.
The plan will show what we wish for Birmingham over the next 20 years.
The city centre is not just shops and offices, but everything that the area covers:
- homes
- businesses
- universities, schools and colleges
- culture
- and everything else.
The plan will aim to help Birmingham continue to be successfully and get better and better known in the UK and abroad. It will aim to make sure all development fits together sensibly, and the city centre becomes a more attactive place to live.
The Big City Plan will be part of what is called the Local Development Framework (or LDF) — a collection of documents that describe how a city is planned. The LDF will also include a plan for the whole of the city.
The plan has to match national government plans, Regional Spatial Strategy and with the Birmingham Plan. The Regional Spatial Strategy says that Birmingham needs 50,600 new homes by 2026, 1.3 square kilometres (0.502 square miles) of places people work (growing up to 3.9 square kilometres or 1.51 square miles) and 225,000 square metres of shops by 2021 (355,000 sq m by 2026) and also 590,000 square metres of offices in the city centre.
There is already a report called Birmingham 2026 which sets out some aims for Birmingham in the year 2026, and a three year plan called the Birmingham Local Area Agreement — the Big City Plan will have to work with these.
Some work has already been done to get the Big City Plan into this shape, but it’s now time for everyone to tell us their opinions. After this it will be turned in to a final version which you will again have chance to see and talk about. It will then be passed to the Government. If all this goes well, Birmingham will be able to start work on the plan later this year.
Original Document
Birmingham is a city of a million people at the centre of a conurbation of two and a half million. Birmingham is Britain’s second city and is big on the European scale. It has a young, diverse and growing population. In the face of massive economic change, the city has achieved great regeneration success and has attracted large amounts of inward investment, with more to come. It has new high technology manufacturing, a rapidly growing business and professional services sector, a strong university and research sector, and world-class business conference and exhibition facilities. It wants to attract more high value international investment, and register much more strongly on the international scale. It wants to be an exciting and attractive place where individuals and families choose to live and stay. It wants to be a place renowned for great public spaces and as a ‘Water City.’
This Issues and Options Report is a stage in the development of The Big City Plan, a plan for Birmingham’s city centre. The city centre is the area within the Ring Road (Middleway), and covers some 800 hectares. The Big City Plan will develop the new vision for the city centre and set a new direction for the city centre over the next 20 years. The city’s aspiration is to be in the top 20 most liveable cities in the world within 20 years. The Big City Plan will be an important instrument in realising that ambition.
The city centre is not only the core area of shops, offices and hotels, but all the myriad activities that take place within Birmingham’s quarters – its homes, start up businesses, universities and educational establishments, cultural scenes, specialist services, creative industries – in fact, everything within the area bounded by the Ring Road. The plan will build upon Birmingham’s success and will ensure that the city raises its performance and its profile nationally and internationally. It will provide a coherent approach to regeneration and development and will help to make the city centre a much more attractive and liveable place.
The Big City Plan will form part of the Local Development Framework (LDF). The LDF will be made up of a portfolio of documents including Area Action Plans and Supplementary Planning Documents, and will be an important means through which to deliver our vision for Birmingham’s city centre. Also in the LDF will be a new Birmingham Plan, which will be the core strategy for the whole city. It has not yet been decided what type of document the Big City Plan will become.
The Big City Plan has to be consistent with national policy guidance, the Regional Spatial Strategy and with the Birmingham Plan. The Regional Spatial Strategy sets out some important requirements for Birmingham: 50,600 new homes by 2026 over the city; a 130 hectare city-wide reservoir of employment land with a longer term requirement of 390 hectares; and 225,000 square metres of comparison retail development by 2021 (355,000 sq m by 2026) and 590,000 square metres of office development in the city centre.
The Big City Plan takes forward our shared vision for the future of the city (Birmingham 2026) – helping to deliver our five key outcomes that Birmingham people succeed economically, stay safe, are healthy, have a high quality of life and can make a positive contribution. Birmingham 2026, and our three-year implementation plan (the Birmingham Local Area Agreement) can be found at: http://www.bebirmingham.org.uk/2026/
Work on the Big City Plan is being carried out in several stages. We have been undertaking research for some months to gather information to ensure that the proposals and policies which emerge later in the process are grounded in robust, up to date information. We are now at the issues and options consultation stage where everyone interested in the future of the city centre has the opportunity to get involved. In the next stage we will produce a preferred options report which will be subject to formal consultation for 6 weeks. After that we will produce a draft plan which will be submitted to the Secretary of State for examination. We hope to formally adopt the Big City Plan in 2009.
Plain English Version
We think that Birmingham must be one of the best cities at finding ways to become better and richer, while at the same time causing less damage to the environment. This is called ‘smart growth‘. This means finding new ways to cut carbon produced by transport; to manage electricity and gas in buildings; to make good use of water; and to create as little waste as possible.
Original Document
Birmingham must lead the field on achieving smart growth. This means finding new ways to reduce transport carbon; to manage energy in buildings; to make good use of water; and to minimise waste.