Green light for Hammerson’s former department store redevelopment

Birmingham City Council has unanimously granted planning consent for proposals which would see the development of a former department store at Birmingham’s Bullring into a mixed-use space.

Hammerson’s plans for ‘Drum’ will see the creation of 200,000 sq ft of offices with the 40,000 sq ft ground floor reserved for a mixed-use hospitality space.

The ground floor will feature space for restaurants, a bar and food market, alongside a grocery store, gym and wellbeing amenities, and a flexible events space.

Hammerson hopes that the redevelopment of an existing scheme will save approximately 14,000 tonnes of CO2, and are targeting a BREEAM Excellent rating, an EPC A rating, a Gold WELL Building standard and WiredScore Platinum rating, to create a development which is 2030 LETI Band A-compliant.

John Lewis pulled out of the scheme last year in what was a huge blow to Birmingham and Grand Central.

Harry Badham, chief development and asset repositioning officer at Hammerson, said: “We welcome Birmingham City Council’s approval of our plans, with the decision a significant boost to Birmingham’s reputation as a city for business, one that is progressive, dynamic and setting the benchmark for others to follow across the UK. Drum is a great demonstration of how Hammerson’s creativity and a deep understanding of occupier needs can create assets that thrive by diversifying their purpose to accommodate an even greater range of uses and users.”