Designs for a landmark scheme that will regenerate Smithfield Birmingham have been submitted to the City Council, following an extensive consultation on the proposals. The site played a central role in the hugely successful Commonwealth Games last summer, during which it hosted several games venues as well as the Smithfield Festival.
Paradise Birmingham, the £1.2 billion transformation project at the heart of the city, has today received its latest planning approval from Birmingham City Council. In a unanimous decision from the planning committee, permission was granted for Three Chamberlain Square, a new 10-storey, 185,000 sq ft commercial building, a key part
The ambitious development of the National Exhibition Centre Campus in Solihull has unveiled its plans, which will create up to 10,000 new jobs and 2,500 new homes. The NEC Masterplan, launched by Birmingham City Council and The NEC Group, involves the redevelopment of 75 hectares of land in Solihull into
Willmott Dixon Partnerships, the property repairs and maintenance specialist, is set to change its name to Fortem. Fortem is a Latin word for strength and prudency. The rebranding from Willmott Dixon Partnerships comes as part of a fresh approach. The company is looking to provide the senior management team with
Investors from Hong Kong and Macau have signed a £55 million residential development deal, Birmingham city council has confirmed. At least 214 apartments are set to be built on a brownfield site at 21 William Street in Ladywood. The Cedar House was formerly a data centre. In September, Birmingham City
A planning application has been put forward to Birmingham City Council for a third building at the Arena Central development. The joint venture led by Miller Developments, Arena Central Developments Ltd (ACDL), has submitted plans for the 14 storey office block, 3 Arena Central, at the heart of the 9.2
Designs for a landmark scheme that will regenerate Smithfield Birmingham have been submitted to the City Council, following an extensive consultation on the proposals. The site played a central role in the hugely successful Commonwealth Games last summer, during which it hosted several games venues as well as the Smithfield Festival. Now this 17-hectare development in the historic heart of the city is set to transform Birmingham and create major economic opportunities, including an estimated 8,000 new jobs. This once in a generation opportunity has the potential to reshape Birmingham’s city centre. A market has operated on the site for over 200 years and, continuing this long history, the new scheme will provide a home for the city’s historic Bull Ring markets, which will celebrate Birmingham’s roots as the ‘city of a thousand trades’. This will form an iconic new centrepiece for the city centre and include a rooftop garden, dining hall and new market square. The plans reveal ambitions to make Birmingham a new business hub where organisations can grow their networks and ideas. The masterplan creates a workspace campus of over one million square feet, featuring a range of workplaces designed to foster partnerships and knowledge-sharing, from Grade-A workspace, to flexible creative space and makerspace. Designed with health and wellbeing at its heart for a post-Covid, low-carbon future, the proposals will nurture a diverse range of companies and individuals. This will ensure that Birmingham continues to grow and retain its best talent and ideas, as well as attract new businesses to the city from across the UK and all over the globe. Integrated public transport, an enviable location close to Birmingham New Street station, along with easy access to the upcoming HS2 rail link, will make Smithfield one of the most well-connected areas to conduct business in the country. Taking advantage of the site’s location next to the artistic and cultural district of Digbeth, the plans submitted for approval also include a brand-new events and gathering space, Festival Square, that will play host to cultural events for thousands of people. Designed by James Corner Field Operations, the world-leading landscape architects responsible for the much-loved High Line in New York, the new square will be a space where musical and artistic communities come together to put on live performances for all ages. If approved, 600 sustainable and modern homes will be delivered in a green setting as part of the first phase of work – with a total of 3,000 homes planned for the whole site over the coming years, including affordable homes, all supported by modern community facilities. Smithfield Gardens will provide residents with access to nature on their doorstep and provide visitors with a new green space to unwind and keep fit. Meanwhile expanded cycling routes and improved eco-friendly transport options will be complemented by new and improved green walking routes, connecting the centre of Smithfield towards the Bullring, central Birmingham and Highgate Park. This will stitch the development into the fabric of the city, enhancing the existing offer while reinvigorating the centre of Birmingham. The scheme is a joint venture between Birmingham City Council and Lendlease, an international real estate and investment group with core expertise in shaping cities and creating strong and connected communities. And the plans submitted for approval have been shaped by local people from across Birmingham’s diverse communities; including local residents, businesses and community organisations, market traders, and a dedicated youth panel. Alongside masterplanners Prior+Partners and David Kohn Architects who are designing the new market, Lendlease’s design team includes a host of international and local architects and landscape architects, including dRMM, Intervention Architecture, Haworth Tompkins Architects, Minesh Patel Architects and RCKa with James Corner Field Operations designing the significant new public realm and landscape. Birmingham residents can view the proposals that have been submitted to the council at www.smithfieldbirmingham.co.uk Colin Murphy, Project Lead at Lendlease, said: “Throughout 2022 we’ve been part of a city-wide conversation with people who live and work in Birmingham, inviting comment on our plans from all corners of the city including those who are at the heart of today’s Bull Ring Markets. And the submission of our planning application is a pivotal moment for a £1.9bn development that will provide thousands of new jobs and homes. “This really is an exceptional opportunity to create and celebrate the next chapter in Birmingham’s transformation as an international city. Smithfield will provide the opportunity to create a destination market experience to rival Europe’s best; as well as an international office hub with access to outstanding transport links.” A decision on the planning submission is expected in early 2023. If approved, construction on site would begin later in the year. For further information on Smithfield, please visit www.smithfieldbirmingham.co.uk where you can sign up for updates on the proposals. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Paradise Birmingham, the £1.2 billion transformation project at the heart of the city, has today received its latest planning approval from Birmingham City Council. In a unanimous decision from the planning committee, permission was granted for Three Chamberlain Square, a new 10-storey, 185,000 sq ft commercial building, a key part of the second phase of the Paradise masterplan. Grounded in sustainability and with a unique ‘inside-outside’ ethos to the workplace, Three Chamberlain Square will be one of the most sustainable commercial buildings located in the city centre. It will be a first for Birmingham in terms of environmental standards, while offering a unique working setting for occupiers. In addition to incorporating a low carbon approach to materials, waste and construction, the design of Three Chamberlain Square builds in a low carbon future for its occupiers. With lots of natural light and ventilation, the building reflects the demands of the modern workplace and will remain sustainable. It is the fourth commercial building at the estate after One Chamberlain Square, Two Chamberlain Square and One Centenary Way. The residential Octagon tower is also currently under construction on the northern part of the estate, fronting Summer Row. The building will offer 200 bike spaces and dedicated changing facilities, all electric power and heating, and stairwell connections between floors, creating an agile and adaptive approach to the workplace. It will be a beautiful and inspiring building, promoting health, sustainability and wellbeing among those who will work there well into the future. With its prominent setting next to the Grade I Town Hall, Three Chamberlain Square will help create new connections in and around the civic heart of Birmingham and across the city centre. Designed by award-winning architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Three Chamberlain Square is a key statement of sustainability for the city and aims to be one of the greenest commercial buildings built in the UK post-Covid. The building will improve accessibility along Paradise Street and to metro and rail connections, as well as aiding pedestrian flows between different parts of the city centre. The building is a key part of Phase Two of Paradise, which includes the almost complete One Centenary Way, plus a new 17-storey hotel on the corner of Paradise Street and Suffolk Street Queensway, and three important new public spaces, Ratcliff Square, Western Terrace and Ratcliff Passage. These new, high-quality public spaces in the southern part of the Paradise estate will provide a more fitting environment for the surrounding historic buildings, as well as create new connections through to the Westside part of the city. The new public realm, designed by Grant Associates Landscape Architects, will build on the success of the refreshed Chamberlain Square, Congreve Street and Centenary Way, which form part of Phase One of the development. Rob Groves, regional development director at Paradise development manager MEPC, said: “This planning approval is another huge vote of confidence in both the city and Paradise, and its ability to attract new jobs, skills and investment to Birmingham. A further commercial building will enable us to meet market demand for space in the city centre, in a highly-sustainable, people-centred building of the highest quality. In addition to office space, Three Chamberlain Square will bring further leisure and retail opportunities to the heart of the city, with the prospect of more top-quality operators of the like we’ve already attracted to Paradise.” Chris Taylor, Chairman of MEPC and CEO of Federated Hermes Real Estate, said: “This is a significant next step in the Paradise story. Our ambition for Paradise is to deliver one of the UK’s leading business destinations by creating leading sustainable buildings set within the very best public realm, with first class retail and leisure amenities for all those who work, live in or visit the city.“We are committed to driving forward our investment in Paradise. Three Chamberlain Square will ensure that the momentum continues apace.” Neil Rami, Chief Executive of West Midland Growth Company: “Birmingham is the UK’s primary regional investment opportunity, as reflected through Paradise and other developments across the city centre.“The planning approval for Three Chamberlain Square underlines that status and demonstrates that the city and its operators are intent on bringing new high-quality buildings, public spaces and pedestrian routes into the city. “The quality of Three Chamberlain Square and its relationship to the Town Hall is exactly the kind of development we want to see in the city centre and can’t wait to see it take shape as an integral part of the Paradise masterplan.” George Wilson, Partner at architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, said: “Three Chamberlain Square will be a new type of commercial building for the city, one that has sustainability and post-Covid requirements at its core. It will be a welcoming environment, with active uses on the ground floor. “There will be an abundance of natural light and ventilation, with the building design unique in its pioneering approach to reduce both embodied and operational carbon, creating a low-energy, low-carbon workplace for the future. It will be a special addition to the city, with a real sense of arrival for both visitors and the public.” Paradise Birmingham has already completed phase one of the development, with One Chamberlain Square wholly occupied by PwC, and Two Chamberlain Square home to a mix of professional and financial services firms, including DLA Pipier, Knights Plc, Mazars, Cazenove Capital, Atkins and Cubo. Dishoom, Rosa’s Thai Café and Albert’s Schloss will be joined this summer by Yorks Café, along with wine bar and Mediterranean eatery Vinoteca. At almost two million square feet, Paradise is delivering up to 10 new flagship buildings, offering offices, shops, bars, cafés, restaurants, a high-quality hotel, and Octagon, the world first 49-storey, pure octagonal residential tower, across 17 acres in the heart of the city. Paradise is being brought forward through Paradise Circus Limited Partnership (PCLP), a private-public joint venture with Birmingham City Council. The private sector funding is being managed by Federated Hermes, which has partnered with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments)
The ambitious development of the National Exhibition Centre Campus in Solihull has unveiled its plans, which will create up to 10,000 new jobs and 2,500 new homes. The NEC Masterplan, launched by Birmingham City Council and The NEC Group, involves the redevelopment of 75 hectares of land in Solihull into 315,000 square metres of new floorspace. “I am delighted to launch this Masterplan which sets out a radical vision for the transformation of the NEC campus which will not only see the Midlands International appeal and global position strengthened but also bring huge economic benefits to our local communities,” said Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council. The site is home to the NEC, its sister benue Genting Arena, Resorts World Birmingham and the recently-opened Merlin visitor attraction – Bear Grylls Adventure. “I welcome the publication of this Masterplan for the NEC which has been identified as one of the main areas for growth in the UK Central Hub, Solihull. These ambitious proposals to continue the diversification of the leisure and entertainment offer are a key component of the UK Central vision to be globally renowned as one of the best connected destinations for business, leisure and living in Europe and a major engine for growth in the UK,” said Councillor Bob Sleigh, Leader of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. Recently sold to private equity funds managed by Blackstone, the City Council retained a freehold interest in the land at the Solihull site. “With the backing of our new majority shareholder, Blackstone, we have ambitious plans to develop our business further. The Masterplan is an important element of that expansion and builds on the excellent progress we have made over the last few years towards creating a truly world-class business, entertainment and leisure destination,” added Paul Thandi, CEO of NEC Group. The NEC Masterplan will be endorsed at a council meeting on the 13th of November.
Willmott Dixon Partnerships, the property repairs and maintenance specialist, is set to change its name to Fortem. Fortem is a Latin word for strength and prudency. The rebranding from Willmott Dixon Partnerships comes as part of a fresh approach. The company is looking to provide the senior management team with more operational freedom to grow the firm outside its core social housing market. Earlier in the year, Willmott Dixon outlined plans to sell the business. However this sale was abandoned when a suitable buyer could not be found. The business, which has a turnover of £145 million, provides maintenance and repairs services to housing associations and local authorities throughout the country. Its team of 1,400 directly employed engineers undertakes more than 400,000 repairs every year. It also provides planned cyclical work to support estate renewal programmes and property asset investment. Mick Williamson, Managing Director at the newly named Fortem, said: “We have strong ambitions for growth and this means that now is the right time to create a new stand-out brand to become recognised as a leader in property maintenance across all sectors, not just housing. “Fortem reflects these aspirations by heralding a new era for our business as we continue to invest in ensuring we are ‘best in class’ for our existing customers, while giving us flexibility to plan ahead for expansion with new customers.” At present, the company is responsible for maintenance, repairs and cyclical work on more than 110,000 homes. It works as a key partner for local authorities such as Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and Birmingham City Council, along with housing associations such as Paragon, Orbit, Metropolitan and Midland Heart. Coinciding with the new name, the sister company of Willmott Dixon Partnerships, Willmott Dixon Energy Services, will be drawn into the Fortem brand to expand the business’ services and skill sets.
Investors from Hong Kong and Macau have signed a £55 million residential development deal, Birmingham city council has confirmed. At least 214 apartments are set to be built on a brownfield site at 21 William Street in Ladywood. The Cedar House was formerly a data centre. In September, Birmingham City Council signed a joint statement of investment commitment with County Garden, the fifth biggest property developer in China, which it said could be worth up to £2 billion for the city’s economy with regard to direct investment into infrastructure and housing. John Clancy, the council’s leader, said that the deal could be worth up to £5 billion to the city. During a trip to Singapore, China and Hong Kong last year, Mr Clancy met with investors where he outlined Birmingham’s open approach to Asian investment, in particular residential development in the city. He explained: “This is excellent news and demonstrates that Birmingham is open for business in a challenging post-Brexit landscape. “Coming on top of the £2bn agreement with Country Garden to deliver much-needed homes for our citizens, this is proof that Birmingham can attract global investors. “There’s a housing crisis in this country and Birmingham is no exception. We need more affordable homes, we need more social housing, and we need to give people hope.” Waheed Nazir, Birmingham City Council’s Strategic Director for the Economy, said that the new investment is of vital importance to this growth agenda. Nazir continued: “Announcements like this, together with the recent launch of a £724m investment plan to maximise the benefits of HS2, demonstrate that confidence in the city is high. “The delivery of new homes, quality of life and employment opportunities will continue to see Birmingham as an attractive place to invest.” Top Capital Group will act as the funder and ultimate owner of the site through the establishment of William Street Investment Co, which will buy a long lease on the land.
A planning application has been put forward to Birmingham City Council for a third building at the Arena Central development. The joint venture led by Miller Developments, Arena Central Developments Ltd (ACDL), has submitted plans for the 14 storey office block, 3 Arena Central, at the heart of the 9.2 acre development site. Architect Make Architects has designed 3 Arena Central with the outside of the building clad in a geometric pattern of hexagonal metallic panels. The Arena Central development is next to Centenary Square and the Library of Birmingham and fronting Broad Street. In all, there is outline consent for over a million sq ft of commercial space, which includes the 135,000 sq ft 1 Arena Central and 210,000 sq ft 2 Arena Central, which will be HSBC’s banking division’s new headquarters on completion in 2017. ACDL said that “with the right occupier interest” 3 Arena Central could be delivered by the first quarter of 2019. Make Architects founder partner Ken Shuttleworth said: “As a Birmingham native, I’m delighted that Make is able to contribute in such a big way to the emerging Arena Central masterplan. 3 Arena Central, Make’s third office building in the masterplan which we also designed, is at the forefront of placemaking and will be a new destination at the heart of Arena Central.” Jonathan Wallis from Arena Central said: “Our decision to submit these plans for 3 Arena Central demonstrates the confidence that we feel in the occupier market post-Brexit. “By looking to secure planning consent now, we are minimising the lead-in time to the delivery of the building which, with the right occupier interest, could be delivered by the first quarter of 2019. “The property sector in the West Midlands is fast-moving, with a sustained focus on the city as a prime business destination and we want to be in a position to offer the best possible commercial opportunities to ensure that the city and wider region remains a viable and attractive proposition, contributing to a truly first-class city centre commercial development.”
