An area of Birmingham city centre is set to undergo a huge redevelopment programme thanks to HS2. The regeneration will accompany the construction of the high speed rail station at Curzon Street and will include 600,000 square metres of business space.
The ambitious proposals are outlined in the city council’s Birmingham Curzon HS2 Draft Masterplan which sets out the local authority’s vision for the ‘once in a century opportunity’ to transform the 140 hectare site around Digbeth and Eastside.
The proposals include plans for a landmark station, the extension of the Midland Metro, parks and public space and 2,000 new homes. It will be one of the biggest urban regeneration projects undertaken in Britain and will take 25 years to complete.
The commercial element of the proposal, which will bring offices and a major retail renaissance, is expected to create 14,000 jobs and boost Birmingham’s economy by £1.3 billion a year.
Andy Street, the chair of the Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), describes Curzon Street as an economic game changer that will facilitate the redevelopment of a significant area of the city centre.
“The scale of the opportunity and the size of the prize means that the partners have been looking very carefully at how we fund and maximise the potential,” he said.
“A number of innovative and ambitious proposals will be included in order to enable us to unlock the development, deliver a world-class station for Birmingham and breathe new life into that part of the city in addition to a wider package of connectivity interventions.”
The proposals have been welcomed by the chief executive of HS2 Ltd, Alison Munro, who said that HS2 is committed to working with the partnership and the local community to bring the scheme to life.
“This is exactly the kind of ambitious plan that will stimulate the public-private sector partnerships needed to unlock investment,” she said.
The proposals will be presented at next week’s MIPIM property conference in Cannes and the consultation will continue until 24th April.
