Revised plans for major Digbeth scheme put forward

Revised plans have been submitted for a long-awaited scheme that will transform part of Digbeth into a major residential development.

The residential-led mixed use development, known as Connaught Square on land bounded by High Street, Rea Street, Bradford Street and Stone Yard, has been subject to a series of amendments.

The plans, put forward by Seven Capital, have now been reduced in size, with proposals for the erection of new buildings ranging from four storeys to 28 storeys comprising 770 apartments as opposed to 940, while the commercial/leisure floorspace has been reduced to 3,529 sq m from 5,839 sq m.

There will also be car parking, a new public square and pedestrian bridges over the River Rea.

The planning document said: “The River Rea would be at the heart of the development, splitting the site north/south. The development would provide a total of approximately 5,000 sq.m of publicly accessible open space with the river as the centrepiece.

“A new pedestrian river crossing would provide the focus for the new public space with terracing on its eastern side providing a further visual feature. It is envisaged that this significant area of space could be used for temporary events with the space being predominantly hard landscaped.”

The scheme represents a total investment of around £172m GDV while an estimated 243 jobs would be created in the proposed retail, community and commercial units.

The report said: “The proposal would result in the redevelopment of a cleared site that is currently detrimental to the visual amenity of the area, setting of the neighbouring listed buildings and the conservation area opposite. Therefore, subject to more detailed considerations explored below, no objection is raised to the principle of the proposals.

“The amended proposals represent a high quality mixed use scheme that will deliver a quality place to live, work and visit. The development would create a new destination for Digbeth that embraces the river and provides significant levels of activity through the day whilst removing a currently derelict site in a prominent location.

“The positive impacts of the scheme will be significant and wide ranging and a key component of the Southern Gateway area of transformation. Approval is therefore recommended.”