Council gives the green light for Birmingham’s new Lego attraction

The owner of Alton Towers has been granted permission to open a new Lego-themed attraction at Birmingham’s Barclaycard Arena.

Merlin Entertainment is planning to open a 5,470m² Lego Discovery Centre by utilising spare capacity at the arena.

The facility would be the second of its kind in the UK after a similar venue in Manchester. It is not a theme park in the same way that Legoland in Windsor is; it would include a 4D cinema, rides, interactive Lego-themed attractions, a small café and associated retail.

The investment is said to be significant, although no figure has been placed on it.

Permission for the scheme, part of the NEC Group’s plans to enhance the use of its facilities, was given by Birmingham’s planning committee.

The new attraction is expected to do much to enhance the city’s tourism offer and make the arena even more of a key visitor destination.

The discovery centre will be split over three floors within the arena. The main attraction would be located within the existing basement car park, while above this and adjacent to the canal, a redundant service deck will be converted to create ancillary office and staff space.

Residents living near the arena had expressed concerns about the scheme, saying it could encourage loud groups of children to congregate outside their homes.

However, councillors were told that as the main entrance to the proposed attraction would be through a vacant retail unit located on the south west elevation of the arena it would be away from homes.

To accommodate the main attraction area within the basement, 140 parking spaces will be removed from the arena’s overall parking provision of 1,995 spaces. The car parking spaces are currently located beneath a concrete deck which is open sided so the application proposes to enclose this space.

The centre is likely to employ around 40-50 employees, with approximately a quarter being part-time positions. Temporary seasonal staff are also likely to be required.

The application comes swiftly after the submission of plans by Merlin for a new visitor attraction at the arena’s sister site at the NEC.