Plans revealed for £500m Birmingham Markets Quarter
BIRMINGHAM has launched a £500m plan to create a bustling market quarter for the city.
Totalling 14 ha, the site will be one of the largest city centre development opportunities in the country.
If investment can be secured, Birmingham Smithfield could become a unique and vibrant place for people to meet, live and shop.
The plan, unveiled at the MIPIM exhibition in Cannes, includes new retail markets, leisure facilities, cafes, independent shops, restaurants and hotels, public space and buildings for cultural events and activities, together with residential opportunities.
More than 300,000m² of new floorspace would be created, 2,000 new homes and a series of new squares, parks and gardens.
Figures have suggested it could be a major boost to the regional economy bringing a further £500m of investment, 3,000 jobs, millions more visitors and £470m in additional GVA.
The redevelopment will capitalise on the area’s heritage, retail markets and close proximity to some of the city’s most important economic assets.
The site’s connectivity due to New Street Station being virtually on its doorstep is considered another strong factor for investors, a situation that will be enhanced with the arrival of HS2.
At the heart of Birmingham Smithfield will be a new home for the city’s retail markets.
Recognising mistakes from the city’s past, the focus will be on pedestrians and cyclists, with new routes with wide pedestrian boulevards and new streets reconnecting the area to the wider city centre.
Pedestrians and cyclists will be at the centre of the developments new routes with wide pedestrian boulevards and new streets reconnecting the area to the wider city centre.
Festival Square will become a major new public space for the city and a focal point for the site. It is planned as a public meeting place and hub for festivals and cultural events and will add vibrancy to the scheme with the new cultural buildings, the markets and hotels and commercial space all focused upon it.
The residential scheme will comprise a mixture of 2, 3 and 4 bed apartments. At the heart of the new community will be a major park adding to the city’s expanding network of green spaces to create what it is hoped, will be one of the most desirable places to live in the city centre.
How the scheme could look
