The West Midlands Mayor has announced the launch of an ‘ambitious’ project that’s set to provide a major boost for the Sports Quarter plans.
Birmingham City FC wants to transform a 48-acre site in the east of the city and build a huge new stadium, complete with numerous towering chimneys.
A first look at the the design of the stadium, dubbed The Powerhouse, was unveiled last year as Blues chairman Tom Wagner spoke about creating a ‘globally-recognised colosseum’ that can also host events such as concerts.
Their wider project for a Sports Quarter around the stadium itself also includes new transport links, a training centre, women’s stadium, arena and mixed-use development with housing.
There is immense optimism among the club and city’s political leaders that these plans will help transform the Bordesley Green area into a sporting and cultural destination that attracts visitors from across the world.
And now West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker has today launched Britain’s ‘biggest and most powerful’ Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) to ‘significantly speed up’ the £11 billion regeneration of East Birmingham.
Mayor Parker said this week that the MDC initiative will combine a range of powers including land acquisition, planning, business tax incentives and infrastructure funding.
He continued this will allow it to cut through red tape, build investor confidence and accelerate investment into the area, benefiting mammoth projects such as the Sports Quarter, Smithfield and the Knowledge Quarter.
“This is an exciting initiative we’re launching,” Mayor Parker said at Birmingham Wheels Park, the site where the new stadium is set to be built.
“The MDC includes five sites across the city, including this one which will be the home of Birmingham City FC’s new stadium.
“The MDC in total will attract around £11 billion pounds of investment; create 50,000 new jobs and 20,000 new homes.
“It’s a really ambitious project that’s going to change the lives and create opportunities for tens of thousands of people across Birmingham.”
Mayor Parker was also asked how the MDC would provide stability for such massive schemes regardless of the fractured political situation in Birmingham, which has recently seen the city council fall into no overall control.
“The MDC is a really ambitious project,” Mayor Parker responded. “We’re going to create a new delivery vehicle that’s going to be focused explicitly on building out these sites.
“Importantly it was put in place to streamline planning; quicken the pace of delivery; allow us to acquire sites and remedy brownfield lane really quickly.
“Those arrangements are safe and secure – they’ve been approved by my board, approved by the council’s cabinet and approved by government.”
Addressing Brummies who may be sceptical that the scale of the ambition for the Sports Quarter plans can be fully realised, he said: “We’re doing this because we’re focusing on five prime sites that are going to be delivered by the private sector.
“My role is to ensure the private sector gets the support it needs to deliver those more quickly and we remove every barrier we can to ensure those sites are delivered at pace.
“It’s supported by significant amounts of public sector funding, including the £400 million we’re putting into the Metro.
“So this is about the public and private sector working in partnership and ensuring we’ve got the confidence and the certainty that investors need to invest in this city at this very important time.”
Joanne Roney, managing director at Birmingham Council, also described the launch of the MDC as an “exciting” moment for the city while speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service at the Wheels Park site.
“This is about real focus and accelerated development,” she said. “We’re talking here about 20,000 new homes and thousands of new jobs.
“I’m absolutely certain these are about connecting these jobs to the people who live in this city – these are exciting times for Birmingham.”
On how this announcement will bring stability, she said: “It’s a partnership with the council so the leader of the council will be on the board of the MDC.
“But […] the MDC is a partnership vehicle that’s solely focused on delivering these schemes and creating those jobs.
“There is a stability provided from that just by virtue of it being a very focused, single purpose vehicle.”
She also acknowledged that the optimism surrounding such ambitious endeavours may be accompanied by scepticism, saying: “People can hear the plans and see the drawings and they don’t believe it’s going to happen – and I understand that.
“Doing big schemes or big projects, there are always unforeseen delays and complexities.
“What I would like to say to residents is by creating this MDC that is the confidence that both investors and businesses have, as well as residents, that we are now in partnership with dedicated resources and capacity, more devolved powers and we really can accelerate.
“I’d also say this might be the biggest MDC in the UK that we’re creating here but MDCs have been created in other areas and once they’re created, they really can get a momentum behind them.
“That’s why it’s big news.”
How will this MDC benefit Birmingham?
The West Midland Combined Authority said the Birmingham East Mayoral Development Corporation (BEMDC) will generate a ‘multi-billion-pound boost’ for the local and regional economy.
They described it as the most significant to be launched in the UK since the London Legacy Development Corporation was set up to transform large parts of East London following the 2012 Olympic Games.
In total, this MDC is set to cover an area the size of more than 600 football pitches and include some of the biggest regeneration projects in Europe, including:
- The £4bn Birmingham Knowledge Quarter
- HS2 Curzon Street Station and adjoining Central Heart site
- £2bn Smithfield development next to the Bullring
- A major creative industries hub in Digbeth
“This MDC is big, bold and ambitious, reflecting Birmingham’s position as the UK’s second city,” Mayor Parker added. “It will be a magnet for investment, de-risking major projects while providing the stability and continuity needed
for investor confidence.
“It will also cut through red tape, so we waste no time getting spades in the ground on these hugely significant regeneration schemes.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to end the deep-rooted deprivation that has blighted lives for too long in East Birmingham and create places people and businesses are proud to call home.”
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