Developer HUB, in a joint proposal with National Express, has submitted plans for a large-scale mixed-use regeneration scheme in Digbeth, Birmingham, which will create a new live/work destination for the city.
The development, designed by architects shedkm, will bring up to 2,000 new homes to the area including homes for sale, homes for rent, co-living accommodation and student accommodation. The new homes, creative workspace and a diverse mix of leisure and retail amenities will be linked by over 2 acres of public realm, including 200 metres of canal frontage.
The 6-acre site, bordering the Grand Union Canal and close to the Duddeston Viaduct, is currently home to the West Midlands Travel Ltd central Birmingham bus garage. It lies at the heart of the Digbeth regeneration area, which is fast emerging as Birmingham’s leading creative and cultural quarter. HUB has developed the scheme in collaboration with the local community to make sure that the scheme works well for as many people living in the area as possible.
The site is a 15-minute walk from Birmingham city centre and will be well connected via the Midland Metro Alliance tram east extension and the new HS2 station at Curzon Street, which is now under construction.
shedkm has produced a series of design codes to sit alongside the masterplan in order to ensure that the development creates a neighbourhood that reflects Digbeth’s long industrial heritage, in robust materiality and footprint scale, whilst supporting a new community through appropriate living typologies and bold architecture that is authentic and characterful.
Damien Sharkey, Managing Director at HUB, said: “We have worked very closely with the local authority, local community and other stakeholders over the past 15 months to ensure that our proposed plans will support Digbeth’s long-term evolution. We are excited to have submitted plans for our first regeneration project in Birmingham, one of the UKs most creative and lively neighbourhoods.”
Adam Cook, UK Property Director at National Express, said: “This development gives us a fantastic opportunity to relocate to new, purpose-built facilities as we move towards an all-electric fleet over the next 10 years. The new garages will provide state of the art engineering and operations facilities in locations that are aligned to our network improving the efficiency and environmental impact of these essential services.”
HUB concluded the development agreement with National Express in January 2019. HUB is working with architects shedkm (masterplan), Glenn Howells and Maccreanor Lavington. Avison Young is acting as planning consultant for HUB.