An internationally-renowned, award-winning firm of architects has been appointed to work on the Stratford Gateway scheme.
Local businessman Peter Warwick owns a string of properties on the junction of Birmingham Road and Arden Street leading to Windsor Street and has agreed an option to buy further land adjacent to the site to allow the creation of a major new development.
Mr Warwick, who has been buying property on the site for 14 years, has appointed Glenn Howells Architects to draw up a masterplan for the site which also includes the Windsor Street Car Park and the drop-off point for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
The firm will draw up a scheme which could include retail, residential and commercial buildings and a new drop-off point and reception centre for Birthplace Trust ahead of a planning application later in the year.
Mr Warwick said the appointment reflected the ambition for the site.
He said: “We have long said that this is a crucial gateway site for Stratford and that we wanted a development that would be fitting of the location and its importance, and that is why we have appointed Glenn Howells.
“They have been briefed and are working on a masterplan which they will reveal to our professional team in the next three weeks or so. They have been told to treat the site as a totally blank canvas and to come up with a suitable scheme to meet the needs of the site and the town.
“They are renowned for their innovative work and we are very much looking forward to seeing how they interpret the site and the plan they put together. They fully understand the site’s significance and its potential.”
Glenn Howells, which has offices in Birmingham and London, has been shortlisted for a RIBA Stirling Prize and has won the British Council of Offices’ top award.
Its design for the Welcome Building at the Forestry Commission’s National Arboretum at Westonbirt has recently been shortlisted in this year’s RIBA and RICS awards.
Simon Pearson, of the company, said: “It is a site of massive potential because not only does it sit on one of the main routes into Stratford, but its proximity to The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust gives it added visibility and importance both for local people and for the many visitors.
“We are currently working up our thoughts, meeting with the client and hope to have a first draft very soon.”