Birmingham and the West Midlands is on track to unlock investment and economic growth worth tens of millions of pounds following the go-ahead to start building HS2, according to commercial property experts Lambert Smith Hampton.
HS2 – linking London and Birmingham with high speed trains and increasing network capacity – took a major step forward last week as Britain’s new railway successfully completed over three years of Parliamentary scrutiny to receive Royal Assent.
Construction is now expected to begin on schedule in the spring. The Government believes HS2 will deliver a massive boost to the UK’s future economic prosperity. HS2 could create around 25,000 jobs during construction as well as 2,000 apprenticeships. It will also support growth in the wider economy, worth an additional 100,000 jobs.
HS2 Ltd recently established its headquarters in Birmingham city centre, employing 1,300 people, and the National College for High Speed Rail is due to open in the city later this year.
Investment is also being secured as part of the £1billion Curzon Masterplan, involving land around the HS2 station in Birmingham city centre’s Eastside district.
Adam Ramshaw, head of office at Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) in Birmingham, said: “HS2 has helped put the spotlight on Birmingham for the last few years but many investment decisions were put on hold while uncertainty surrounding the project continued.
“Now that it has been given Royal Assent and we will soon see the start of construction work, I’m confident it will be the trigger investors needed to complete deals that will bring major investment and thousands of new jobs to the city.
“Companies working on the HS2 project will want to take major office space in Birmingham, and there will be increased demand for logistics and warehouse space to support the development.”
In 2016, investment in commercial property in the West Midlands reached record-breaking levels, and 2017 looks set for an even stronger performance.
Figures released by LSH in its quarterly UK Investment Transactions (UKIT) report revealed that £3.35 billion was invested in the area during 2016 – the highest figure previously stood at £2.67 billion in 2015, while 2014 saw spending reach £2.51 billion.
Adam added: “We saw significant appetite from overseas buyers during 2016 and this trend is continuing into 2017 following deals at OneEleven Edmund Street Birmingham and the Aston Student Village. The beginning of construction of HS2 can only add to the appeal of the city.”
Phase 1 of the high speed rail line between the West Midlands and London is due for completion in 2026. Phase 2 will go north from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds via an East Midlands Hub Station at Toton, near Nottingham, and is due to be fully operational by 2033.
HS2 will free up capacity on the East Coast Main Line and Midland Main Line and bring benefits across the Midlands, an area home to 11.5 million people, 14 cities, 20 world class universities and an economy worth more than £222 billion to the UK.