Future of Birmingham: Bye bye brutalism, hello beautiful 

Birmingham is undergoing something of a renaissance. Its Our Future City Plan, launched earlier this year, promises to create a city for all, replacing the brutalist concrete image of the city with something a bit softer, something a bit greener and perhaps even something a little more beautiful. The city is alive with development, with EG Radius data showing more planning applications for commercial developments submitted in the city over the past five years than any other regional UK city, and the second-biggest number of applications for residential developments. Manchester, the UK’s “other” second city, tops the leaderboard there. Cranes are peppering the skyline in Birmingham and life is flooding back to the city. While the giant John Lewis that greets visitors to the city as they hop off the train at New Street Station may not be reopening and the city’s Debenhams remains shuttered, shoppers are wandering the high streets and workers are preparing to get back to their desks. EG travelled to Birmingham in the days after the latest lockdown restrictions were lifted to find out more about how Birmingham is being reborn. Connectivity and sustainability   John Mulqueen, head of offices EMEA for CBRE Global Investors, has pinned £40m of faith in Birmingham’s rebirth, choosing to invest what he calls a “not insignificant” amount of money in a complete refurbishment of Royal Bank of Scotland’s former headquarters at 10 Brindleyplace. CBRE GI is turning the old office block and connected SACO serviced apartments into 210,000 sq ft of grade-A office space, offering floorplates extending to a whopping 27,000 sq ft – a rarity in Birmingham. The project is the city’s largest refurbishment scheme and the largest development to take place at Brindleyplace since it was completed in 2009. “The thing that we’ve seen consistently from Birmingham to Barcelona is a very discerning occupier, says Mulqueen. “And to capture that market, you must really have focus on detail and provide the very best.” At 10 Brindleyplace, that very best is tech-enabled and sustainable. It is on track to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating, be net zero carbon, be WiredScore certified and achieve the city’s first Fitwell accreditation, which measures the health and wellbeing of a building’s occupants. “We think that this is a really a great example of how you can mix the scale of building together with all the improvements that are going on in Birmingham and really move the centre of Birmingham,” says Mulqueen. It is this movement of the centre of Birmingham that forms one of the biggest facets of the city’s renaissance. The centre is no longer closed in and the CBD is starting to spread – to Brindleyplace and beyond. The development of the new library in the city, the opening up of Chamberlain Square and introduction of the tram have all made the city more accessible. “Over the past 20 years, Birmingham has been undergoing a huge amount of regeneration,” says Shoosmiths partner James Needham, “and I think that process is ongoing. The way that Chamberlain Square has been redeveloped and the demolition of the old library and the opening up of the city westwards out of the city core and through towards Edgbaston is part of the ongoing process of the Our Future City Plan.” Game plan Needham says the plan demonstrates an “impressive and exciting vision” for the future of the city at a time of major change – the arrival of HS2 and the hosting of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. “There is a huge amount of investment opportunity that as a city we can really take advantage of,” he says, “to develop and redevelop and regenerate and transform this city into a city of the future.” The Commonwealth Games have undoubtedly led to some major regeneration across both the city and its surrounds. Avison Young principal and managing director for offices in Birmingham Charles Toogood says that in the short term the Games have boosted office take-up in the city, committing to 100,000 sq ft of demand at Brindleyplace, but that long-term the Games offer the opportunity to put Birmingham on a global map, establishing better international relationships with the likes of Malaysia and Singapore. Government commitment But it is not just the Games and HS2 that are bringing about change in Birmingham – the government’s levelling-up agenda is helping too. “We’ve already had the benefit of two big hub transactions here and government will shortly announce a third hub transaction,” says Toogood. “That will be 200,000 sq ft for a number of departments that are consolidating and co-locating for occupation in 2025. It is the first hub transaction by government committing to any regional city as we emerge from the pandemic, which is really, really exciting.” Government has already announced hubs at Platform 21, inside the former Woolworths building in the New Street conservation area, and at 3 Arena Central. Together they will house more than 5,000 civil servants. And, in March this year, the Department for Transport announced plans to create an HQ in the city that will become home to some 650 workers. For a city that, like others around the UK, has had to be locked down for months on end, Birmingham has been surprisingly active. But, as Shoosmiths partner Beth McArdle says, the city does not have the luxury of standing still if it really is to seize the opportunities it has. “We’ve got the Commonwealth Games next year and we need to shine. We need to show exactly what our city’s got,” she says. “If we’re going to get people to continue to invest and come to the city, then the city needs to carry on developing and growing, but retain its identity as well.” Sheds and the city If there is one thing that Birmingham is known for, it is manufacturing and logistics. And if there is one thing that has been in high demand over the past 15 months, it is industrial, manufacturing and logistics space. While the city’s office, infrastructure, retail and public realm may be undergoing its own renaissance, Birmingham’s manufacturing sector just keeps going from strength to strength. Charles Spicer, director of industrial and logistics at Savills Birmingham, says the city and West Midlands region has seen record-breaking take-up over the past year. Savills figures show take-up increasing by 65% on 2019 last year. So far in 2021, take-up is 40% above the same period in 2020, with some 1.4m sq ft of space let. However, while demand is strong, supply is dwindling, standing at just 5.4m sq ft, with vacancy rates at just 6.9%. Birmingham needs more logistics space and it needs it fast. “There’s never enough space,” says Spicer. “But the council is working hard [to fix that]. The biggest challenge for the city is space being taken up far quicker than it ever used to be. So sites are being built out at a much quicker rate and there’s a real pressure on existing industrial stock and land.” Savills is working with the council to bring forward 50 acres of potential development land out at the Wheels site, just 12 minutes’ drive from the city centre. The site, which is currently used as a racetrack for go-karts and amateur racers looking to learn how to “drift”, has potential to feed Birmingham’s growing need for more logistics space, particularly last-mile delivery units. Emma Prowse, an associate director in Savills’ development team, who is looking after the project, says the Wheels site is uniquely placed to capitalise on industrial demand because of its close proximity to Birmingham’s new HS2 station and the city centre. A development partner is expected to be appointed towards the end of this year or early 2022. Elsewhere in Birmingham, plans are moving ahead to deliver almost 500,000 sq ft of industrial space at Peddimore – the council’s development partner, IM Properties, is in talks with its first occupier at the site and has begun clearance work – and Prologis is expected to announce plans to speculatively develop the remaining land at its Ham Hall site to the north-east of the city shortly. “I think whether it’s Brexit or whether it’s Covid, we are seeing manufacturing coming back to the UK, and coming back to the Midlands especially,” says Spicer. “Manufacturing, whether it’s manufacturing or logistics, is vitally important for the economy. It’s job creation and it is what Birmingham is all about.” Future of Birmingham experts Charles Spicer, director of industrial and logistics, Savills Birmingham Emma Prowse, associate director, Savills Birmingham Beth Ardle, partner, Shoosmiths James Needham, partner, Shoosmiths John Mulqueen, head of offices EMEA, CBRE Global Investors Charles Toogood, principal and managing director of offices, Avison Young Birmingham Photo: Shutterstock