Birmingham’s time has come, don’t miss out

COMMENT As I watched the Alexander Stadium burst into life with an amazing display of colour, music and performance for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, I couldn’t help but feel incredibly proud of being a West Midlander.  As a city and a region, we have so much to celebrate. We have been the beating heart of UK car manufacturing, home to the likes of Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin, which have made a considerable contribution to the prosperity of Great Britain. Seeing our industrial and cultural heritage come to life through a parade of classic cars was a spectacle to behold and was significant in the way it symbolised what can be achieved by harnessing local skills and working in partnership.  Now in 2022, we have the opportunity to play as significant a role in the country’s future. Love or loathe the slogan, “levelling up” outside London must happen – in whatever guise the next government dresses it up in – for our towns, cities and regions to thrive.  Almost half of people living in Perry Barr, home to the Alexander Stadium, are under 30, with Birmingham boasting the youngest population in Europe. It is our duty – to our younger generations – to make the places we live and spend time in the best they can be and to ensure they deliver benefits for local communities that will help them thrive long-term.  With the 10-year anniversary of the Olympic Games just passed, we’ve seen just how important London 2012 has been for Stratford and what a difference sporting-led regeneration can make. It’s clear how sporting events can bring people together, galvanise local identity and foster a sense of pride and passion for the future of places that has a catalysing effect.  The infectious spirit of being a host city brings momentum that turbocharges plans and drives forward infrastructure projects that open up new parts of the city, providing investors and developers with the confidence to invest in an area. We’ve already seen how continued investment in Stratford’s regeneration has had a profound social impact on the area and its population, with improved life expectancy and local skills development. We need to make sure Birmingham has an equally positive legacy story to tell 10 years from now, one which builds on our heritage and marks a new chapter for the region. I was at Smithfield, in the heart of the city, as it readied itself to host the Games. The 34.5-acre site is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape Birmingham’s city centre. It will provide a new home for the city’s historic Bull Ring markets, new leisure and cultural spaces, including a festival square, landscaped park and thousands of new homes alongside community facilities. At Lendlease, we’re working in partnership with the city council to breathe new energy into this historic site, demonstrating our commitment to delivering a legacy for the city and creating a place where the benefits of growth and development are shared by all. It will be a celebration of Birmingham, an internationally recognised destination created and shaped by local people – building upon a rich diversity in the city and providing a place for Birmingham’s communities to come together and share experiences and new ideas; but this summer it is home to the beach volleyball and basketball 3×3 competitions and will be filled with 6,500 cheering fans.  I’m always caught by its backdrop, which depicts the very best of Birmingham’s past, present and future with its views of the iconic Selfridges building and Rotunda. As I looked around the venue and at the flags of Commonwealth countries, I was reminded just how diverse Birmingham is as a city and that instead of building for people, we need to shape spaces with communities and give people the tools to flourish. We’ve worked hard to ensure we’re investing in the communities we’re working in and have prioritised supporting job creation schemes right across the city. At Smithfield, we’ll create 8,000 new jobs and, in Perry Barr, where Lendlease is delivering new homes in partnership with the city council as part of a wider masterplan, we have already hit our job creation target.  That doesn’t mean we rest on our laurels – it means what we’re doing is working and therefore we need to continue to drive forward what will reap benefits for generations to come. The Commonwealth shows us what can be achieved through real collaboration and a healthy dose of passion and pride. We need to channel this spirit across the private and public sectors.  The 2022 Games mustn’t just be a moment in time – we want it to have a lasting legacy we can all be proud of.  Bek Seeley is managing director of development in Europe at Lendlease