Future of Birmingham: Crisis puts community in focus

A short stroll from Birmingham city centre and encircled by the city’s canals, the 43-acre Port Loop development boasts more than 1,000 homes as well new retail and leisure space. West Midlands mayor Andy Street has highlighted the site as an example of what inspired residential development can look like in the region. At Urban Splash – which is developing the site alongside Places for People, Birmingham City Council and the Canal & River Trust – director Nathan Cornish says the company approached the scheme differently to the way in which it handled past projects. It began with a manifesto, he says, “a series of commitments, if you like, as to what we wanted this place to be”. “We talked about new parks, we talked about green streets, not mean streets, and how we can encourage community,” Cornish says. “We spent £1m on a new park, which was very much about integrating the local community… Encouraging people to go out and talk to their neighbours and their kids [to] play out safely are all things that we should be [doing] as developers. So it’s a test bed, it’s new, it’s different. Hopefully it’ll be a success.” Even at a time when people are isolated physically from each other, the coronavirus crisis has underlined the importance of communities. What responsibility does the real estate industry have to ensure its places and spaces engender that sense of community, and how might the current challenges facing businesses and their customers during the pandemic ultimately be reflected in a changing built environment? Cornish joined Rebecca Farr, development planning manager for North and West Birmingham at Birmingham City Council, and Carl Potter, regional managing director for agency Avison Young, to discuss these questions as part of EG’s The Future of Birmingham event, which was held virtually and streamed live earlier this month during the UK’s lockdown. Key to growth The pandemic has had a clear effect on the region’s real estate industry, although EG’s guests were keen to consider silver linings. “We’ve made some difficult decisions as a business – to close our factory in Alfreton in the East Midlands where we have built houses,” Cornish says. “We’ve closed all the construction sites that we’re in direct control of – 13 live sites across the country. It really has brought a lot of things to a grinding halt from a physical output point of view. But it’s also given us time as a business to start thinking about taking a pause, and working out strategy. And we’re communicating perhaps more than ever as a board and a development team. So it’s negative overall, but actually with lots of positives as well.” Farr said the council is still fielding planning applications, albeit far fewer from homeowners. “There are still pre-app discussions going on, and we’re still meeting with developers,” she says. “Obviously, things are being done differently and there are things that have slowed down or paused. But there’s still a lot of activity in the Birmingham market, certainly from a planning point of view.” A lot of people use words and don’t always back it up with actions. We talk about community and engagement. We’ve got to be genuine about it – Nathan Cornish, Urban Splash Now, real estate professionals expect to see the ongoing regeneration of the city shift once more in response to new priorities in a post-pandemic world once the current crisis passes – and encouraging community and sustainability will be the heart of the changes, Potter predicts. “What we have found as regeneration has escalated over those last years is the need for linkages to be really strong – and this isn’t about being connected by car,” he says. “This is being connected in a holistic, sustainable way, into, out [of] and through development, by foot, cycleways, public transport, tram systems and strategic rail links that bring enough people into a city centre and then disperse them within the city centre in an easy way. The key to future growth of any city… is going to be its ability to do that.” On your bike Cornish expects to see “fundamental changes” about how developers view community engagement and hopes Urban Splash’s efforts to involve the Ladywood community with the development of Port Loop will show the way. “A lot of people in this industry – and I’m sure we’ve been guilty of it in the past – do use words and don’t always back it up with actions. We talk about community and engagement. We’ve got to be genuine about it.” EG’s guests hope that a focus on broadening the city’s infrastructure development will prove a boost to sustainability as well as economic growth. “What we all need to do as an industry is make sure that as the Curzon master plan starts to evolve, the links underneath the rail network are really opened up,” Potter says. “At the moment that is one of the dreariest parts of the canal. The canal tow paths are brilliant and they have, where CRT have maintained them and improved them properly, provided a great way of walking through the city. “But from Eastside down to Digbeth there’s huge strides that need to be made to make those connections work well if we’re going to make the most of HS2 and the capacity in terms of residential development that Digbeth can give the city.” The council’s Farr has the city’s cycling infrastructure on her mind and hopes the current crisis has shown how enjoyable a city with a different transport make-up can be. “I’d really like to see Birmingham grasp and expand its cycle network,” Farr says. “There’s loads of people enjoying walking and cycling around the city at the moment. And the main reason they can do it? Not so many cars on the road. Continuing to be a leader in active travel and public transport is a real opportunity. And I hope that we can take the cities and communities along with us on that journey and that the current situation has helped people see the opportunities.” To send feedback, e-mail tim.burke@egi.co.uk or tweet @_tim_burke or @estatesgazette   To keep up to date with all EG Events and find out what’s coming next, click here >>