Birmingham city council and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership have unveiled the 26 sites that will make up the city’s enterprise zone.
Large slices of the city centre, covering 168 acres across Eastside, Digbeth and the Jewellery Quarter, are to benefit from EZ status, including Goodman’s Eastside Locks, Argent’s and Altitude’s Paradise Circus and Miller Development’s and Bridgehouse Capital’s Arena Central.
The council’s director of planning and regeneration Waheed Nazir led a private briefing for landowners and developers on Tuesday where he outlined the sites being covered.
The council and LEP are keen to sign a memorandum of understanding with landowners and developers of the 26 sites, and set up a development forum to promote consultation about the EZ on topics such as development and a fast-track planning process.
A source said: “The council and the LEP want to use the EZ like a TIF to borrow against the uplift upfront and repay the debt back over the next 25 years.”
Around 95% of the sites comprise empty buildings.
Birmingham’s 26 EZ sites
• Paradise Circus (pictured)
• Eastside Locks
• Arena Central
• Snowhill – Phase 2
• Snowhill – Phase 3
• NatWest Tower
• Newhall Square
• Ludgate Hill/Charles Street site
• Birmingham Children’s Hospital
• Post & Mail site
• Wholesale Markets
• Masshouse
• City Park Gate
• Curzon Street
• Warwick Bar
• Typhoo Wharf
• Smithfield Court
• Beorma Quarter
• Kettleworks site in the Jewellery Quarter
• UCB
• Digital Plaza, Birmingham Science Park
• Venture Way
• Birmingham City University
• Connaught Square
lisa.pilkington@esratesgazette.com
