VIDEO: The £50bn High Speed rail (HS2) project will have a major impact on growth in Birmingham as companies look to set up regional bases in the city.
Panellists at Estates Gazette’s latest Question Time event at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in Birmingham added that London’s housing crisis and transport problems had meant Birmingham was an increasingly attractive alternative to the capital.
Birmingham city council leader Sir Albert Bore said: “Other than the South East, more people were moving out of London into Birmingham than any other location in the UK, so that in itself answers the question about is Birmingham attractive.”
Addressing an audience of about 200 fellow panellist Barry Allen, head of Birmingham Office at Savills, said HS2 would drive the top end of the city’s office market.
“Looking out from London, if a corporate is looking to take regional space why wouldn’t you be planning to come into Birmingham which will be the first major stop out of London rather than anywhere else. I think that will start to play into corporate decision-making pretty quickly,” he said.
For more highlights from the Birmingham Question Time debate, click on the video below.
