Eastside, Birmingham

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Millennium Point was one of the first major projects to be completed in the area.

Eastside is an area in the east of Birmingham city centre core in England currently under going a major redevelopment project. The overall cost when completed is expected to be £6-8 billion over a period of ten years which will result in the creation of 12000 jobs. 8000 jobs are expected to be created during the construction period.

1 History
2 Regeneration
3 Cancelled projects
4 Nearby projects
5 Visions
6 "Sustainable Eastside"
7 Arts and culture
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

[edit] History

Excavations revealed that the area was used as farmland in the Medieval times. Archaeological excavations at the City Park Gate site revealed soil that had been used on farms. It is known that a significant area had been bought by the English monarchy and was used as a deer game park. Some of this area stretched into the Eastside of Birmingham. The only surviving part of this is Park Street Gardens.

The land was sold and slowly began to develop once again as farm land.

During the Industrial Revolution, the area was home to a massive complex of factories and was accessed by part of the canal network, most notably the Digbeth Branch Canal which bisects the area. The Grand Union Canal is located along the boundaries of the area. However, as the industry in the area subsided, the area fell into decline and many of the original factory buildings became derelict. The old Victorian factory buildings were never maintained and the canals became dirty and clogged with only small stretches being cleaned. Small independent businesses moved into the area.

In the late 1800s, the area was accessed by a major tram network which ran along Albert Street.

The River Rea, which remains largely hidden due to high brick walls surrounding it constructed in Victorian times, also flows to the extreme east of the area.

Curzon Street railway station was a major railway station during the 1800s and served as a goods station with another terminus opposite. Unfortunately, it was located too far from the city centre and it was not successful. It failed as a passenger station and shut down in 1966 as a goods station.

Bartholomew Row received its name from Saint Bartholomew Church, which was built next to it. The church was surrounded by Park Street Gardens which were significantly cut down in size due to surrounding development. Part of the grave yard of the church still remains.

A major brewery was located near Curzon Street Station and this resulted in the establishment of a public house further down the road which currently exists as a Grade II listed building.

[edit] Regeneration

[edit] Planning

In the late 1990s, plans for the regeneration of the area were aired to the public. The first plan unveiled was called the 1996 Digbeth Millennium Quarter Plan which presented proposals for the area around Digbeth and parts of Eastside. The 1998 Bull Ring and Markets Quarter Plan contained guidance to the Digbeth and Deritend area. Large scale projects which involved the renovation, demolition and reparation of the area started to be aired to the public. The first of these projects to be completed was Millennium Point which was completed in 2002 to replace the Birmingham Science Museum. On February 1, 2002, a masterplan for the Eastside was developed by HOK International and this set out the basic developments.

In 2001, the entire Eastside area was split into five sub-areas:

Aston Triangle
Curzon Street
Fazeley Street
Masshouse
Rea Village

[edit] Construction begins

Matthew Boulton College of Further & Higher Education after completion in 2005.

The first part of the plan to be implemented was the demolition of a large elevated road junction called Masshouse Circus and the Inner Ring Road to clear land for development. Masshouse Circus had restricted development out of the east of the city due to its proximity and size resulting in it receiving the name "concrete collar". A bid for money from the European Regional Development Fund was successful and this allowed the demolition of Masshouse Circus possible^[1]. This area is now being developed with the construction of highrise apartment and office blocks with one block almost complete^[2] and another set to begin construction in Spring 2007. Other buildings completed in the area include the New Technology Institute, completed in 2006 and also the renovation of Island House into a base for a redevelopment company. Matthew Boulton College also built a new major facility in 2005^[3] and overlooks the Masshouse site. Both Matthew Boulton College and the New Technology Institute were the first buildings to be built on what will be the Learning and Leisure Zone.

[edit] Digbeth, Deritend and Warwick Bar

Large areas of Digbeth are now also set for redevelopment with the many residential complexes being built and the construction of a new coach station on the Digbeth Coach Station site^[4]. The completion of South Birmingham College: Digbeth and the renovation of Custard Factory also attracted interest to the area economically with the opening of a Cadillac automobile showroom in the area in early 2006 despite the council naming the area as media quarter. The Custard Factory is again set for an expansion with the adjacent Devonshire House expected to be renovated.

Deritend is also expected to witness a vast amount of redevelopment. A large number of low rise residential schemes have been proposed with several beginning construction in 2005 and 2006. Deritend Bridge (so called because of its location near a bridge which crossed the River Rea called Deritend Bridge) is a large residential development planned for the area. It has received outline planning consent however its status is unknown. It is believed the land may be sold to another developer. The development extends towards the Bordesley area which is outside the Eastside boundaries.

An area alongside Fazeley Street in Digbeth named Warwick Bar, has became a phase of redevelopment itself with the construction of new modern buildings and a restoration project of an old Victorian storage facility. Proposals are also being planned for the area including a little known project known as "The Needle". Its location is not known according to a developments document issued however it would most likely be at Warwick Bar.

[edit] Curzon projects

Curzon Street railway station. A lot of development will be centred around this building.

The majority of the development is centred around Curzon Street railway station and along Curzon Street which gives its name to two developments to the rear of the station which began with the demolition of a Parcel Force Depot^[5]. This will be called Curzon Park and will feature a major low rise mixed use scheme with residential, leisure and hotel facilities.

This development is separated from a development behind it by the Digbeth Branch Canal. This smaller development is called Curzon Gate which will include a twelve and an eleven storey tower block containing private and student dwellings which will be located on the former Castle Cement silos site. Initial sketches of Curzon Gate showed a 25 storey tower however this was not included in the planning application^[6]. Curzon Gate was deferred on October 12, 2006 due to Section 106 payments.

[edit] The City Park

Next to this is one of the largest of the projects which will see large areas of land being transformed into a city park. This will be called City Park^[7] and will cover 8 acres. The area it will occupy is currently the car park for Millennium Point and also small workshops and a Spanish-themed eaterie^[8]. It will also incorporate an already existing park named Park Street Gardens which contains a burial ground and was once part of a large deer park. Small areas of land such as the land to the east of Millennium Point have been under the interest of development companies. The land next to Millennium Point was the centre of local attention from the media when it was revealed that a development company was to submit a planning application for the creation of a 175 metre tall vertical theme park called The Pinnacle or Pinnacle Tower. That planning application is yet to be submitted. ^[9] ^[10] ^[11]. The land was originally intended for the Ventureast development however it was agreed to be sold to the developer in 2006.

29 entries were submitted to from the UK and abroad and the companies were required to create a presentation and be interviewed. The six final entries to the international design competition that was held to get an architect to design the park, were released by Birmingham City Council in October 2006. Leaflets were placed around Birmingham allowing the public to vote for their favourite design. Architects who submitted entries were Broadway Malyan, Camlin Lonsdale, Gillespies LLP, Gross Max, Gustafson Porter and Patel Taylor^[12].

[edit] Other projects

Demolition commencing on site to make way for the Ventureast development.

The area beyond the city park to the eastern boundary of Eastside is to be developed in a development named Ventureast. This will be a technology led park area with many lowrise buildings.

Another area of land next to Moor Street railway station which was freed up by the demolition of Masshouse Circus will be home to a development named City Park Gate. Originally designed by Richard Rogers as part of the scheme for the Library of Birmingham, it was to have several residential towers however the architects pulled out when the library scheme was shelved. MAKE Architects have since been appointed. Island House and the nearby pub will be retained in the development however Eurodiscount Megastore, a large warehouse store, was demolished in November 2006. The development will be mainly residential and will form a gateway into the Eastside from the city centre. Phase 1 will be the phase covering the largest area and has a subphase known as Phase 1a which includes Island House. This will be the first phase to begin construction and will also include the subphase, Phase 2a. Phase 2 will begin construction after and this is the smallest phase. Phase 3 will be constructed last and will see the tallest building constructed. Two public squares will be created, one directly in front of Island House will be called Island Place, and the second will be between Phase 2a and Phase 2 and will be called Freeman Place. There will be numerous green roof gardens. The outline planning application was submitted on November 29, 2006 and a consultation process began in late December and ended January 3, 2007.

It is most likely that an observation tower for the public will be constructed in the Eastside area as it was one of the main ideas for it. Originally, there was a proposal named "The Needle" which would be of a substantial height however this was dismissed as a vision^[13].

It was revealed that a major student housing development is in planning opposite the Ventureast development on the other side of Jennens Road. This is most likely to be targetted at Aston University which owns land next to it.

The land cleared in 2005 for the construction of Curzon Park (looking in direction of Curzon Gate location).

[edit] Cancelled projects

Interest in Eastside has been vast however some plans have been shelved with the relocation of Central Library to the area being one of the most notable. The library would be one of the biggest in the country however, lack of funds resulted in the project being cancelled. The University of Central England are now interested in the site to relocate their conservatoire who are currently located in the Adrian Boult Hall next to Central Library^[14] ^[15]. Another project was the refurbishment of the Curzon Street railway station which would make it the home of the Royal College of Organists. However, a £1 million gap of funds resulted in them abandoning the project. Birmingham City Council are now planning to renovate the building themselves and then search for a major tenant.

[edit] Nearby projects

One development set to start in late 2006 is the Martineau Galleries complex which will see the demolition of the Carling Academy and surrounding shops plus a multi-storey car park. These will be replaced by a 110 metre tall tower ^[16] and other midrise and lowrise apartment blocks^[17] as well as offices, hotel facilities, retail and cultural facilities.

[edit] Visions

There was a proposal for a new station to be built in the Eastside to relieve the stress from New Street station. The station, dubbed "Grand Central Station", was to be nearly twice the size of New Street and would handle all major railway lines. However, the proposal was called unnecessary and take up too much room. ^[18] The proposal was headed and urged by Arup who created a brochure outlining the reasons why such a station would be needed.

[edit] "Sustainable Eastside"

One of the main parts of Eastside is to make it as harmless to the environment as possible. A separate project named "Sustainable Eastside" was established in 2003 and it intends to created combined heat and power engine generators to provide energy to local buildings, create renewable energy technologies, use solar technologies, enabling carbon savings to be made and reducing costs for building users reduce waste disposal costs, ensure the efficient and prudent use of natural resources, promote positive environmental enhancements, reduce pollution through planned facilities, create locally-based recycling activities and facilities, reduce transport of waste and materials, meet government targets on recycling, and establish high environmental ratings for businesses.

Birmingham City Council employed advisers for developers seeking information and advice into green developments however did introduce new regulations and policies for development in the Eastside to have environmentally friendly systems. However, in November 2006, the Eastside team was criticised for not imposing regulations which could have led Eastside to become an eco-friendly area. Instead they said that the opportunity had been missed and revealed that the team had been warned it would not be hitting targets in 2003^[19]. Despite this criticism, the council announced the commencement of the Green Roof Demonstration Programme and a series of seminars at the University of Birmingham.

Wind turbines appear on the initial renders for the development at Warwick Bar. Green roofs are also being promoted and have also appeared on renders for Martineau Galleries.

Sustainable Eastside website

[edit] Arts and culture

In 2006, Eastside hosted a number of events as part of ArtsFest. The Eastside Arts Picnic was held at Curzon Street Station and the Eastside Green opposite. Island House hosted a collection of visual art pieces known as the ArtsFest Art Gallery and outside the building was the showcase for Vibrant Fibre, which consisted of murals.

A sound guide was created by Sound Arts Practice Liminal for Warwick Bar in which the public were invited to download the sound palate and walk around the canals.

Curzon Street Station is becoming a centre for arts in the Eastside with future exhibitions including a neon light show at the base of the steps leading to the entrance of the building taking place during June 2007^[20].