Gateway Plus

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 This article or section contains information about a planned or expected future railway station.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the railway station approaches, and more information becomes available.
The Smallbrook Queensway elevation of New Street station.
The Smallbrook Queensway elevation of New Street station.

The Gateway Plus (previously known as Birmingham Gateway) project is a redevelopment scheme to regenerate Birmingham New Street Station and the Pallasades Shopping Centre above it in Birmingham, England. The project aims to enhance the station to cope with increased passenger and train numbers as well as expected future growth in traffic. In 2008, the station handles passenger numbers far in excess of the capacity of its existing design. The current station and Pallasades shopping centre were completed in 1967 and become the subject of criticism for the congestion of the station and shabbiness of the shopping centre and parts of the station.[1]

Contents

[edit] Proposals

[edit] Circumstances

The current New Street station was built to cater for 650 trains and 60,000 passengers per day. It currently caters for 1,350 trains and over 120,000 passengers - twice its design capacity. Passenger usage of New Street has increased by 50% since 2000.[2] It is predicted that passenger usage of the station will increase by 57% by 2020.[3]

Between 1995/6 and 2004/5, rail passenger journeys in the West Midlands increased by about 44%, and at New Street Station, passenger numbers have increased by about 53%. In the next ten year, this is expected to rise by another 28%.[4] With the station serving more train journeys, the approach from the east, underneath the Bullring Shopping Centre, has become a bottleneck which is constrained by the foundations of the shopping centre preventing widening. Here, twelve tracks merge to become four and this was outlined in the "Birmingham and West Midlands Rail Capacity Review" as a future capacity problem.[5]

[edit] Planning history

The proposed design for the project was unveiled in June 2006 and in the following month, the Business Case had been completed. The Business Case had taken 18 months to produce and was created by representatives from Network Rail, Birmingham City Council, Advantage West Midlands, and the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority (WMPTA).[6] During July and August, Warner Estates, the owners of the Pallasades Shopping Centre, were in negotiations with the developers.

A planning application for outline planning permission was submitted in August 9, 2006 with designs and renders and the proposals were publicly welcomed by Birmingham City Council in August 2006.[7] It was given an application number of 'C/05066/06/OUT' and the application was summarised on the city council's website as:

"Outline planning application, including the approval of access, for the major refurbishment and associated development of New Street Station and adjoining land, in connection with alterations and reconfiguration of the station facilities and comprising changes to the Pallasades Shopping Centre, the demolition of Stephenson Tower (Use Class C3), construction of two tall buildings, associated highway works, public spaces and infrastructure works (including uses A1 (retail), A3 (restaurants and cafes), A4 (drinking establishments), A5 (hot food take-away), A2 (financial and professional services) B1 (business uses including offices) C3 (residential), of the Use Classes Order (England) April 2005"

The applicant is Network Rail Infrastructure and the agent was Drivers Jonas. Construction is expected to begin in 2009, with Phase 1 being completed in April 2011 and Phase 2 by Spring 2013.[8] However, a later report stated the entire station will be completed for the 2012 London Olympics.[9]

In late October 2006, the developers of New Street Station expressed their interest in technology being developed in Japan where the footsteps of the visitors could be used to generate electricity as well as the turnstiles which can be used to generate energy. They also expressed interest in a glass dome to allow heat to enter and heat the station.[10]

In early November 2006, the development was faced with delays. It was first noted that the development would be decided upon in summer 2007. This came as Gisela Stuart, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, warned that this development was vital for Birmingham. A campaign was launched for the public to pledge their support for the development by writing their name and addresses on leaflets and posting them in ballot boxes located around the station. These will be sent to the Department for Transport.[11] If successful, the redevelopment of the station will make it into the priority list for development being drawn up by the government and was completed by Christmas 2006. The proposals received outline planning consent from Birmingham City Council's Planning Department. In December 2006, Douglas Alexander revealed that the government were aware of the need for the redevelopment of New Street station however did not reveal what was being done.

In February 2007, plans for the acquisition of Stephenson Tower through a Compulsory Purchase Order were discussed by the Cabinet.[12]

Martin Chambers, Programme Director for New Street at Network Rail, said in June 2007 that he expects the government to approve the first payment towards the project in mid-July. He expected Network Rail to announce a £122 million package on July 18. On top of this, a further £136 million has to be paid by the Department of Transport, and £100 million from Advantage West Midlands must be approved by the Department for Trade and Industry.[13] This was further supported by the leader of Birmingham City Council, Mike Whitby, who is also the Chairman of the New Street Gateway Steering Committee.[14] Separate from this, the project received more support, this time from the shadow transport minister, Julian Brazier of the Conservative party.[15]

Following the announcement by Ruth Kelly for the £128 million funding package for New Street, it was stated that the station would be completed by 2015, later than the previous dates of 2012 and Spring 2013.[8]

In July 2007, the council were told in a letter from the Department for Transport to find a cheaper alternative for the redevelopment project to New Street station. This resulted in speculation over whether the Government were to grant the further two tranches of funding towards the project.[16]

[edit] Design

The design for the station has been produced by John McAslan + Partners in conjunction with engineers WSP. They were appointed in 2005.[17] Other designs were revealed which shows a station on a grander scale however these were dismissed due to the cost of construction.

The design will involve the demolition of the station's existing concrete façade, and replacing it with a curved glass frontage. The entrance to the Pallasades shopping centre from New Street via a ramp which currently exists will remain. The major changes to the exterior will be seen from Smallbrook Queensway, Station Street and Navigation Street. The entrance from Smallbrook Queensway will be transformed into a glass structure which will be curved at the corners. The same will be seen from Navigation Street however the curve at the corners will not be as prominent. The current glass "arrowheads" which are located at the end of the platforms will remain.

Station Street will see the largest change as it is currently a minor entrance designed as a fire escape. The proposal shows two 130 metre tall towers located either side of a public area which rises to the station via steps. The two glass towers will both be 30 storeys maximum and will be completely identical except for one tower will have a smaller footprint than the other. One tower will be residential whilst the other will be office. At least 10% of housing created within the proposed new towers would be reserved for affordable housing.[18] This is below the city centre average of 15%. The office tower will be the tallest outside London being 5 metres taller than the currently under construction Willis Building. Earlier in 2006, there were reports of an extra 10 floors being added to the design.[19]

Proposed land uses[20]
Land use Area (m²)
Retail 55,173
Offices 30,733
Residential 30,733

The current station consists of five escalators and two lifts serving the station however, the proposals increase the number of escalators to 42 and lifts to 15.[2]

The concourse will be changed so that natural light can enter through a glass roof. The concourse area is currently covered by the Pallasades Shopping Centre. Space within the shopping centre above will be removed as result of this, therefore increasing the passenger concourse by 350% to new 10,500 m².[21] The roof will be constructed using the same materials used in the Eden Project in Cornwall.[21]

The platform layout will be left unchanged, however, obstacles on the platforms will be removed to make them larger. They will also be cleaned and made clearer. New "airport style" lounges will be installed.[21]

The multi-storey car park on the top of station will be reclad and modernised as well as the ramp leading up to the car park from Hill Street. 24 car parking spaces for Stephenson Tower will be removed when the tower is demolished. At Stephenson Street, a tram stop will be constructed as part of the extension to the Metro tram system through the city centre.

[edit] Redesign

On December 21, 2007, Network Rail issued a design contest notice on the Tenders Electronic Daily, supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union. The notice stated that the designs must be received by noon on January 28, 2008 with selected architects being invited to produce an architectural model on February 11, 2008. The design should include a new external façade and atrium.[22]

On February 18, 2008, the shortlist of six architectural design practices was released:[23]

The successful practice will act as concept architects, redesigning the station's exterior and creating a new atrium at a cost of about £30 million, while working alongside lead consultant Atkins and architect BDP.[24]

[edit] Other proposals

In 2005, Arup headed a campaign for a new major railway station named Birmingham Grand Central to be built in the Eastside of Birmingham,[4][25] however this vision did not materialise and politicians dismissed the need for the station. Also in 2005, British architect Will Alsop produced designs for New Street Station, incorporating a glass roof. The designs were then commercially validated.[26]

Other proposals for alleviating the pressure on New Street station have also been suggested. These include the lengthening of trains, however, this has been criticised by Arup who claim that there are many stations that are unable to take trains any longer than they currently are. They used the Cross-City Line as an example, showing that stations can currently take a maximum of six carriages and that the lengthening proposals would increase train length to 12 carriages.[5]

[edit] Comments

A total of ten letters and one petition were submitted in response to the planning application. Three letters were in support of the planning application whilst one letter queried whether work would be carried out at night.[20]

[edit] Criticism

The Stephenson Tower Residents Associations raised objections to the demolition of the tower block above the station.
The Stephenson Tower Residents Associations raised objections to the demolition of the tower block above the station.

In February 2007, Ove Arup, the designers behind the Grand Central station scheme which was ignored by politicians, called for the Birmingham Gateway proposals to be abandoned. They claim that the bottleneck to the east of the station, where twelve tracks become four, is restricting development because trains are queuing to leave and enter the station. They also claim that the station would be running at overcapacity by 2025 if the Gateway Plus scheme was to be completed.[27]

Other criticisms were towards the architecture of the station. The proposals have been attacked by councillors and planners who considered the designs to be of poor architectural quality and disputed whether the two towers were iconic enough.[28][29] The reply from the architects were that the designs presented were only initial ideas.

[edit] Objections

Objections to the proposed twin towers were raised by the residents of Stephenson Tower, under the name "Stephenson Tower Residents Association" on the outline planning application. The group submitted a petition regarding the planning application.[20] Stephenson Tower, a 20 storey tower block on New Street station, will be served with a compulsory purchase order and demolished as part of the project as one of the towers will partially cover the footprint of the building. The tower is on a long lease and administered by the City Council, with Network Rail having the freehold.[30]

Turley Associates wrote on behalf of Agora (Warner Estates) who are the leasehold owners of the Pallasades and car park which is sub-leased to NCP. They were supportive of the principle of the development, however, feel the proposal should be amended to mitigate the loss of value on the shopping centre, improve pedestrian connectivity; reduce the scale of the void proposed within the shopping centre to provide direct pedestrian connections and provide additional retail floorspace. Therefore, they objected to the proposal at this stage. Donaldsons LLP, who were writing on behalf of the Birmingham Alliance, also responded with a holding objection to the proposals as concern has been raised in respect of the moving of the escalators which lead from the concourse level to the Pallasades Shopping Centre. They were also concerned over the work made to the entrance at Smallbrook Queensway. Savilles, on behalf of BT, lodged a holding objection on the basis that their facility on Hill Street is a sensitive location. It contains a significant amount of equipment which would be sensitive to dust. Much of this equipment is behind louvers, and could therefore be subject to dust, particularly through the construction period.[20]

[edit] Support

Despite the criticism, the plans have also received considerable support. From the political spectrum, the project has received support from Tony Blair[31], the Conservative Party[32] and from Gisela Stuart, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, who said:[33]

"The proposed redevelopment would not only be a catalyst for regional growth and development but offer an excellent return on necessary investment."

Paul Fullwood of Passenger Focus also offered his support:[33]

"It is vital that all parties press to get the pieces of this financial and legal jigsaw into place and get the new station built. Then Birmingham will have a station to be proud of."

Chris Gibb, the Managing Director of Virgin Cross-Country, also said:[33]

"Birmingham New Street is the hub of Virgin Trains' national route network. Not only is it the origin or destination station for many journeys, it is a key interchange for a large number more. Since 1994 the number of passengers travelling with us has more than doubled, increasing further New Street's importance. The upgraded station will benefit millions of passengers every year."

In response to the planning application, English Heritage welcomed the proposals as it promises greater integration of the station into patterns of pedestrian flow around the city centre, and therefore benefit the appreciation of Birmingham's historic environment. The Conservation and Heritage Panel of Birmingham City Council echoed this as well as stressing the need for high quality design.[20]

[edit] Funding

When completed, it is expected to have cost over £550 million. The financing for the project depends upon a mixture of public and private funding.[34] Private funding will account for £150 million whilst the rest will be publicly funded. The four key funding partners for the project are:[35]

In May 2006, outline funding applications were submitted to Government agencies including the Department for Transport. Gateway Plus has been subject to uncertainty in funding, a problem Mike Whitby claimed to have been responsible for removing in early October 2006. However, a report later said that the financial part of the project had already been secured before he came to power as the leader of Birmingham City Council.[36]

In March 2007, Birmingham City Council was given an additional £40 million by the Government after they described the West Midlands Local Transport Plan being scored as "excellent". £3 million of this was put towards the Gateway Plus project.[37] A £128 million funding package was announced by British Government for the Gateway Plus project in July 2007. It was announced by Ruth Kelly, the Transport Secretary, when she unveiled a government White Paper[38] Delivering a Sustainable Railway, which also includes the upgrading of 150 further stations.[39][40] This is the first of three tranches of funding required for the development.[41] The other two tranches of funding total £223 million.[16]

In October 2007, it was reported by the Birmingham Mail that the Comprehensive Spending Review by Alastair Darling would confirm the remaining funding for Gateway Plus. This came as concerns were raised that the government would refuse to provide the remaining tranches of funding.[42] However, Alastair Darling failed to mention the project in his Pre-Budget Speech to the House of Commons, instead mentioning the Crossrail project for the South East of England, provoking fury among business leaders who accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of dithering.[43] Rod Ackrill, President of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and group chairman of developer Chase Midland, demanded the government to provide the necessary funding for the project and said he expected a decision by Christmas Day, 2007.[44]

On February 12, 2008, Ruth Kelly announced that the Department for Transport will be providing £160 million on top of the £128 million that is to be provided through the railway White Paper. A further £100 million will be provided by the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and will be channelled through Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency. The announcement brought the total amount of Government spending on the project to £388 million.[45]

[edit] Project management

The project has been split into two phases since its approval in 2003. Phase One is the redevelopment of the Pallasades Shopping Centre and Phase Two is the redevelopment of the rest of the station. The New Street Gateway Steering Committee, chaired by Mike Whitby, is a committee dedicated to getting the plans to materialise. The council's project manager for Gateway Plus is David Pywell,[16] who was also the Strategic Director of Development for Birmingham City Council[46] before retiring in September 2006.[47] Network Rail announced in 2005 that it will be setting up an entrepreneurial team that will work with developers and investors working on the project.[48]

[edit] Result

It is claimed that the redevelopment of the station would result in £1.7 billion being invested into the West Midlands region.[49] The redevelopment of New Street is expected to accommodate passenger growth to at least 2046, depending on the accuracy of the growth predictions.[50] Between 2,200 and 3,200 permanent jobs will be created as a result of the redevelopment with further jobs being created during the construction work at the station.[51] The new station will be an improved transport destination for tourists and is a key part of the Birmingham Redevelopment Scheme by improving the city image.[52]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Windfarms top list of UK eyesores. BBC News (2003-11-13). Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  2. ^ a b New Street redevelopment ‘on-track’ for 2007. Birmingham.gov.uk (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-26.
  3. ^ Birmingham New Street Station. Atkins Fire. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
  4. ^ a b Colin Stewart, Arup and Murray B Rayner, FRICS. Birmingham Grand Central - Unlocking the Network (pdf). Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  5. ^ a b Arup Appraisal of West Midlands Rail Capacity Review (pdf). Arup. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  6. ^ Route 17: West Midlands (pdf). Business Plan 2006. Network Rail. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  7. ^ Skyscraper plan for city station. BBC News (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-30.
  8. ^ a b Timings. Renew Street. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  9. ^ Paul Dale (2006-10-06). £500m New Street 'will be ready for Olympics. Birmingham Post. Retrieved on 2006-10-23.
  10. ^ Neil Elkes (2006-10-22). Green plan for revamped New Street. Birmingham Mail. Retrieved on 2006-10-23.
  11. ^ Jonathan Walker (2006-11-03). New Street campaign launched. Birmingham Post. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
  12. ^ New Street Station on track to pass further milestone. Birmingham City Council (2007-02-23). Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  13. ^ Paul Dale (2007-06-27). New Street revamp set for go-ahead. Birmingham Post. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  14. ^ New Street Scheme continues to move forward. Birmingham City Council (2007-06-07). Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  15. ^ Top Tory calls for action on New Street. Birmingham Post (2007-06-22). Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  16. ^ a b c Jonathan Walker (2007-07-27). Find a cheaper New Street plan, council told. Birmingham Mail. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  17. ^ Birmingham New Street Station. John McAslan + Partners. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  18. ^ FAQs: What will be done about affordable housing when Stephenson Tower is demolished?. Renew Street. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  19. ^ Rail Air Rights Towers Planned For Birmingham. Skyscrapernews.com (2006). Retrieved on 2006-07-26.
  20. ^ a b c d e Committee brief (pdf). Birmingham City Council.
  21. ^ a b c Aims. Renew Street. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  22. ^ Document 2007-304189-EN. TED - Tenders Electronic Daily (2007-12-21). Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
  23. ^ Station revamp shortlist unveiled. BBC News (2008-02-19). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  24. ^ Shortlist of architects for New Street. Birmingham Mail (2008-02-19). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  25. ^ Birmingham Grand Central Station. Arup. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  26. ^ Developments (pdf). Locate Birmingham (Spring 2005).
  27. ^ Paul Dale (2007-02-12). Call to scrap New Street plans. Birmingham Post. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
  28. ^ New Street revamp hits the buffers. Birmingham Mail (2006-10-13).
  29. ^ Back to New St drawing board. Birmingham Post (2006-10-13).
  30. ^ Report No. 7 – New Street Station, Stephenson Street/Navigation Street/Station Street and Smallbrook Queensway, City (C/05066/06/OUT) minutes (pdf). Birmingham City Council. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  31. ^ The Project. Renew Street.
  32. ^ A Government without a clear strategy on rail has no chance of being credible on climate change. Conservative Party (2007-03-14). Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  33. ^ a b c Supporters. Renew Street. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  34. ^ Initial Strategic Business Plan June 2006. Network Rail (June 2006). Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  35. ^ Funding Partners. Renew Street. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  36. ^ Report shunts council chief into sidings in New St row. Birmingham Post (2006-10-12). Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
  37. ^ £40million Transport Investment in Birmingham. Birmingham City Council (2007-03-23). Retrieved on 2007-06-08.
  38. ^ New Street £128m funding unveiled. BBC News (2007-07-24). Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  39. ^ Billions pledged for rail upgrade. BBC News (2004-07-24). Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  40. ^ Forster, Mark (15-28 August 2007). "High-level lift-off for a new New Street". Rail 572: 44–5. 
  41. ^ Partners Welcome New Street Funding Announcement. Birmingham City Council (2007-07-24). Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
  42. ^ Pledge on New Street revamp. Birmingham Mail (2007-10-09). Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
  43. ^ Fury as New Street plea is snubbed. Birmingham Mail (2007-10-10). Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
  44. ^ New Chamber chief demands New Street action. Birmingham Post (2007-10-12). Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
  45. ^ Jonathan Walker (2008-02-12). New Street Station rebuild gets go-ahead. Birmingham Post. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
  46. ^ Birmingham City Council Structure - Development. Birmingham City Council.
  47. ^ Strategic Director to retire. Birmingham City Council Press Release (2006-09-13). Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  48. ^ Business Plan 2005 - Management Plan (pdf). Network Rail (2005). Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  49. ^ Benefits. Renew Street. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  50. ^ Passengers. Renew Street. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  51. ^ Jobs. Renew Street. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  52. ^ Economy. Renew Street. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.

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Coordinates: 52°28′39.98″N, 1°53′55.86″W