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Our Future City Plan: Central Birmingham 2040

S

Stokkie

master brummie
The future is high-rise and green, an intriguing combination. Present day Birmingham is marked by the absence of many high-rise buildings constructed since September 11th. Several Modernist buildings in the Brutalist design (simply French for concrete) are either demolished or set for demolition. But this seems set to change. Construction Enquirer gives an overview. More detail can be seen on Birmingham Council's Our Future City Plan 2021There's a downloadable PDF with artist's impressions and some more detail. There's a lot of demolition and construction set to recommence in the city and the urban landscape will change from the one I've known in the 1960s to the present.
 
More green space in central Birmingham is highly desirable, especially in what the planners call the public realm. The high-rise element is more of a Marmite issue. Personally, I don't object to architect designed buildings of quality, in a variety of styles. But off-the shelf buildings tend to have ill-thought out issues which are only revealed after construction.
 
Stokkie said:
The future is high-rise and green, an intriguing combination. Present day Birmingham is marked by the absence of many high-rise buildings constructed since September 11th. Several Modernist buildings in the Brutalist design (simply French for concrete) are either demolished or set for demolition. But this seems set to change. Construction Enquirer gives an overview. More detail can be seen on Birmingham Council's Our Future City Plan 2021There's a downloadable PDF with artist's impressions and some more detail. There's a lot of demolition and construction set to recommence in the city and the urban landscape will change from the one I've known in the 1960s to the present.
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I just took a look at the Future City Plan and the first thing on the top of the link is a warning sign and the words - Are you struggling with the costs of living? Well I don’t think high rise buy to rent flats will solve that problem for families living in Brum. But it might help foreign investors looking for safe assets.

One of the problems with the city centre is that it is quite small really compared with other major cities. I will be interested to look at the plans.Tinpot
 
Personally, I've lived, worked and studied in high rise and low rise in Birmingham. Though I lived in a block of flats in Windmill Lane, Smethwick. for under a year and in a private flat with my partner in Pershore Road for a few years. We were able to bring up our family in a house outside the city. After the terrible Grenfell Tower fire accommodation in public housing needs reconsideration. Luxury blocks with working lifts and a concierge who controls access remain popular.
 
Tinpot said:
I just took a look at the Future City Plan and the first thing on the top of the link is a warning sign and the words - Are you struggling with the costs of living? Well I don’t think high rise buy to rent flats will solve that problem for families living in Brum. But it might help foreign investors looking for safe assets.

One of the problems with the city centre is that it is quite small really compared with other major cities. I will be interested to look at the plans.Tinpot
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Yes, Tinpot, I agree. The public housing stock has been depleted. Housing is discussed on p.32.
Delivering a diverse range of affordable, quality homes. Continuing the Council Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust initiative to develop affordable, quality housing. Working with our private sector partners and seeking innovative approaches to supporting development across Central Birmingham to deliver diversity of homes to meet a full range of needs. In addition, strengthening existing requirements for affordable housing and supporting family homes in statutory planning policy. P.32

I doubt that they mean the high rise accommodation here.
 
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The problem that is mostly ignored is that the developers, who are those the council take notice of, are not interested in house/flats for the average person, but fairly expensive residences that they can make a lot of money from. The average person is not going to look for a flat with a concierge service., because they could not afford it. As has been already pointed out , many of the customers for the current developers are foreign, and the developments are not aimed at normal people who actually do something useful
 
mikejee said:
The problem that is mostly ignored is that the developers, who are those the council take notice of, are not interested in house/flats for the average person, but fairly expensive residences that they can make a lot of money from. The average person is not going to look for a flat with a concierge service., because they could not afford it. As has been already pointed out , many of the customers for the current developers are foreign, and the developments are not aimed at normal people who actually do something useful
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I agree with you up to 'because they could not afford it.' Do you have any evidence 'for many of the customers for the current developers are foreign,' ? Birmingham isn't a tourist destination, though doubtless it would like to become one. Accountants, Hospital Consultants, Company Directors and Corporate Lawyers could presumably afford luxury high-rise and might want a flat in the city. it depends on how you might define 'do something useful.'
 
I believe that Grenfell Tower had a concierge service which was taken away as part of a declining of safety standards. There is a site, maybe Private Eye, who have gleaned as much info as they can on property ownership, including Birmingham. Many owned by firms set up in the Cayman, Bermuda, Channel Islands and other tax havens.
 
Pedrocut said:
I believe that Grenfell Tower had a concierge service which was taken away as part of a declining of safety standards. There is a site, maybe Private Eye, who have gleaned as much info as they can on property ownership, including Birmingham. Many owned by firms set up in the Cayman, Bermuda, Channel Islands and other tax havens.
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Yes, thanks Pedrocut, it was compiled in 2015 and is here: https://www.private-eye.co.uk/special-reports/tax-havens
It is open to British voters to make different political choices if they want to do anything about foreign investment...

Personally, I think shared ownership and the various housing trusts are more likely to bear fruit.
 
Stokkie said:
I agree with you up to 'because they could not afford it.' Do you have any evidence 'for many of the customers for the current developers are foreign,' ? Birmingham isn't a tourist destination, though doubtless it would like to become one. Accountants, Hospital Consultants, Company Directors and Corporate Lawyers could presumably afford luxury high-rise and might want a flat in the city. it depends on how you might define 'do something useful.'
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A fair comment. My statement probably applied mostly to the London area, but the development firms cover both and probably have a similar basis for working in both areas. Personally, and you might disagree, I consider anyone whose job is mainly to support financial manipulation rather than actually being involved in producing a product or . Tervice of use to the community as "not doing anything useful". Thus SOME accountants, company directors and Lawyers would fit that category
 
Some of the properties, as we have seen lately, remain uninhabited and are used as money laundering. Of course we have known this for donkey’s years, but only recently have the government been shamed into action.
 
mikejee said:
A fair comment. My statement probably applied mostly to the London area, but the development firms cover both and probably have a similar basis for working in both areas. Personally, and you might disagree, I consider anyone whose job is mainly to support financial manipulation rather than actually being involved in producing a product or . Tervice of use to the community as "not doing anything useful". Thus SOME accountants, company directors and Lawyers would fit that category
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Would you curtail foreign investment into Birmingham or indeed the UK? Actually I was wrong about tourism, Birmingham claimed to be the fourth popular destination.
 
I notice there was a ‘nod‘ towards affordable housing in the proposals we were discussing but no specific numbers. Even that would be based on the market rate but who knows what that might be in the future given our current economic situation.
 
Tinpot said:
I notice there was a ‘nod‘ towards affordable housing in the proposals we were discussing but no specific numbers. Even that would be based on the market rate but who knows what that might be in the future given our current economic situation.
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Yes, this is thin on promises they might be held to. Icknield Port Loop and 'Smithfield' which featured in the Games are mentioned, but the numbers are small. We should expect an approved version of the plan soon.
 
Stokkie said:
Would you curtail foreign investment into Birmingham or indeed the UK? Actually I was wrong about tourism, Birmingham claimed to be the fourth popular destination.
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If by "investment" you mean buying properties and leaving them empty I would consider this financial manipulation and those in the south are already thinking of methods to stop this in London
 
mikejee said:
If by "investment" you mean buying properties and leaving them empty I would consider this financial manipulation and those in the south are already thinking of methods to stop this in London
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I am not there however I would have to agree with Mike. empty properties do not help the area. We saw this in the US by default in the 90's. Japanese investors were buying up everything and then found that their strategy did not work. They lost a lot of money but the properties remained empty for a long time and financially damaged the area until they were re developed which took a long long time.
 
mikejee said:
If by "investment" you mean buying properties and leaving them empty I would consider this financial manipulation and those in the south are already thinking of methods to stop this in London
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Money laundering by definition is illegal. Absentee landlords are never a good thing, but many of these buildings will be owned by a trust. It is a matter for HMRC to define the rules of property. At the moment Birmingham City Council and the UK government welcome legal foreign investment. But I'm interested in the aesthetics of buildings and the history of Birmingham. I don't welcome the anti-foreigner rhetoric which is toxic in current politics.
 
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At least Debenhams is I gather to be converted to M & S, though what will happen to the old store?
 
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