Birmingham Curzon
Birmingham Curzon is a 141-hectare regeneration area at the heart of the city and the UK High Speed rail network.
OPPORTUNITY
Centred around a new High Speed 2 (HS2) terminus station a number of major investment and development opportunities exist for parties interested in exploring development partner/funder and equity investment on sites ranging up to 3.3 hectares and covering a selection of commercial and residential uses.
Birmingham City Council as promoter is working with Homes England as well as private sector landowners to help bring forward investable development projects within the Curzon regeneration area. There is a strategic opportunity to help shape projects at an early stage, as these are expected to come forward over the next 2–5 years.
Promoter: Birmingham City Council and multiple private landowners
Scale: £1bn+ GDV
Sector: Office, Residential, Hotel, Leisure
Location: Birmingham City Centre
Investment Type: Development partner/funder; Equity investor
Programme: 2019–2036
Planning Status: Strategic masterplan in place supported by statutory planning documents in key locations. A range of development opportunities have secured either full, outline or hybrid planning consent
Website: www.birmingham.gov.uk/birminghamcurzonhs2
BACKGROUND
Birmingham will be at the heart of the UK High Speed Rail network providing a once-in-a-century opportunity to radically enhance the city’s national rail connectivity and accelerate its economic growth potential. A brand new city centre HS2 station, Birmingham Curzon, will be the catalyst for a major programme of mixed-use regeneration in a prime location.
The Curzon masterplan sets out the City Council’s aims for the station and demonstrates the regeneration potential of the surrounding 141 hectares that could result in a £4bn economic uplift.
DESCRIPTION
The 141-hectare regeneration area comprises over 30 strategic development opportunities and is within the extended City Centre Enterprise Zone. These sites can provide around 4,000 new homes and 600,000m2 of commercial floorspace.
With preparatory work well underway the station will be operational within the period 2029-2033. A £724m investment programme has been agreed with the UK Government for Curzon, which will integrate the station into the city centre, lead to the expansion of the Midland Metro network and provide the necessary infrastructure to unlock key sites bringing growth and development forward.
The arrival of HS2 will be the catalyst to unlock and accelerate a range of development and regeneration initiatives including an expansion of the city’s office core as well as new growth opportunities around the Knowledge Quarter, which is home to five universities and colleges and 25,000 students.
The Creative Quarter centred on Digbeth, Birmingham’s former industrial heartland, is a key part of the Curzon regeneration area and has the greatest potential of any part of the UK to accelerate its growth as a unique global centre of company start-ups, creativity, crafts and arts, innovative hi-tech businesses, television and film industry. With the launch of the BBC’s new broadcast centre at the Tea Factory, Masterchef and film studios at Warwick Bar – the next 20 years will represent a new era of development for Digbeth and Birmingham.
PROMOTER AND PARTNERSHIPS
Birmingham City Council as promoter is working in partnership with public and private sector landowners to bring forward development as well as the West Midlands Combined Authority to provide infrastructure funding.
LOCATION
The Curzon HS2 terminus occupies a strategically important city centre location adjacent to main retail and business districts as well as Creative and Knowledge Quarters and benefits from exceptional local and regional connectivity.