Across the entire West Midlands, more communities are being empowered to nurture pride of place in a major digital initiative

Let us introduce you to the most innovative, pioneering and sustainable digital initiative ever to be devised as a collaboration between community, business and the public sector.  

Using a digital product called Community Passport, the entire West Midlands region is being mapped in a neighbourhood led programme that empowers, equips and skills people in the shaping and promotion of the places they live in and grow up in.

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With a regional focus and digital devices at every location where people meet or make their travel connections, projections are that views of our digital content will increase from between 60,000 and 100,000 to over 500,000 every month.  The support this will give to the region, economically and socially, will be huge. 

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Every neighbourhood, by having access to a Community Passport and with the option of setting up its own Centre for Pride of Place, will be engaged and involved in creating and sharing their own content that can be used in the shaping and promotion of their neighbourhood.  

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Here are the locations of the first Centres for Pride of Place we propose opening along the Metro line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

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This will result, we predict, in a 5% increase in the volume of trips made by residents to experience what their region offers and will dramatically increase the number of visitors coming to the region.  The Pride of Place generated by engaging and involving community will result in an increase in businesses locating to the region, an increase in the value of real estate and greater investment in the West Midlands.

Birmingham's real estate is already mapped and featured

Take the link HERE to view our map of Birmingham's real estate

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A platform dedicated to the coverage of all of Birmingham's real estate can be found at www.ItsyourBuild.com 

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Developments that engage and involve the local community we will feature as Centres for Pride of Place.  By inviting the local community to follow the build, this rich locally created content we can process and map at It's your Build, a public expression of the pride people have in the buildings rising up around them. 

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Birmingham's culture, and increasingly its hospitality, is mapped, featured and searchable

Take the link HERE to view our map of Birmingham's culture.  

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Every neighbourhood will be mapped and showcased in this totally inclusive initiative.

HERE for example is Sparkbrook mapped and featured. 

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In Sparkbrook, as with all the region's neighbourhoods, there is some wonderful culture and great community assets to introduce people to.  The maps are not just for people who live in the area to see what's on offer, but aimed at everyone, inside and outside the West Midlands. 

For example here's a wonderful open green space in Sparkbrook called Farm Park.  Take the link HERE for our coverage of Farm Park.

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How many people knew that Sampson Lloyd, founder of Lloyds Bank. lived in Sparkbrook.  Now, more people do.  Go HERE for more images. 

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There's amazing art on the outside of the Concord Youth Centre. 

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There's some great history in the classic architecture across Sparkbrook.

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There's a Peace Garden in memory of those who lost their lives at the Carlton Cinema. 

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The rich culture of Ladypool Road can be mapped as more businesses get involved. 

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By mapping and featuring major developments taking place such as this housing development by Morro Partnerships on Highgate Road, more people can be engaged and involved in the future of their neighbourhoods. 

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All of this with a community that's engaged and involved because they are empowered and given the tools and the support they need to help shape and promote the places around them. 

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Centres for Pride of Place to spring up all over the region

With more mapping of neighbourhoods, and with more Centres for Pride of Place opening up to engage and involve people in the rich culture around them, just think what this can bring to local communities, to cities and towns and to the region, socially and economically.

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An Academy and A Society for Pride of Place

Within Community Passport is everything needed for gathering and analysing the rich insight that will come from all those engaged and involved in nurturing Pride of Place.

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With both an Academy and a Society for Pride of Place, this wealth of valuable insight will be pooled, analysed and made available for all to use in the drive for more cohesive and inclusive communities, improved health and wellbeing and shared prosperity.

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For more details, contact:

Jonathan

jonathan.bostock@yourplaceyourspace.com

07432 637322

Revised plans approved for £1.9bn Birmingham Smithfield

Amended plans for Smithfield, including relocated markets and a new Manor Square in the first phase, and a commitment for a larger public park in the future, have today been approved.

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The vacant former Birmingham wholesale markets will now be crafted into a buzzing new residential, leisure, and entertainment district.

Lendlease’s £1.9bn hybrid scheme, which includes full detailed elements alongside outline future plans, is being worked on in collaboration with Birmingham City Council.

The 42-acre site will see 3,500 new homes, public squares and green spaces, new transit routes, c. 1M SF of offices with restaurants, a music venue, an art gallery, a hotel, artists’ spaces, and a primary school/creche.

Plans were due to be approved last month, but the application was deferred after campaigners and councillors critiqued the size of the scheme’s open spaces.

Lendlease has since committed to increasing the minimum size of a future Smithfield Park (below) by 23% to 0.8 hectares. However, this is still below the council’s guidelines for new resi schemes, which state that 2 hectares of open space should be provided for every 1,000 residents.

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A spokesperson for Lendlease said: “The council’s policy for green space cannot be met in this location, and that’s also been the case with other major schemes coming forward in the heart of Birmingham. We’ve aligned with national guidance that prioritises the most efficient use of brownfield land in urban locations. Our revised plans include a 23% increase in the minimum area for Smithfield Park.”

Manor Square, Smithfield’s main public space, remains the same, with chiefs deciding it to be sufficient to host large-scale events of up to 6,900–7000 people.

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PHASE ONE

A new market will be introduced to the north of the site and will be split into two buildings: Indoor market; Dining Hall; and the Open and Rag Market.

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In front of the market will be Manor Square, a public square set to sit above the buried remains of the de Birmingham family manor house and moat.

It will be celebrated as “the birthplace of the city" and will be able to host large-scale events for up to 7,000 people.

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A new commercial office building (G+11 floors) with a square-facing terrace and street-level frontages.

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An Energy Centre will be introduced to Dean Street, allowing for easy connection to the Birmingham District Energy Circuit (BDEC), a city-wide district heating strategy.

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'Smithfield Gardens' will become the site’s first neighbourhood, accommodating 429 (1-3 bed) homes over builds of seven to 15 storeys, with a garden, community room, lounges, play areas, and ten flexible commercial units.

It will front onto Central Boulevard, a major transport spine that will open the entire site - Meriden Street to Sherlock Street - and connect surrounding future neighbourhoods.

All of this will be complemented by 16,491-sqm of new public realm, tying together Southside, Digbeth, and the city centre at the earliest opportunity.

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With these hybrid full & outline plans now approved, a legal agreement will now need to be agreed to secure the following:

• 10.87% on-site affordable housing across the masterplan, rising to a potential 20% should grant funding be secured
• An intermittent viability review throughout the delivery of the development
• Securing the architect of individual plots through to completion of that plot
• Provision for a primary school (anticipated to be 2 Forms of Entry)
• Public spaces: Allow for the inspection of public spaces by the council for agreement & for spaces to be maintained as publicly accessible

Outline consent was also granted for the remaining zones, including Smithfield Park, with the wider site earmarked for more residential, workspaces, community hubs, a library, and a primary school. Watch our socials and map for more news!

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Birmingham Smithfield, images from Lendlease and Haworth Tompkins, dRMM, Intervention Architecture, Minesh Patel Architects and RCKa.

Approval for 83-home Eco-Friendly Community at 37 Icknield Street

Plans for a healthy and eco-friendly community at 37 Icknield Street, Hockley, close to the Jewellery Quarter, have been approved today (13 June 2024).

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The Community Village is an eco-friendly community of 83 homes with 50% affordability in a design exemplified by its stepped features, providing both private and communal terraces for lush vegetation to flourish throughout the structure.

Golden Bricks Estate Ltd. today gained consent to redevelop the site with a new six-storey building, comprising 26 one-, 41 two-, and 16 three-bedroom apartments.

Designed by Venturi Architects, The Community Village will be complemented by a range of shared and private spaces, including terraces, courtyards, a vegetable garden at level 1, terraces at 2–5, and a rooftop communal terrace for all.

There will also be around 100 bicycle spaces in addition to a basement for 58 vehicle spaces.

The Community Village was unaminously approved by 11 votes to zero, subject to a S106 legal agreement to secure affordable housing provisions.

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The Community Village, images from Venturi Architects.

You can view the development on our map. Also, feel free to follow us on our socials: X & Instagram.

Three Chamberlain Square - Itsyourbuild Site Tour, June 10 2024

Thank you to Paradise Birmingham and team for showing us around Three Chamberlain Square, a sublime new 189K SF office building in the heart of civic Birmingham.

Follow the post for images from Daniel Sturley, Stephen Giles, Elliott Brown, and Jack Babington.

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Photography by Daniel Sturley.

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Photography by Stephen Giles.

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Photography by Elliott Brown.

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Photography by Jack Babington.

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And how it'll look when completed: image from Paradise Birmingham.

The White Lion: 14-storey PBSA & a Retrofit to a Grade II building!

A significant retrofit to a heritage gem along with a 14-storey student infill building are planned at 34 Horse Fair.

The White Lion is a development from Scarlet's (Properties) Ltd. and has been designed by Glancy Nicholls Architects. The team seeks to introduce 182 ensuite student studio bedspaces into the emerging cluster.

A 14-storey infill block would be built behind The White Lion Public House, a Grade II-listed late-19th-century building that will be retained and retrofitted into the development.

The rejuvenated building will offer student amenities and ancillary staff facilities, including a welcoming new entrance and reception and a basement cinema room.

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Attached to the building's rear, which would see modern additions removed to facilitate it, would be a 14-storey red brick building containing ground-floor amenities, 86 cycles, and studio bedrooms (14 per floor).

Its rooftop would accommodate air-source heat pumps, a generator, solar panels, and lift overruns.

LUNA Students, part of Torsion Developments, is on board to operate the building, with amenities set to feature a range of lounges, laundry & post rooms, staff showers, offices, and an external courtyard.

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The application can be viewed and commented on here. The application number is: 2024/02669/PA.

The White Lion, images from Glancy Nicholls Architects.

You can view the development on our map. Also, feel free to follow us on our socials: X & Instagram.