Introducing Smithfield (previously home to the Wholesale Market), Birmingham, UK

Take the post for details of Smithfield development and plans going forward. 

PROJECT DETAIL:

Demolition of the former Wholesale Markets is well underway, which will then make way for a mixed-use family destination. In January 2019, Birmingham City Council announced Lendlease as its development partner to deliver the transformation of the 17-hectare Birmingham Smithfield site.

Birmingham Smithfield is a £1.5 billion redevelopment project that will continue to position the city on an international stage.

Lendlease will form a contractual joint venture with the city council and lead the creation of an urban quarter that will include a new home for the city’s historic Bull Ring retail markets, a unique family destination including a leisure and cultural offer, a new public square, integrated public transport and more than 2,000 homes with a public park and community facilities.

The development of Birmingham Smithfield is part of the city’s Big City Plan, launched in 2010, which sets out a 25-year vision to grow the city centre by more than 25 per cent. As one of the areas of transformation, Birmingham Smithfield is located directly adjacent to the Bullring and New Street Station; and will be a short walk from the new High Speed 2 City Centre Terminus Station which is set to open in 2026.

The council and Lendlease will finalise the terms of the partnership, start the preparation of a planning application and produce a business plan for the site’s redevelopment before the formal award of the contract, which is expected to happen by the end of the year.

The first phase of the scheme set to include the new homes, the new retail markets building and public realm.

DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS:

Lendlease & Birmingham City Council

MASTERPLANNING ARCHITECTS:

Prior Associates

PHOTOS & IMAGES from Lendlease and Prior Associates:

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Revised plans lodged for £1.9bn Smithfield development

Amended plans for Birmingham’s new £1.9bn Smithfield quarter have been submitted.

The site will be crafted into a sustainable and buzzing new residential, leisure and entertainment district.

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These amended plans from Lendlease have been lodged to combat objections Historic England raised last year but also conform to pending changes to fire safety legislation.

Phase I will introduce new builds and tie Southside, Digbeth, and the city core at the earliest opportunity with a coherent new public realm.

This will see the formulation of Market Square, the entrance from the city core, a pedestrianised Upper Smithfield Walk retail street, and Manor Square.

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The proposed new market building, previously located above the buried historic Moat and Manor House of the de Birmingham family, has been shifted slightly north of the site to “avoid disturbance of buried archaeology”.

It will be split into two buildings: The Indoor Market consisting of Fish and Meat; the Dining Hall; restaurant and event spaces and the Open and Rag Market.

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Manor Square will now sit above the buried remains of the de Birmingham family manor house and moat & will be celebrated as the 'Birthplace of the City' with a landscaped space for live performances, arts and culture, festivals, pop-ups & night time excitement.

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Other new builds coming to Phase I include a new commercial office building adjacent to Manor Square.

The building has been bumped up in height (G+11 storeys) and now sports a Square-facing terrace with street-level frontages to Manor Square and Central Boulevard (more on that below).

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429 one, two & three-bedroom family housing, a gym, and flexible retail, will also be introduced (198 one, 219 two, 12 three beds).

The homes, which conform to the latest fire regulations, will be within the new Smithfield Gardens neighbourhood fronting onto Central Boulevard, a major transit and public transport spine that will open up the entire site - from Meriden Street to Sherlock Street - and connect surrounding neighbourhoods.

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On Dean Street, adjacent to the existing Travelodge hotel, an Energy Centre will be erected to allow for easy connection to the Birmingham District Energy Circuit (BDEC); a city-wide district heating strategy.

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Culture and music facilities WILL be located within one building at the corner of Manor Square, with leisure facilities set to be split into two new builds to the adjacent corner (more on that soon - as well as concrete plans for future phases).

These new plans are expected to be heard by Birmingham Council’s planning committee within the next few months.

Birmingham Smithfield, images from Lendlease.

BREAKING: Significant design changes to the £1.9bn Birmingham Smithfield development

Developer Lendlease and its team of designers have made ‘key design changes’ to the huge £1.9bn Smithfield development after concerns.

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The site, home of our historic markets and the ‘most important city-centre regeneration project in the country' saw Historic England raise objections earlier in the year over worries that the plans would ‘disturb significant medieval remains’ and harm ‘the historic cityscape’.

They recommended significant but ‘achievable revisions’, one that helps deliver a scheme that recognises the ‘power of heritage in successful place-making".

Changes have been forthcoming.

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The Bullring Markets, designed by David Kohn Architects alongside Eastside Projects, were due to sit above the buried remains of the historic moat and manor house of the de Birmingham family.

They have now been re-designed to be located further north over two plots of land, avoiding the need for disturbing the site.

Instead, it will become a new ‘Manor Square’ that will celebrate the ‘importance of the site as the Birthplace of the City’. It will host events and festivals, accommodating up to 7,000 people.

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Elsewhere, we've seen revisions to the proposed workplace building from Minesh Patel Architects & Haworth Tompkins, which now features one extra storey, active frontages, and a new Manor Square-facing terrace.

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Following the introduction of new pending fire safety legislation, all residential buildings have been rejigged to include a second staircase.

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The site’s culture and music facilities will be located within one building at the corner of Manor Square, anchoring Bromsgrove Street, with leisure facilities set to be split into two new builds to the adjacent corner, providing vibrant connections between Southside and Digbeth.

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All this and more will be submitted to the existing application in November 2023, complete with new CGIs. A Reserved Matters application will then be submitted sometime in 2024 once approval has been granted.

Birmingham Smithfield, images from Lendlease.

Plans for Birmingham Smithfield Are Now In!

EXCLUSIVE: Plans for Birmingham Smithfield are now in!

Detailed first phase plans include a new destination market, a state-of-the-art office, a health and wellbeing hub, and 547 new homes tailored for families.

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Here are the exciting plans for Birmingham Smithfield Phase 1, a once-in-a-lifetime £1.9b redevelopment from a Birmingham City Council & Lendlease Joint Venture.

Hybrid plans submitted in early December have now landed (in January!) and contain full detailed planning for Phase 1 and outline plans for future phases. These detailed plans include:

NEW MARKETS (Plots 5ABC) from David Kohn Architects and Eastside Projects

Bringing together the current Indoor and Rag Markets, this destination market will offer 13,301 sqm of spaces for live performances and events, day and night, along with places to eat, drink & socialise within the new dining hall and a landscaped rooftop garden overlooking Festival Square.

Located to the northern most point, the markets will provide maximum visibility for the new market areas from the commercial and retail heart of the city around the Bullring and St Martin’s Church.