Tate Birmingham? - contemporary art focus for southside

The Birmingham Post has reported on a feasibility study into developing a museum of contemporary art in Birmingham, Study into new contemporary art museum linking Arcadian with Digbeth, some three years after it publicised the idea in 2006 which was raised by the Ikon Gallery director Jonathan Watkins and Ikon chairman architect Glenn Howells.

The idea has received enthusiastic support from Tate director Nicholas Serota.

Research is now being carried out by Ikon with funding from the Arts Council England and Advantage West Midlands while Birmingham City Council has contributed £200,000 to enable Ikon to mount a programme of high-profile events in Eastside as a test bed.

Coun Martin Mullaney, cabinet member for culture, said: “I’m keen to support this. We want it to be on a par with Tate Modern and the Guggenheim in Bilbao.”
Coun Mullaney would like to see the museum on the site of the wholesale markets, to connect the area around the Arcadian with Digbeth. He would also like to see a film centre comparable with Liverpool’s FACT developed there.http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2009/06/30/study-into-new-contemporary-art-museum-linking-arcadian-with-digbeth-65233-24019943/

The proposal and study develops on ideas that were suggested as starting points in the Big City Plan consultation for an area titled Southside which would south of the city core linking the Chinese and Gay Quarter with the current markets site and into Digbeth. With the Wholesale Markets moving and a large space being created it would offer a central focal point to attract visitors to the Southside area and build on the creativity of Digbeth.

Mediterranean bar to spice up Eleven Brindleyplace

Property Week has reported that Birmingham restauranteurs Chris and Cos Papachristoforou who already run successful restaurants Cielo and Edmunds have leased 5,500 sq ft at Argent's Eleven Brindleyplace for an upmarket bar, Argent secures second Brindleyplace tenant.



The Eleven Brindleyplace development was launched last month and the new bar will be split level offering Mediterranean mezze-style menu and drinks in the 107,000 sq ft office scheme.

Transport Tsar, Mayor or Transport for Birmingham - solving the transport stranglehold

Estates Gazette has published a Birmingham Focus which EG writer Lisa Pilkington has commented on in her Midlands Property blog with a post titled Must try harder... That's the conclusion to the review of transport problems in the Birmingham Focus and reflects the increasing calls and desire for a figurehead to bring together transport away from the political football of party politics, achieving real progress for the residents, business and tourists of the Greater Birmingham area.

And that's a shame, as the city's transport infrastructure is much bigger than party politics; it has a real effect on the economic (and mental!) well-being of all those who live and work in and around Birmingham. http://www.estatesgazette.com/blogs/midlands-property/2009/06/must-try-harder.html

Lisa Pilkington is asking for comments on her blog but she suggests for inspiration the West Midlands Business Transport Group and also the quick-wins survey results on http://www.westmidlandsltp.gov.uk/ which are small improvements to local transport infrastructure that might make a big difference.

While Advantage West Midlands has done some work and West Midlands CENTRO attempts to focus on transport what we need is a figurehead to bang heads together and to take a leadership role on an issue that will increasingly make or break the future of the West Midlands and wider region. With the ongoing saga of the Midland Metro, the delay to redevelop New Street Station and issues of connectivity across Birmingham and the Greater Birmingham area we need a leader above party politics who can focus on the transport.

Transport offers a massive opportunity to embed the regeneration the Midlands has experienced over the past thirty years and to bring together more regeneration opportunities and to allow people to travel easily between and through the region. The successful lobbying to extend Birmingham International Airport's runway and the redevelopment of New Street offering a welcoming face to Birmingham will not achieve the dramatic success they could in attracting business and visitors as they do not tackle the confusing transport network around Greater Birmingham and the lack of transport connections.

Public Transport and building Birmingham International

My previous post, BIA runway approval starts ambitious growth plans , noted the successful approval of runway extension plans for Birmingham International Airport and the potential this has to turn Birmingham into a global hub with it's easy transport links to London and the whole UK. The success however won't be turned on light a switch when the runway opens.

Airportwatch has reported on the Birmingham Post report from June, http://airportwatch.org.uk/news/detail.php?art_id=3296, that showed that collective support by the City Council, Advantage West Midlands and Marketing Birmingham among others will be required to make airlines choose Birmingham airport above others; financial support would be key to keep airlines running while establishing routes.

One key issue and linked to the planning approval is the use of the public transport to travel to the airport with only 20% of passengers currently using public transport. Currently Birmingham International does not benefit from it's on-site station with no 24 hour rail service pattern and doesn not have a night bus network in stark contrast to competitor airports Manchester, Stansted and Gatwick.

If Birmingham want's to become a global hub and to encourage more people to use the airport both from within the region and as an extension of London's airport network and the wider country it needs to enable people to travel easily to and from it 24 hours a day using public transport. The High Speed Line will provide a service offering a real choice for Londoners to fly from Birmingham but this will only work if we can offer real public transport mobility within the Greater Birmingham area otherwise the runway extension may well be an extension too far.

BIA runway approval starts ambitious growth plans

Following my earlier posts on the proposals to extend Birmingham International Airport's runway (21 days before take off , Heathrow Terminal 6 - Birmingham International, All we want for Xmas is a runway extension) Hazel Blears as Local Government Secretary decided not to "call-in" the decision of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council to grant planning permission for the scheme.



Subject to signing legal agreements with the airport the project has full go-ahead and looks likely to be one of the last major airport developments in the UK with a future Tory government likely to block developments at Stansted and Heathrow airports.

This opportunity has led Birmingham International to reveal development plans with the Birmingham Post reporting Birmingham Airport plan to create super terminal with ambitious plans to double passenger numbers to 20 million a year with the two terminals knocked into one to attract Selfridges-style stores to the complex.

The development of the airport and it's ability with an extended runway to serve more global destinations together with High Speed connecting Birmingham and London in three quarters of an hour offer Birmingham as a major modern hub for the UK and should attract passengers, vistors and business to Birmingham.

Birmingham to lead 21st century railway revolution

Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary, has said the new high-speed rail line linking London to Birmingham will lead a revoluton in Britain's transport system, Birmingham can lead rail 'revolution' says Transport Secretary.

Adonis said the issue was how and when rather than whether and the cost. The inquiry set up to look at the proposed rail line, called High Speed Two, will make recommendations on the preferred route by the end of the year and will consider how services can be introduced into Birmingham particularly with the city's existing stations have little spare capacity.

AWM chief says road pricing still necessary

The Birmingham Post has reported that the head of Advantage West Midlands has told ministers at a House of Commons Inquiry that road pricing may be necessary to deal with congestion but if this happened it would need to be part of an integrated transport plan which would improve the transport network, AWM chief backs road-pricing to help to reduce congestion.

The view follows Ministers hinting they had finally given up on proposals to make drivers pay for using roads after Greater Manchester voted against their own proposals and the plans by West Midlands Councils in 2008 were shelved.

While the M6 toll road was a success at reducing congestion, and encouraged regeneration alongside it's route, there were concerns over it's high prices. With London the public transport network was very strong and capable of working alongside road pricing while other areas of the UK did not have the same level of public transport networks.