Paradise Circus spins into planning

Only a few weeks after I posted about plans to redevelop Paradise Circus, Putting Paradise back into the Circus, and the public consultation launched in February, developer Argent has submitted plans for the redevelopment which will transform the 17 acres around the site of the current Central Library, Plans lodged for development around Birmingham's Paradise Circus, £450m Paradise Circus development plan submitted.


Only a few weeks after I posted about plans to redevelop Paradise Circus, Putting Paradise back into the Circus, and the public consultation launched in February, developer Argent has submitted plans for the redevelopment which will transform the 17 acres around the site of the current Central Library, Plans lodged for development around Birmingham's Paradise Circus, £450m Paradise Circus development plan submitted.

2012/05116/PA

Land at and bounded by Paradise Circus Queensway and surroundings including Chamberlain Square, Parade and Paradise Street Birmingham B3 3HJ

Outline planning application (all matters reserved save for access) for demolition of all buildings on the site (save for the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial) and commercial led mixed use redevelopment of up to 170,012 square metres gross internal floorspace, comprising offices (Use Class B1a), retail and leisure units (Use Classes A1/A2/A3/A4/A5/D1/D2), concert hall (D2), energy centre (Sui Generis), together with a hotel of up to 250 bedrooms (Use Class C1), car parking, highways works (to include the closure of eastern arm of Paradise Circus gyratory), public realm improvements and associated works including alterations to public rights of way.

The redevelopment will see the demolition of the current Central Library, Copthorne Hotel and Adrian Boult Hall to be replaced by 10 new buildings around new streets and squares including a new concert hall to replace the Adrian Boult.  The £450 million project comes further to the recent creation of a City Centre Enterprise Zone unlocking £125 million of funding, http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2012/07/26/plans-lodged-for-development-around-birmingham-s-paradise-circus-65233-31474762/.

Subject to planning consent being granted later this year, a detailed planning application for the first phase of the Paradise development will be submitted in late 2013/early 2014.

The redevelopment proposal is based on the Birmingham Conservatoire moving a short distance to Louisa Ryland House on Edmund Street, with a new minimum 450 seat concert hall to replace the existing Adrian Boult Hall being created.

In total, the planning application comprises a gross internal area of circa 1.8m sq ft, making it one of the UK’s largest city centre planning applications submitted this year.
http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2012/07/26/agent-submits-450m-paradise-circus-plan/

The submitted plans follow the public consultation in February and significant work to develop ideas for the site from 2009 when Argent signed an exclusivity agreement with Birmingham City Council to redevelop the area.

Argent have a successful track record in Birmingham and their Brindleyplace development further along Broad Street, itself a 17 acre site, provided a similar mix of buildings responding to their surroundings and this experience provides a good clue to the scale and ambition of the Paradise Circus plans and an exciting idea to what the redeveloped site will deliver.  I do however hope that the space will not become private so that the reinstatement of streets and squares allows access to all being so close to the civic heart of the city with nearby Town Hall, Council House and new Library of Birmingham.  While the management of the site will be welcome this should be a space that is for the citizens of Birmingham and that Chamberlain Square remains public.

A strong sense of place has been achieved which responds to the surrounding area, particularly to the historic canal waterfronts. The new buildings show variety in their design, but are unified by scale, mass and eaves heights, and around these a series of key well-enclosed public spaces provides a legible and visually interesting network. Central Square, sited at the intersection of Brindleyplace's three principal axes, has a fall in level of approximately one metre from east to west featuring a series of strata with different uses, and a small amphitheatre is sited in the sunniest spot. Next to this, an elliptical glass café at the Square's centre terminates vistas into the site and provides a hub of activity and movement. Other views along a secondary axis end with a water feature and Miles Davies sculpture. Oozells Square's shallow uplit rill water feature bisects its central space diagonally, providing a calmer and more restrained atmosphere.

http://www.made.org.uk/images/uploads/Brindley_place_new.pdf

The development of the site which sits in the civic heart of the city and in the thoroughfare of people passing towards Brindleyplace and Broad Street will be developed in two phases.

Phase 1 will involve the majority of demolition works across the site, with the exception of the existing Copthorne Hotel which will be retained until the new hotel is built. All highways works to re-route traffic and all buildings south of the new Central Street will be provided, as will the Southern Square and the public realm which will link the site to Centenary Square and Great Charles Street Queensway

Phase 2 will involve the demolition of any remaining buildings, including the Copthorne Hotel and construction of all other buildings in the north of the site. Additionally, the Northern Square
and all other associated public realm will be formed.

The image below shows the various documents included in the planning application which provide information on different aspects of the application to show the scope of the application when making comments.

The following indicative images are reproduced from the planning application to encourage comments to be made on the application and to seek further information from the planning application.  The images include indicative images together with massing and planning images to show the scale of blocks, pedestrian and vehicle permeability and the site in relation to the wider city.  The full application should be read when making comments.

A report going to the City Council's Cabinet on 30 July highlights following consent enabling works would commence in 2015 with commencement of the main development on 2016.

The next steps are to secure the necessary consents, commence preparations for the land assembly process and conclude the legal and commercial arrangements for the scheme. This leads to the commencement of demolition and enabling works during 2015 and the commencement of the main development in 2016. The private report notes the positive progress made in developing the business case, detail on the proposed delivery arrangements and a budget which manages the project in a series of project stages through to the scheme being fully developed.

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/democracy/Pages/GetDoc.aspx?DocumentID%3dZ5sjJWLj4O8%253d%26MimeType%3dapplication%2fpdf%26DocName%3dParadise+Public+Report+Final.pdf