4.

0 Our Future South Central Plan

OUR FUTURE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAN
- THE VISION
In developing this study we have aligned our goals and
aspirations as closely as possible to those of the City Council.
In this way we hope to add further weight and legitimacy to
our proposals. We believe that the aspirations and guiding
principles of ‘Our Future City Plan’ policy document offers a
realistic and inclusive roadmap for the wider regeneration
of Birmingham and its neighbourhoods.
Our Future City Plan Themes:
• City of Centres: Birmingham consists of a number
of local centres that have grown together to create
the city as we know it. Some have been fragmented
by policy and or redevelopment and are in need of
reconnection and repair.
• City of Nature: Birmingham has many open spaces
but they are fragmented and sometimes neglected.
Develop an expanded and improved network of
public spaces to improve both air quality, access to
recreational space as well as a sense of place and
ownership.
• City of Connections: Connectivity drives, cultural and
educational exchange, business activity, residential
11
communities and ultimately sustainability. Improving
ST.GEORGE AND ST.CHAD
how we connect and communicate will drive growth
through efficiency at every level of socio-economic
activity. We must work to reconnect neighbourhoods
through simple measures starting with focusing
attention on people rather than cars. Remembering JEWELLERY QUARTER
why we enjoy walking down some streets while feeling
EASTSIDE
threatened in others. Building local communities
based on local needs and shared aspirations
CITY CORE
• City of Knowledge & Innovation: Allows us to make
the most of what we have to achieve the best
outcome possible. Although Southside is not home
WESTSIDE AND LADYWOOD
to a university it is home or adjacent to a number of DIGBETH
treasured cultural venues that act a training ground
for future artists, actors’ dancers. The sustenance
of these institutions is pivotal in building the next
generation of artists.
• City of Growth for all: Each local centre has its own SOUTHSIDE AND HIGHGATE
KEY
unique history, physical connections and micro
City Core as existing
economy. Each neighbourhood responds to the
centrally planned as well as local economic drivers City Core growth
to grow and flourish. Private investment can act as a
N
much need catalyst for economic growth.
City centre spatial structure showing the expansion of the City Core and the seven quarters
bigcityplan.org.uk
SOUTH CENTRAL
15
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
 LAYERS - CHINATOWN AND GAY
VILLAGE

Objectives: Support cultural diversity in the local Neighbourhood
and promote its different identities.
The South Central study area encompasses Chinatown, Hurst
and Hill Street. This neighbourhood is home to very different yet
vibrant local communities which have in the past been reflected
in the local architecture and streetscape to deliver a unique
sense of place. Each neighbourhood is an expression of cultural
heritage. The differences in culture and place are what makes
the area attractive to visitors and revellers and will become the
catalyst for further immigration / migration and growth.
poor public realm and seemingly very few restaurants, given
its billing as the heart of Chinatown (there are a large number
spread throughout a number of streets).
Located a just few minutes walk away from New St Station,
The Bullring, Smithfield, the O2, Royal Ballet and Hippodrome
(to mention a few), Southside’s urban renaissance may be just
around the corner. It has all the ingredients of success, it just
needs some initial investment, a resilient plan and political
support.

Over the last 30 years some of this uniqueness has been Diagrams and Photos: Neighbourhood area, community
lost through insensitive and inappropriate redevelopment. centres and halls, library, people voting, people in active
Chinatown has been dislocated from the rest of the city, eroded discussion , Chinese New Year, Gay pride march.
and scattered. Hurst Street is deeply underwhelming with very

VICTORIA SQUARE

CENTENARY SQUARE

NEW STREET STATION

BULLRING

THE MAILBOX

CHINATOWN

SMITHFIELD

South Central

Gay Village
GAY VILLAGE
Chinatown

Theatreland

Shopping District

City Centre

Smithfield

SOUTH CENTRAL
16
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
CENTRES

Objectives: Promote South Central as a culturally diverse
mixed-use neighbourhood with a unique vibe - A place
that attracts visitors, residents and investors.
Birmingham is a collection of centres (established
neighbourhoods), each with a sense of pride and
belonging that are loved by their communities. Each has
the potential to grow, evolve and become attractive as
places to locate new homes and employment space.
The planning and highway engineering of the 20th
Century has left a legacy of centralisation creating single-
use zones - retail, office, civic, industry, and social housing,
with traditional inner-city local centres disconnected and
negatively impacted by highways, congestion and poor
environmental quality.
Over the last 30 years, the introduction of more city
living, removal of parts of the former inner ring-road, and
rejuvenation of some of the neighbourhoods around the
central area has already started to create new mixed-use
neighbourhoods and to begin to repair a finer grain of
activity in our city.
Looking forward, the way we live, work and shop is
changing significantly and rapidly. The city needs to
adapt and decentralise to create a sustainable network
of mixed use neighbourhoods. Places with their own
specialisms, character, and uniqueness that offer a
range of amenities for local living and working with
easy walking, cycling and access to public transport.
(Edited from Our Future City Plan document from
January 2021)
ST.GEORGE AND ST.CHAD
1 Gay Village Nightingale Club
2 China Town
3 Digbeth Arena
4 Bullring
JEWELLERY QUARTER

EASTSIDE
BUSINESS CENTRE

CIVIC CENTRE
SHOPPING CENTRE

WESTSIDE AND LADYWOOD

DIGBETH

1 2

SOUTHSIDE AND HIGHGATE

KEY
City Centres

City Core growth

3 4

SOUTH CENTRAL
17
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
NATURE

Objectives: Make the Southside a more attractive place to served by a single park (Highgate Park 20minutes away
locate to. by foot). The linear park will not only improve connections
between adjacent neighbourhoods but improve air quality
Every desirable neighbourhood needs easy access to and access to green space making the neighbourhood
green space and public amenities to improve quality of much more attractive and liveable.
life. Its presence provides a range of direct and indirect
economic, social and environmental benefits, including
improved health and wellbeing, reducing air pollution,
urban cooling and storm water interception.

Historically Southside has lacked green space and is

characterised by a block pattern of closely developed
urban (predominantly industrial) plots. Adoption of the
city’s policy to green the A38 & Smallbrook Queensway will
have a big positive impact on Southside which is currently

SOUTH CENTRAL
18
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
CONNECTIONS

Objectives: Drive growth in the area by creating connections. can easily promote and direct connectivity at a pedestrian
level by improving the public realm and encouraging
Connectivity energises commercial and leisure activities, restaurants, cafes and businesses to locate along identified
driving growth and general activity. Connectivity can take desire lines.
many forms, from public transport initiatives, new cycle
routes and improved pedestrian routes, to internet access.
Footfall drives retail development in any location. Improving
pedestrian links to the busiest station outside London will
Proposed Green Way
make Chinatown and the study area as a whole, more
easily accessible and will drive more business to this part of Proposed Public Realm
the city. Greening the A38 and turning it into a linear park
Existing Public Realm
will eliminate a physical barrier that prevents Westside
accessing the new Smithfield Quarter via Chinatown and Primary Route
the Gay Village. Better connections will increase casual
Secondary Route
passing trade and help drive business, which will trigger a
positive spiral of growth, prosperity & promote tourism. We Anchors

SOUTH CENTRAL
19
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
ACTIVE EDGES

Locating shops, restaurants, businesses and front doors
at street level creates active frontages. Active frontages
make interesting active streets that encourage pedestrian
activity. Streets with no activities along them are
threatening and generally avoided by pedestrians. They
are places where untoward events can happen unnoticed.
Hill Street, between New Street Station and Smallbrook
Queensway is one of those places, yet it is the gateway
to Chinatown. It needs to change. We are proposing that
this street needs ‘fixing’. Active frontages need to be
encouraged, a pedestrian friendly crossing point needs
to be devised, an attractive pedestrian route needs to be
created - linking the Station with Chinatown.
Hurst Street through to the Gay Village is disappointing.
Street frontages are poor and uninviting, the public realm
in messy and vehicular access blights the pedestrian
experience. We propose:
• Hurst street is largely pedestrianised with limited/
timed servicing access only
• Street frontages are improved
• Signage which forms a major identifier in most other
Chinese quarters is promoted to enhance the areas
identity.
• The public realm is upgraded and improved
• The Arcadian is redeveloped to create active edges
that front the street

Active Frontages

SOUTH CENTRAL
20
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
PUBLIC REALM STRATEGY

Objectives: Creation of a unique sense of place.
The space between buildings is defined as the public
realm. It is accessible to all, and has a big impact on the
perceived quality of the streetscape and neighbourhood.
Areas with well-designed public realm are discernible by
the quality of planting, paving, street furniture, signage
and enjoy a clear sense of purpose. A good example in
Birmingham would be Centenary Square.
We are proposing that the following routes are in need
of significant upgrade to the public realm in conjunction
with the street frontages lining these routes:
• Westside through to Thorp Street to Smithfield and the
Indoor Market via a crossing across the A38/ O2 Academy.
• New Street Station to the Gay Village via the crossing
at Smallbrook Queensway.
• Bromsgrove Steet to the new Smithfield Plaza.
Upgrades should include:
• Surface finishes, street lighting, signage, street
furniture and planting.
Additional public space:
• Proposed formation of Chung Ying Plaza on Thorp
Street linking the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the
proposed residential tower.
• Proposed formation of Hurst Street Square (opposite
the Hippodrome).

ay
n sw
e
ue
/Q
ook
br
all
Sm
Hurst Street
Square
A3
8B
ris
tol
St
ree
t

et
re
St
ove
Secondary Public Realm s gr
om
Br
Primary Public Realm

Public Squares

SOUTH CENTRAL
21
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION
- SOUTH CENTRAL CREATIVE
QUARTER
South Central enjoys an impressive socio/cultural mix.
It also benefits from the adjacency of a number of
significant cultural venues which could be leveraged to
drive further footfall into Chinatown and the Gay Village
e.g., pre-theatre meal deals, meal deals offering discounts
on theatre tickets, meal/club deals with O2 Parking
facilities or with the O2 itself. With the A38 barrier removed
(it is being transformed into a greenway) shoppers and
revellers could utilise the multistorey carpark by the O2
and walk across the road into Chinatown and Smithfield
beyond.

• O2 Academy across the A38 in Westside

• Birmingham Royal Ballet in China Town
• Alexandra Theatre on Station Street
• The Old Rep on Station Street
• Dance Xchange, Thorp Street
• More to come with regeneration

These venues also provide a valuable training ground for

the next generation of performers, but to do this they
require continued patronage which is also to some extent Old Rep Theatre

driven by footfall.
NEW STREET STATION
Electric Cinema
Alexandra Theatre

Sunflower Lounge

The Victoria

The BCEC

Chinese
Community
Hub
Birmingham LGBT
CHINATOWN
DanceXhange
New Street Station

Hippodrome
Royal Ballet Glee Club
Chinatown Back to Backs

Missing Bar

Primary Connection
Chic

Secondary Connection
02 Academy

Nightingale
Venues
Village Inn

Central Node Point GAY VILLAGE

SOUTH CENTRAL
22
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
LINKING TO THE BIRMINGHAM ROYAL
BALLET (ASPIRATIONAL)

Cordia-Blackswan and the Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB)
share the aspiration to link their buildings as well as
making Thorp Street a more vibrant place.
Discussions to date with The Hippodrome, BRB & CBS
have concluded that the BRB is short of storage space as
well as local accommodation for performers. CBS & BRB
have discussed the possibility of linking the buildings .
This would have the benefit of creating private access for
artists to move between their potential accommodation
and performance venue.
1 Connecting the Birmingham Royal Ballet
2 Linking buildings above and below ground
3 Creating an Entrance
4 The canopy at Marylebone Station links to a hotel
1

2
Starter Units

Energy Centre

CHUNG YING PLAZA

Community Centre

THORP STREET
Theatre Entrance

Studio Studio Studio Lounge

Lobby

BIRMINGHAM
ROYAL BALLET

HIPPODROME BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET THORP STREET CHUNG YING

HIPPODROME PLAZA 4

SOUTH CENTRAL
23
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
SERVICING STRATEGY

All buildings require servicing and access. The old adage
of front and backs is still relevant. Servicing needs to be
thought about carefully when trying to create a hierarchy
of connectivity across the city, especially when dealing with
pedestrianised routes. Controlled servicing arrangements
can be employed to improve the situation within existing
streets. If city blocks are being redeveloped, servicing
buildings can be dealt with far more discretely in the form
of shared loading bays and grade level podiums.
Ideally the servicing of buildings should be considered
from the offset of any planned redevelopment to keep
pedestrians and vehicles seperate.
1 Servicing buildings can be dealt with far more discretely
in the form of grade level podiums.
2 Controlled servicing arrangements can be employed to
improve the situation
3 Street hierachy can be planned to control servicing to
tertiary streets
4 Servicing buildings can be dealt with far more discretely
in the form of grade level podiums
5 / 6 / 7 / 8 A hierachy of connectivity can mean shared 1 5
surfaces allow for pedestrians and cars to occupy a street
harmoniously

2 6

3 7

Pedestrianised Space

Blocks

Service Access 4 8

SOUTH CENTRAL
24
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
GATEWAY CLUSTER - MARKER OF
INTENT

The diagram below shows that there is already an

accumulation of existing high buildings at the Holloway
Circus roundabout which could be developed further to
aid the legibility of the city’s form .

Something is happening in South Cental. It’s a gateway

cluster of tall buildings and it’s only the beginning.

Nothing defines redevelopment intent like building a

tower. The tower will house 1000-1500 new residents all
using local facilities restaurants and bars. They will provide
a massive boost to the local economy and act as a catalyst
for further redevelopment and regeneration.

SOUTH CENTRAL
25
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
GROWTH - THE CITY BLOCK

The final block plan illustrates how South Central could

develop over the next 10-15 years. The framework plan
suggests that development would start in the top left
corner and work south. In reality regeneration is never that
simple. Ownership issues, leases and politics will get in the
way of such a clean and logical approach, so development 1 Birmingham Smithfield development implements a new
will be piecemeal. This approach will require a clear resilient city block system into which we can implement our design.
masterplan with a detailed and prescriptive block by block 2 Paradise Circus
design guide (each plot must adhere) which will need to be 3 Digbeth Rejuvenation 1 5
fully adopted if the final vision is to be achieved. The project 4 Barcelona City Grid
will need close governance to make sure it keeps on brand 5 Ørestad Development extending Copenhagen
and on track. A poorly implemented incomplete plan is 6 Barcelona City Grid
just a developers free for all, and will not deliver a desirable, 7 Greening the A38
sustainable and economically buoyant urban quarter. 8 Birmingham Centenary Square

2 6
O CT
NE
A

3 7

4 8

SOUTH CENTRAL
26
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
5.0 Macro Proposal
 OPTION 1 - CHUNG YING
PLAZA:
This is a proposal for a freestanding tower, • The base of the building is naturally lit.
situated amongst the existing buildings in the • Escape from the tower is straight into the
old Drill Yard site. landscaped garden.

Pros

• The set back of the tower would provide a

plaza that could link the Birmingham Royal
Lobby
Ballet with the tower.

BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET THORP STREET CHUNG YING

HIPPODROME PLAZA

A NG
AZ YI
PL NG
U
CH

CHUNG YING COMMUNITY HURST

PLAZA CENTRE STREET

SOUTH CENTRAL
28
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
 OPTION 1A - CHUNG YING
PLAZA IN PUBLIC REALM:
This is a proposal for a freestanding • Escape from the tower is straight into the
tower allowing the public realm to landscaped garden.
open up to the interior of the site if it • The site is permeable to Smallbrook
became available for redevelopment. Queensway (could be a con too).
• Big open plaza created between buildings
Pros in the block
• The set back of the tower would provide a
plaza that could link the Royal Ballet with
Lobby
the tower.
• The base of the building is naturally lit

BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET THORP STREET CHUNG YING

HIPPODROME PLAZA

E Y
TR IT
N UN
CE M
M
CO

H
A NG

U
RS
AZ YI
PL NG

T
ST
U
CH

ST
P

Active Frontages
AL AM
R
O

T
LE
B H
TH

L G
YA IN
O RM

CHUNG YING COMMUNITY HURST

I
B

PLAZA CENTRE STREET

R

SOUTH CENTRAL
29
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N
CYP

SOUTH CENTRAL
N E I G H B O U R H O O D P L A N