New Garden Square, Birmingham

In January 2017, the property regeneration specialist and ‘place-maker’ U+I submitted a planning application to Birmingham City Council for a major new mixed-use scheme.

In collaboration with Calthorpe Estates, U+I hope to redevelop an outdated commercial site into a scheme named New Garden Square. This will cover around 10 acres on the west side of Birmingham along the Hagley Road (A456), a main arterial route into the city.

The proposed mix includes:

Up to 400 residential apartments.
56,500 sq. m of office space.
Potential for a 100-bed hotel.
2,400 sq. m of retail space that can accommodate bars, restaurants and convenience stores.

At the heart of the proposal is a 180 x 30 m landscaped garden square, comprising a series of interlinked gardens and mature trees. There is also car parking for up to 900 vehicles, maintaining the number of spaces currently available on the existing site.

The plans explain how the scheme will regenerate an area that starts next to the Plough and Harrow on the Hagley Road and stretches down towards Francis Road, close to Five Ways island, and back towards Duchess Road. The development will retain the existing Grade II listed buildings fronting the Hagley Road.

Paul Patenall, Director at U+I, explained:

“New Garden Square is a £300 million regeneration project that will transform some tired office buildings in a fabulous location in the city. If planning is granted we will be looking at delivering the first phase of the scheme early 2020.”

Ralph Minott, Director of Development, Calthorpe Estates, said:

“The site of New Garden Square was one of the very early concentrated commercial new office developments brought forward by the Estate in the 1960’s and 70’s; nearly 60 years on modern offices, working practices, and our environment challenges require us to look ahead to the next 60 years and how we will challenge the way we work and live, as the city enters a new era of phenomenal change.

“We are hugely excited about the planning application and the masterplan vision we have completed with U+I, the consultancy teams and Birmingham City Council, and looking ahead to a successful regeneration of the site, which delivers not only quality building architecture, but well thought out landscaping and use of space to transform the area into a flourishing location and create something special for many generations to come.”