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.