Digbeth and the Birmingham City Centre
Enterprise Zone
Mark Barrow
Strategic Director of Development Birmingham City Council
Growing the City Core
• 1.5 million square metres of mixed use floor space
• 50,000 additional jobs • Over 5,000 new homes • Fine grain regeneration
Big City Plan - Digbeth
The Big City Plan identifies Digbeth as an area;
• For Growing Creative Business
• For Developing a Vibrant Community
• For Preserving History (Conservation Area)
• For Delivering high quality public realm
Key Opportunities for Digbeth
• Cultural and Creative Hub
• HS2 – Creating linkages with Digbeth
• Capitalising on the urban character of the area
• Digital District – Super Ultra-Fast Broadband
• Supporting the needs of local businesses and residents.
Key Developments in Digbeth
Birmingham Coach Station
JFK Memorial (Completion end of May)
Custard Factory
Typhoo Wharf
Beorma
Interconnect Birmingham
Deliver multi-channel, multi-modal movement and information system Three phases; • First Phase: installation of around 24 pedestrian wayfinding products (totems) in City Core
• Second Phase: role out across wider part of City Core including Digbeth. • Third Phase: extend the wayfinding system to connect New Street Station and John Lewis
Digbeth & LDO Southern Gateway
Jewellery Quarter
Snow Hill District Eastside
Birmingham City Centre Enterprise Zone
Westside
Birmingham Science Park Aston & LDO
Why Birmingham?
• Clear strategy for growth – Big City Plan
• £100m + investment in infrastructure to unlock key sites for growth
• Helping start ups and new enterprise in growth sectors
• Securing digital infrastructure
• Marketing the city internationally
Approach
• Consists of seven clusters of 26 sites based on the Areas of Transformation in the Big City Plan
• Focus on Financial and Professional services, ICT sector, Creative Industries and Digital Media
• Will provide:
– Investment via retained business rates to unlock development sites i.e. TIF model
– Simplified planning process via
two Local Development Orders – Support for Super (Ultra) Fast
broadband – Business Rates relief to support
SMEs
What's on offer?
All Enterprise Zones will benefit from
• A business rate discount worth up to £275,000 per business over a five year period
• Retention of business rate growth for a period of at least 25 years
• Simplified planning approaches for the zone
• Support for superfast broadband roll-out throughout the zone
Other support could include
• Enhanced capital allowances for plant and machinery, in a limited number of cases and subject to State Aid, where there is a strong focus on manufacturing
• Tax Increment Finance to support the long-term viability of the area
• UKTI support for inward investment or trade opportunities in the zone.
EZ Criteria
Criteria;
• Considered land/property available for development
• Either vacant, cleared and have plans for future development.
• Generating additional economic activity
• Broad locations that will not be dominated by retail development
• Targeting specific economic sectors
The Impact
• 40,000 new jobs – across range of growth
sectors
• Floor Space
– Once complete 1.3m sq metres including 700,000 sq metres office/commercial
– The re-use of 3.8 hectares of buildings/land
• + £2.bn GVA per annum • Increased business rates £70m
p.a.
Digbeth Local Development Order
• Proposal of two LDOs – Digbeth &
Birmingham Science Park
• Encourage inward investment through
streamlining processes for businesses
• Grants automatic planning consent for
certain development
• Enable changes of business use
• All changes subject to defined
maximum floor space
• Does not cover listed buildings
• Does not remove need for other
consents e.g. Licensing, Building Regs
etc.
Simplified Planning
Local Development Order – Timetable
• Agreed in principle by Planning Committee – 26th Jan 2012
• Consultation/notification with stakeholders, owners/occupiers, statutory and non-statutory consultees – Feb/March 2012
• Formal agreement by Planning
Committee • Draft to Secretary of State – April
2012
• If no intervention after 21 days, becomes adopted.
Next Steps
• Draft Investment Plan – to be submitted by LEP in
March 2012
• Local Development Order
– submission to Secretary of State before end April 2012
• Retention of Business Rates
– commences – April 2013
Investment for Enterprise Space: Jewellery Quarter and Digbeth
• £4m ERDF Bid – just approved; total project value over £10m
• Stimulate economic growth and job creation
• To run Spring 2012 - 2015
• Improvements to vacant, derelict, underused properties and sites
• Two levels of grant:
– Property Assistance: up to £100K
– Key opportunities (gap funding): over £100K
Questions