Public
Exhibition
If
you live locally, come along and see the plans.
Have a word with St Modwen, Advantage West Midlands and the
architects Barton Willmore
Computer generated image of Longbridge Town
Centre
Longbridge
North
•
A new local centre complete with food store together with a variety
of other retail and service uses, employment space, hotels and
leisure uses.
• A learning quarter with a new £84 million facility for Bournville
College, opening September 2011
• A 4.2 acre Austin Park at the heart of the centre, with cycle
lanes, footpaths, riverside seating and grass terraces.
• The River Rea will be returned to an open watercourse and will
flow through much of Longbridge North.
• Public transport improvements, dedicated bus routes and
enhancements to local transport infrastructure.
• A mixed range of 460 new homes.
• The Austin Centre community building primarily as a focal hub for
a host of community groups along with the Heritage
Centre.
Longbridge
West
•
A 62 acre Regional Investment Site with a mix of employment uses
mainly focussing on new high tech sectors and including an
extension to the existing Longbridge Technology Park.
• A mixed range of 375 new homes.
• An 11 acre Rea Park with pedestrian and cycle links to Rubery
Great Park.
• Business support services.
Computer generated image of Arrow Park
Note
that the Park is in the middle of the development, with the old
East Works on the left and Cofton Works on the right.
Longbridge
East
•
A new residential community with a mixed range of 750 new homes,
including sheltered housing for the elderly
• 11 acres of dedicated public open space including Arrow
Park
• Opening up of the River Arrow and enhancements to local
ecology
• A new network of walking and cycling corridors
• A community centre/library and local shops
A38
Road Improvements
The
removal of the bridge on the A38 Bristol Road South, to improve the
strategic road network and provide road access to the
site.
_____________
Longbridge Redevelopment
25th
May 2008
St
Modwen and Advantage West Midlands have announced expansion plans
for its £100 million Longbridge Technology Park.The UK’s leading
regeneration specialist has submitted planning applications for
Three and Five Devon Way, two buildings which together are set to
deliver a further 40,000 sq ft of Grade A research and technology
space on the Longbridge Technology Park, situated off the A38
Bristol Road South, is one of the first phases of the £750 million
mixed use Longbridge scheme.
The first two completed office buildings, the Innovation Centre and
Two Devon Way, have received strong levels of interest from start
up to medium-sized technology based businesses, with suites
available from 200 sq ft upwards. As a result the Innovation Centre
is already more than 60 per cent let, having secured 30 lettings to
date. Situated adjacent to the existing buildings, the proposed
Three and Five Devon Way will comprise 25,000 sq ft and 15,000 sq
ft of office space respectively. Both buildings have been designed
to complement the Innovation Centre and Two Devon Way. Three Devon
Way is a three storey building and Five Devon Way has two
storeys.
Work is expected to start on the new buildings before the end of
2008.
_________________
Bournville
College to Move to Longbridge
More than 468 acres is set to be transformed at Longbridge by St
Modwen and Advantage West Midlands. The pioneering vision for the
area includes the creation of 10,000 new jobs and thousands of new
homes alongside a quality public realm and an excellent public
transport system, all of which will establish Longbridge as a truly
mixed use model of sustainability.
Bournville College will relocate to new £84 million premises at
Longbridge it was announced, after the College entered into an
agreement with developer St Modwen. Work will start on the site
(North Works) earmarked for the development of Longbridge town
centre in mid 2009, with the purpose built 250,000 sq ft Bournville
College expected to be delivered by September 2011. Spanning 4.2
acres, the new educational facility will be located in a prime
position allowing easy access for students. The six storey
building, which is being designed by the Birmingham office of
international architectural practice Broadway Malyan, will be
prominently located on the junction of the A38 Bristol Road South
and Longbridge Lane and will have capacity for 15,000 students. The
new premises will bring together Bournville College’s existing
three campuses and will feature new state of the art facilities
including a learning resource centre, business school, construction
workshop, and leisure and sport facilities.
_________________
The
Overall Plan
The planning applications, representing £750 million of mixed use
development, have been submitted to Birmingham City Council and
Bromsgrove District Council. Covering Longbridge North, Longbridge
West and Longbridge East, together with improvements to the A38,
the applications respond to the Longbridge Area Action Plan (LAAP),
which was submitted to the Government in March 2008. The plan now
has to go forward to a Government Inspector where amendments may be
made. The plan then becomes a formal Development Plan Document
(DPD), which is then binding on all parties.
Spearheading the landmark regeneration of the former MG Rover
Works, joint landowners St Modwen and Advantage West Midlands have
sent out the strongest signal to-date that its vision of an
employment-led heart for the 468 acre Longbridge site is
significantly closer to becoming reality. It has also demonstrated
that this transformation will be driven by the principles of
sustainability, a new community and inclusiveness.
Bill Oliver, chief executive of St Modwen, said: "Longbridge is a
site with a world-renowned heritage and today we have moved this
area of the Midlands into a new and incredibly exciting era. The
potential Longbridge has to become a thriving economic hub and a
sustainable new residential community is now apparent; and it is
more than matched by the vision and confidence St Modwen and
Advantage West Midlands have in Longbridge as we enter this new
chapter in its history."Subject to planning approval, the next 15
years will see an additional 1.8 million sq ft of employment
opportunities for Longbridge, together with 1,980 new homes.
A new town centre just off the A38 Bristol Road South will form a
new heart for the community, and will be conveniently located
adjacent to the existing Longbridge train station.
Mick Laverty, Chief Executive of Advantage West Midlands, said:
"Today represents a major milestone for Longbridge. Having
consulted with the local community over recent years, all parties
involved in taking the project to its present stage are acutely
aware that there is a real sense of expectation and hope around a
brighter future of Longbridge."
"The submission of four major planning applications provides a
clear statement of intent, showing the scale and ambition of what
Advantage West Midlands and St Modwen expect to deliver over the
next 15 years, and highlighting the level of our commitment and
continued investment into Longbridge."
There will be a new learning quarter on the site earmarked for the
town centre, anchored by Bournville College which announced that it
will relocate to a new purpose-built £84 million educational
facility at Longbridge in 2011.
Landmark architecture will help to build a sense of place for
Longbridge and will act as a beacon for those entering and leaving
the area. Whereas landscaping and public realm will play a crucial
role in creating distinctive routes and spaces in and around
Longbridge, and will provide focal areas for recreation and
community interaction.
There will be a 4.2 acre Austin Park at the heart of the town
centre and an 11 acre Rea Park at Longbridge West. Longbridge East
will feature 11 acres of dedicated public open space, known as
Arrow Park at the core of what will be a new residential community.
Two of Birmingham’s long forgotten rivers, the Rivers Rea (North
Works) and Arrow (East Works), will be opened up for the first time
in decades and will be a prominent feature at Longbridge and
Cofton.
2008
2012
?
The
above artist's impression is looking from the Bristol Road towards
the Shopping area and Apartments, and in the foreground the opened
up River Rea.
Richard
Burden, MP for Northfield (Lab), said: "In setting out their vision
for the transformation of Longbridge, I welcome St Modwen and
Advantage West Midlands’ emphasis on their long term commitment to
the delivery of a mixed use scheme that is a model of sustainable
regeneration – for the benefit of the local community, the region
and beyond. Along with others, I look forward to seeing these
planning applications and discussing the details of what is being
proposed so that the regeneration of this area can be as successful
as possible."
The development straddles both Birmingham and Bromsgrove in
Worcestershire. Councillor Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City
Council and Councillor Roger Hollingworth, Leader of Bromsgrove
Council, said: "This is a hugely exciting project of immense
national importance; however the sensitively placed emphasis on
putting the heart back in the local community is absolutely the
right approach to putting Longbridge back on the map – as a place
where people want to live, work, visit and
invest."
_________________
Longbridge
Technology Park
The first phase of the re-development of the Longbridge site has
been operational for a few months now.
But was Officially Opened
on the 10th Dec 2008
It
all started in July 2005 when the Midland Bank on the Bristol Road
was demolished. The Austin Motor Company bankers were the Midland
Bank. In the early years and the company used to go into Birmingham
to the Main Branch to pick up the wages. Then because security
became a concern a branch office was built on the North Car Park
facing the Bristol Road. This meant that it was only a short
journey to the wages department in the General Office Block on the
Lickey Road. The only other building on the car park was the
Apprentice Club House (Hut). Most workers could not afford the cars
they were producing, so would travel to work by public transport,
cycle or walk.
One
landmark as you approached the works from Northfield was a Chevron
Sign which changed many times over the
years.
Sign
1951
Demolition work starts
on the Midland Bank (HSBC)
Clearing the site
starts in July 2005
The
first steel work is erected
The
steel work at night
Steel work
finished
Aerial
view in February 2007
June 2007
New building against the old landscape
Corner of Bristol Road and Longbridge Lane
Reception
Desk
So
North Car Park is now the Technology Park which is accessed from
Longbridge Lane via a new road called Devon Way. The building on
the corner is The Innovation Centre, which offers flexible serviced
busincess space. the three storey building of 45,00 sq ft offers
high quality office building specifically designed to provide an
environment to assist and accommodate the development of young and
new technology based businesses. It is linked to the University of
Birmingham which is only a few miles away. The innovation Centre is
able to tap into the research been done at the University, by
giving academics who are working on new projects a place were they
can have a base from which to work.
So
what does the brochure say:
The
building specification includes the following
Comfort cooling, this is a system that cools the offices without
getting draughts.
Raised floors, so all telephone and computer cabling is out of
sight.
Two passenger lifts.
Male, female and disable toilets on each floor
Kitchen facilities
Shower facilities.
The office accommodation is sub-divided into suites of various
sizes to allow choice and flexibility to all potential occupiers
from new start-up companies to established corporate technology
based occupiers.
There are 23 Suites on the Ground Floor which range from 194 sq ft
to 576 sq ft. Also on the ground Floor is the main Reception area
along with Meeting and Conference Rooms which can be hired by the
hour, having all the necessary Audio Visual equipment to use along
with Broadband connection. There are two Kitchens and one Shower
room.
On the First Floor the suites range from 205 sq ft to 872 sq ft.
There are two Kitchens and one Shower room available.
This new building offers young companies to, as the saying goes to
put their toe in the water and have a go, as the tenure for a suite
is on flexible short term leases.
At the end of this year 40% of the units have been taken, with
about 100 people employed.
The other building in the aerial view is for let to a single
employer, and it is hoped to let this building around March-April
2008. It is called Building Two Devon Way
There
is now development going on the Cofton Centre
The following are Press releases from St Modwen the
Developer.
Some of the Regeneration of the site will be done with Government
money channelled through Advantage West Midlands
ST MODWEN SEEKS TO CREATE MORE JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT
LONGBRIDGE
24 April 2007
PRG Europe, the UK’s leading supplier of lighting and projection solutions to the entertainment and events industries, is currently fitting out the 157,000 sq ft former MG Rover parts distribution warehouse, and will move in December.
The redevelopment of the whole of The Cofton Centre site could eventually create more than 1,200 jobs.
| St Modwen Developments Ltd is seeking planning consent to develop a range of industrial units on the former car storage |
Prospect of hundreds of jobs as Longbridge Industrial Scheme begins
23 October 2007
| St Modwen
Developments is seeking to create up to 300 jobs by the development
of nearly 75,000 sq ft of manufacturing and distribution buildings
in the £5.5 million first phase of The Cofton Centre, Longbridge,
construction of which is now underway. Planning consent has been granted for a total of 285,000 sq ft of new industrial development on MG Rover¹s former car storage site off Groveley Lane , part of the 340-acre car plant which St Modwen is redeveloping. The first two speculatively built units of 47,502 sq ft and 27,072 sq ft are scheduled to be completed late Spring 2008. Mike Murray, of St Modwen, reported: ³We are receiving strong interest in the scheme and are talking to a number of occupiers who see Longbridge as being ideal for their business. When the whole of the Cofton Centre is completed we anticipate it will provide more than 1,200 jobs. |
15 November 2007
Builders¹ merchant E H Smith has invested in the regeneration of Longbridge through the acquisition from St Modwen Properties, the UK¹s leading regeneration specialist, of the former MG Sports and Racing Building at the Cofton Centre, Longbridge.
The 20,715 sq ft premises enables the Birmingham-based family firm - the UK¹s third largest independent builders¹ merchant - to expand and take on up to 20 new staff. The new EH Smith branch in Longbridge - the company¹s 11th operating location - is set to open Spring 2008 to supply a wide range of building materials and services to the surrounding area.
John Parker, managing director for E H Smith, which was established 85 years ago and now employs more than 600 people, said: EH Smith is delighted to be setting down roots in Longbridge and looks forward to becoming part of the community. The company fully embraces the growth and regeneration of the Longbridge area, wishing to play a part in the investment of this up-and-coming part of Birmingham.²
Phil Yates, the company¹s regional director, commented: ³This is an exciting time for EH Smith, further investing in the city that has been its home for so long. With the ongoing rejuvenation of the area, the community of Longbridge has a terrific future with many opportunities.²
Jonathan Green, development surveyor, St Modwen, said: ³We are delighted with this sale which further endorses the growing appeal of Longbridge to companies wishing to relocate and expand.
This phase of development will create the potential for an additional 300 jobs and it is anticipated that the Cofton Centre, when complete, will provide more than 1,200 jobs.