Think its about time this got a thread of its own considering detailed plans have been released and work is to start in the not to distant future.

Development: Edgbaston shopping centre
Architects: REID Architecture
Cost: £90m
Use: Mixed
Area: 9300 m2 (Retail & Leisure) 14,000 m2 (Office & Hotel)
Height: 16 storeys decending to 7
Project team: M&E, engineer Banners Gate, QS, The Back Group and structural engineer White Young Green

http://www.building.co.uk/Pictures/web/b/j/w/HAGLEYUP.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/572EdgbastonShoppingCentreRedevelopment(Phase2)_pic3.jpg

Certainly an improvement...

good one birminghamculture - looking much better. bye bye calthorpe house.

Didn't realise this had moved on as much as this. I really like the tall tower mirroring cobalt square. This will make a great gateway into the city.

Looks like the scheme has been cut down in size abit as the buildings look shorter than i thougt they would be. Looks OK, but only ok. Looks nice at night with all the lighting but the buildings themselves are fairly average judging by the daytime pic.

Sorry Dee im nicking your idea.

You can just about see where these are going to be situated at the top of the image - Should, or will act as a great medium sized tower and continue the little gradually rise in height of the buldings into the city center.

http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/birmingham/bm46.htm

Looking great! Is the end block the Marriott extension?

Looking great! Is the end block the Marriott extension?

I dont think so - Its seperated from the main hotel :dunno:

Well it's the only place the extension could be positioned - bound to be a ground level walkway into the new block.

Well the tower nearest to the hotel appears to match its style in colour so it is most likely to be the extension.

There are layouts on display in one of the vacant shops and these show the block nearest the Marriot is an extension of the hotel consisting of a banqueting suite and rooms above attached to the hotel by a link block

Seems the tower blocks are going the wrong way, they should be getting taller as you get closer towards Fiveways, and then over the road would be a nice 100m+ tower on the fiveways shopping centre site with a even taller tower on the Tramps site...well thats my own vision anyway :)

well with the marriot hotel being grade II listed, the towers couldnt slope the other way!

well with the marriot hotel being grade II listed, the towers couldnt slope the other way!


knock it down then

I do like these new renders. Anything is better than what we have at the moment. I just hope they're enough demand for a shopping centre so far out from the main CBD, although I guess this new centre will be popular with office workers in the area and for people in the nearby suburbs of Harborne, Edgbaston and Ladywood et al who don't want to venture too far into the central hub.

But overall Im pleased with the new plan, hopefully it will get tweaked and shaped before the final PP is submitted.

one thing that shocked me was when my mother used to work at the barclays bank there. i met up with her once for a bite of lunch and i was supprised to how busy the area was. it almost seems that between 12 and 3 pm all the office workers our out and decsend onto this shopping centre. i just wana know when the hell this is going to start!

The building their at the moment is incredibly dilapithated....This is a massive improvement...Is their a date for when it i'll go under construction..?..Or is this thinking too far ahead...

one thing about living in Brum is not to have very high expectation of anything actually happening for the common good in this bloody city. Patience is more than a virtue, its a way of bloody life here, followed by huge disappointment when anything remotely interesting is binned because of a moribund council that is still a fully signed-up member of the Flat-Earth Society :sleepy:

no no, just dont expect anything from the council....private sector work is fne lol

no no, just dont expect anything from the council....private sector work is fne lol


I should have been more specific in my damning. yes the private sector left to themselves are doing fine job; but its when the council get involved everything goes T.U.

This one I know very little about, is it due to start this year?

Although I can't find any links yet I did see on Midlands Today this morning that the Proposal had been officially approved and work was due to start asap with a completion date of early 2010!

They're not hanging around then!!

I have a cutting from the Birmingham Post dated 6 Jan 2005 which stated:-
"Birmingham Civic Society is urging landowners Calthorpe Estates to think again after
a second attempt to design a £90 million replacement for the centre failed to impress"

Unless the design has changed radically since then, I agree wholeheartedly with them.
I think it is an architectural mess to put it mildly. This scheme will do nothing to enhance the international reputation of Birmingham. In my eyes it is a real let down.
I only hope I am proved wrong.

So this is another devolpment we don't have the plans for then?

The plans i'm talking about are shown on page 1 of this thread. I just hope those are
not the ones BCC have just approved, but I fear they may be.

AJR, why do u say that, i love this development...... how can u say that it does not enhanse the area?

Well it's better than the stuff thats there at the momement, at least I think it is, some rather forgetable 60s rubbish that's died a death.

But the plans on page 1 not exactly got my heart racing. Unless they've changed them I suppose.

edited to add:

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/572EdgbastonShoppingCentreRedevelopment(Phase2)_pic1.jpg

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:YE-i0-XhRY9h0M:www.backfpc.com/images/projects/edgbaston.jpg

from Google search, but they are dead links...

We also don't have (up to date) plans for Arena Central, Masshouse, Matuniue Galleries, and that other one MAKE are doing.

And the BNS Deveoplment plans just seems to be some renders, with no information about the layout etc.

That's about 1/5 the city centre that's going to be changed, somehow, but we don't quite know how.

I like it too, although I think I can see where he (or she - I don't know!) is coming from - if it is all terracotta rainscreen it will look pretty dated soon (and I daresay look as tired as the current one does).

If it is with good materials then I like it. I hope they ensure that there is good movement between the Harborne side and the Edgbaston side by walkways and squares. It is a good sign that Reid are involved and also that there is an extension to the Marriott - I am sure that this would be of high quality if they have any aspirations to go 5*

Woody, it is only my opinion, but -

1) The hotel extension does not complement the existing one (which I love)
2) It looks too much like a sixties high rise housing estate
3) The tall block should be 26 stories high and not 15

but this scheme surrounds a 3 storey tierd plaza surrounded by shops and cafes..... the disign is different and far from regular which i like .....and also the towers rise from 5ways up the hagley road....i just love it!

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/572EdgbastonShoppingCentreRedevelopment(Phase2)_pic1.jpg

I think they're going the wrong way, big one at the juction I would have thought?

Of course, that's where the Tram going to isn't it? Which should do them the world of good.

no, the biggest one is further down hagley road....climbing away from the marriot

Well, I suppose the shapes of them is alright, personally I'd have stuck a nice spire, wound thing or something on the top of the tall one to make it a little more intersting, but i'm not paying for the thing I suppose.

Edgbaston shopping centre? Ah, happy memories of nights out at Faces. With its ludicrously hopeful VIP area.

A common mistake Mr Walnuts. Was Faces not in Five Ways Shopping Centre?

A common mistake Mr Walnuts. Was Faces not in Five Ways Shopping Centre?

Ah yes, I was assuming FWSC and ESC were one and the same thing.

Where is ESC then? The one over the road? I vaguely remember eating in a decent curry house there in the early 90s and the only other person there being Alf out of Home and Away.

Was that JJays by any chance? Or Regards?

ESC is on the Hagley Road.

I hear there is aplan in offing for Auchinlecht Square too

there has been a plan in the offing for Auchinlect square for ages...since 2003 i believe

Was that JJays by any chance? Or Regards?

ESC is on the Hagley Road.

Ah, pretty sure it was JJays, actually. This was a while back, don't know if it is still there.

I find the whole Hagley Rd area quite impressive - good mix of impressive office buildings / hotels / places to eat and drink. Must be the most impressive route into the city?

JJays was good - it has moved further down the road out of town (only a few hundred metres though).

Hagley Road is not bad but VERY congested and gets a little too wide at one point IMO.

too wide? where?

At the crossroads with (Vicarage?) Road? 3 lanes in either direction. Horrible.

Here are the details

Calthorpe Estates has been given the green light by Birmingham planners for the redevelopment of the former Edgbaston Shopping Centre.

The decision, made yesterday, will kick start plans for the £110m gateway project, the largest regeneration scheme for a principal gateway into Birmingham.

Calthorpe will tear down the ugly 1960s built 53,846 sq ft shopping centre and adjacent 73,700 sq ft redundant office block and replace it with a 420,000 sq ft retail led scheme that will be rebranded as Edgbaston Galleries.

The development will include a 50,000 sq ft foodstore, plus 58,715 sq ft of shops, alongside office, leisure and hotel space with car parking for 800 cars.


Martin Taylor, development director at Calthorpe Estates, said: "Our proposals for Edgbaston Galleries will transform the area and provide a truly aspirational destination for retail and other business, shoppers and residents alike.

"As part of our plans, we have undertaken a period of consultation with the local community, who are enthusiastic for a high quality mixed-use scheme."

The scheme is the central focus of the new vision for the Hagley Road/Five Ways area for which an extension of Birmingham's Metro tram system is planned.

Calthorpe hopes to be on site early next year with completion due in 2010.

good another project finally looking like moving off the drawing board

There's a pic in this morning's Post.Average I would say.

Same as the stuff on page 1 of this thread?

Better average than 'orrible, I suppose.

But it seems like a strange place to put a shopping centre anyway, big supermarket, little shops for the luchtime break of the workers, but for anything else wouldn't you just go the further mile(ish) into town?

It's local shops for local people. like a post office and Boots etc i expect. + catering for all the offices that are there

Another big foodstore??

There's a pic in this morning's Post.Average I would say.

I reckon it looks pretty good. I don't think this location should have anything too outrageous (given the Calthorpe Estate and conservation area etc)

its terms of transport nodes, i cant help but feel that there should be an effort to make fiveways one of the densist parts of the city....its on a main bus route, busy commuter station, gateway location, i feel this location should really be better used with a much higher dinsity..... maybe even at the cost of conservation zones to a lesser extent!

Well, the density will increase with this development, and the Auchinleck one will bump density up too, as well as the new Chamber buildings and the new Calthorpe House things will be pretty dense, and have excellent transport links. BST down the road and Icknield Port Loop will also up the ante.

Hell, you could get there by boat, train, helicopter, tram, bus and car!

Hell, you could get there by boat, train, helicopter, tram, bus and car!

Seems incredible but true! :)

this is what i recon should be done at 5way

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/woodhousen/5ways.jpg

orange = currently being developed
red = site that should be redeveloped with high-density...prefer highrise....developments

bit of an update from down on the streets.

edgbaston shopping centre: pinewood studios, the big furniture store which takes up a few units closest to the marriot, is having a closing down sale. so things are moving here.

five ways shoppoing centre: lots of empty units. on the broad street end theres only boots left open.

Thanks for the update.

I'll get some pictures to clarify just so people who can't make can feel happy. I'm gunna based around that area for the next two weeks so I'll get some snaps.

Yet another Property Week post, this time on Edgbaston:

The cutting edge

Edgbaston has landed Birmingham's biggest office letting for two and a half years.


28.04.2006
By Sean McAllister

It is ironic that the biggest office letting in Birmingham in the last 30 months has landed in Edgbaston. For more than a decade the area has become a forgotten office location. The city's property community prefers Brindleyplace and proposed schemes such as Colmore Plaza and new opportunities in Eastside.

But the Big Lottery Fund took the entire 58,340 sq ft (5,420 sq m) Apex House on Five Ways roundabout, which was refurbished by landlord Wrenbridge nine months ago. It seems Edgbaston should be taken seriously again.

The suburb, which is just a mile west of the city centre, has become a sleepy backwater.

‘In the 1970s and 1980s Edgbaston was the area of most development in Birmingham,' says Geoff Thomas, regional chairman at DTZ and adviser to local landlord Calthorpe Estates. ‘But they ran out of development sites because it is a conservation area. One of the reasons Brindleyplace was so successful was because it provided the stock that Edgbaston could not.'

Refurb mania

That is changing. Edgbaston is benefiting from refurbishment of its 1980s property in addition to development proposals that will replace its ageing 1960s offices. The trend was started by the 150,000 sq ft (13,935 sq m) refurbishment of Tricorn House by Commercial Estates Group.

The group refurbished one 15,100 sq ft (1,400 sq m) floor in early 2005 that was let to Money Advice Trust at £16.50/sq ft (£177.61/sq m). Previously rents fetched only £12/sq ft (£129.17/sq m). It is now refurbishing a further 30,200 sq ft (2,806 sq m) with a quoting rent of £17.75/sq ft (£191.06/sq m).

Princeton Investments is refurbishing the 73,000 sq ft (6,782 sq m) neighbouring Cobalt Square in phases, while developer Heathbury has refurbished 40 Vicarage Road, a 17,801 sq ft (1,654 sq m) office building.

The latest building to go under the knife will be 54 Hagley Road. Developer and building owner Capital & Counties plans to refurbish 100,000 sq ft (9,290 sq m) of the 142,500 sq ft (13,190 sq m) office complex, which is vacant.

It has planning permission for a new front entrance and double-height reception. Lifts, toilets and shower facilities will also be added, and Capital & Counties also wants to raise the car parking ratio. It could be on site in the summer and complete construction a year later. Quoting rents are around £18/sq ft (£193.75/sq m) - a £10/sq ft (£107.64/sq ft) discount to Birmingham city centre.

John Griffiths, director at GBR Property, says: ‘If you look at the differential in rental levels and the amount of development between Edgbaston and the city centre over the last 10 years you realise Edgbaston has been moving at a different pace and needs a proper kickstart.'

This may be provided by Edgbaston's majority landowner Calthorpe Estates. It oversees a 1,506 acre (610 ha) estate that dominates Edgbaston and has been in the Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe family since 1717. It became a fashionable residential suburb in the 1800s. However, the Estate also has 99 acres (40 ha) of commercial land with 2m sq ft (186,000 sq m) of offices out of a total Edgbaston stock of 2.7m sq ft (250,800 sq m).

Calthorpe Estates has been criticised for being a dormant landlord but it now has a £337m development pipeline with 324,320 sq ft (30,130 sq m) of offices and a 387,500 sq ft (36,000 sq m) science park. The first to come out of the ground should be the 102,580 sq ft (9,530 sq m) Calthorpe House, which will be built on the site of the 1960s Donne and Nettleton House on Calthorpe Road. Construction of the £37m office scheme is scheduled to start in the autumn for completion in 2008.

Construction Drive

Next will be 60,280 sq ft (5,600 sq m) of offices on the 9 acre (3.6 ha) £100m Edgbaston Mill mixed-use scheme, due for completion in late 2008. This will be followed by 161,460 sq ft (15,000 sq m) in two office blocks on the £110m Edgbaston Galleries retail-led scheme (see p92) due for 2010 and then the £90m University Science Park Pebble Mill that will provide 387,500 sq ft (36,000 sq m) by 2012.

The most ambitious will be a 238,606 sq ft (22,167 sq m) office complex called Commerce Point developed in a joint venture between the Chambers of Commerce and the Langtree Group. The £80m scheme on the site on the Chambers' offices on Harborne Road comprises three office buildings, including a 168,855 sq ft (15,687 sq m) 12-storey tower. Work could start in early 2007 for completion in 2009.

‘At nearly 250,000 sq ft, it could represent two and a half years' worth of Edgbaston's take-up and that's the concern,' says Ross Campbell, head of Birmingham office agency at Lambert Smith Hampton. ‘But the first office building that is speculatively developed will steal the high ground and others may not have the appetite to compete against it.' Calthorpe is still debating whether to develop Calthorpe House speculatively or wait for a prelet.

‘It could be built speculatively,' says Thomas. ‘The market is such that I'd be confident it would be prelet by completion.' In fact, he predicts Calthorpe House could achieve rents of £23/sq ft (£247.57/sq m), if the city centre rents as expected reach £30/sq ft (£322.92/sq m).

Calthorpe is in a fortuitous position as landowner for most of Edgbaston. Martin Taylor, development director at Calthorpe Estates, explains: ‘By controlling the land you can, to a degree, control the whole office pipeline.'

Commerce Point falls inside Calthorpe's boundary but the landowner has given its blessing to the scheme even though it could compete with Calthorpe House and the offices at Edgbaston Galleries.

Chris Monk, partner in charge at King Sturge, also favours speculative development. ‘Both these together will lift Edgbaston back to where it used to be,' he adds. The confidence is justified. Edgbaston benefits from cheaper parking than the city centre, good local demographics and Birmingham's only Michelin-starred restaurants, Simpson's and Jessica's. All the westward arterial roads pass through the suburb and in 2011 Hagley Road will be the terminus for the two-mile extension of the Metro light rail system that will provide a 13-minute journey time to Snow Hill. It has already attracted the Big Lottery Fund so it could hit jackpot with other occupiers.


Commerce Piont


Value: £80m
Developer: Chambers of Commerce and Langtree
Size and usage: 238,606 sq ft (22,167 sq m) of offices
Details: New build on current Chambers site
Completion: 2009



Edgbaston Mill (formerly Tally Ho!)


Value: £100m
Developer: Calthorpe Estates, Cordwell and Redrow
Size and usage: 450,000 sq ft (41,800 sq m), including 60,280 sq ft (5,600 sq m) of offices, 28,525 sq ft (2,650 sq m) of retail and restaurants, 32,300 sq ft (3,000 sq m) of leisure space and a 60,280 sq ft (2,650 sq m) hotel on a 9 acre (3.6 ha) site.
Completion: Late 2008



54 Hagley road


Developer: Capital & Counties
Size and usage: 100,000 sq ft (9,290 sq m) of the 142,500 sq ft (13,240 sq m) complex to be refurbished
Completion: Summer 2007



Calthorpe House


Value: £37m
Developer: Calthorpe Estates and Barberry
Size and usage: 102,580 sq ft (9,530 sq m) of office space
Details: New build on the site of Donne and Nettleton House
Completion: 2008



University Science Park Pebble Mill


Value: £90m
Developer: Calthorpe Estates, Advantage West Midlands, Birmingham City Council and the University of Birmingham and the Central Technology Belt
Size and usage: 387,500 sq ft (36,000 sq m) science park on a 12 acre (4.9 ha) site
Details: The former site of the BBC studios
Completion: 2012



Cobalt Square

Developer: Princeton Investments
Size and usage: 73,000 sq ft (6,782 sq m) refurb
Completion: Ongoing



Edgbaston Galleries

Value: £110m
Developer: Calthorpe Estates
Size and usage: 430,560 sq ft (40,000 sq m), including 161,460 sq ft (15,000 sq m) of offices and 08,715 sq ft (10,100 sq m) of retail and leisure
Details: New build on the site of Edgbaston shopping centre
Completion: 2010



Tricorn House

Developer: Commercial Estates Group
Size and usage: 150,000 sq ft (13,935 sq m) of which 15,100 sq ft (1,403 sq m) is already refurbished. Another 30,100 sq ft (2,796 sq m) is being refurbished.
Completion: Ongoing

Great news but one question - why is is going to be another 6 yrs for the Pebble Mill site to be built? Is it going to be wasteland for such a long time? Ridiculous!

i think its going to be 6 years until completed, as different plots of land will be sold of at different times as and when they ecome available

I think the whole area of Five Ways needs to be developed into a large transport hub. Maybe a bus station, improve the train station and work on the roads

well wat would u wana do to the roads???

Wel it gets very congested round there and the chance of potholes on a congested road is enormous just take the M6 for example. I have already noticed little pockets opening up so if they could do what they are doing to some roads in Germany where they mix rubber and volcanic ash along with some of the usual tarmac, then it will be very difficult to break up.

Five Ways train station needs vast updating and improving. When BNS gets redeveloped then Five Ways should be made more modern because the stair cases are encased in drab rippled glass with the corners constantly smelling of piss.

A bus station should be placed there on an area which doesnt get quite congested and maybe a coach station.

How about an international airport seeing as I'm going off the beaten track here.

Looking very grimy on this fine summers day
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%206/PICT003516072006.jpg

Some nice dense Five Ways photos to cheer us up though.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%206/PICT003116072006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%206/PICT003216072006.jpg

those alst two pictures are really good i like a dense photo!! the 2nd building from the left could do with a reclad its got that stone effect!

That's coming down Baggie! To be replaced with a similar height glass one.

oh that cool is there any renders doing the rounds?? i really like hagley road as you come into brum because it has a skyscraper alley feel to it with tricorn house and the sorts i suppose a bit of an american city feeling! with five ways getting rebuilt aswell with maybe some towers skyscraper alley will be even more prominent!

Try page #1 of this thread Baggie!!

I thought Tricorn House was getting a total reclad but it looks like it's just the ground floor that's having the spruce up. The 2nd phto makes me dizzy :nuts:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%206/PICT003816072006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v173/Robdann/Birmingham%206/PICT003716072006.jpg

That's coming down Baggie! To be replaced with a similar height glass one.

First the Post and Mail building now that one, someone dosn't like black building do they? Seems a shame in a way, although it's not a great building, couldn't they just knockdown the little brick building and put the glass one there?

(and why isn't it taller?)

oh i see what you mean morestoreysplease it looks a bit smaller than whats there now actually but as the render is from an awkward angel i suppose you cant really pass judgment!

Another big foodstore??
I was told this was going to be a waitrose.

Hopefully this be getting started soon. It has planning so it can only be minor details holding thing up.

Got to admit this is one of my favorites.

This area needs a facelift ASAP, but I'll be sad to see the Indian restuarant go.

Although I live near by can't say I ever go there other than to the bank. I find it much quieter than going into town. But am looking forward to it I think it will be a big success.

i jate t tell you this, but there is MAJOR issues holding this beauty up and however much it pains me to say this, i dont think it will be happening in this form!

I wondered why things had been slow with this. What sort of problems or is this little circle of trust that gothic speaks of from time to time holding you back?

i jate t tell you this, but there is MAJOR issues holding this beauty up and however much it pains me to say this, i dont think it will be happening in this form!

Hi woody, I'm sure you can't say what, just to be clear though, your talking about Edgbaston galleries ? not Auchinlech Square, which is pictured above also, as this development seems to have fallen off the radar too

yes, im talkin about edgbaston Galleries

i cant go into much detail, but the entire project hinges on 2 things, a hotel and a foodstore!

lets just say that the very same that tesco and asda are in down the road, calthorpe are the 3rd player.... lets just say a little too many foodstores to go round!

This area needs a facelift ASAP, but I'll be sad to see the Indian restuarant go.

Do you mean Jay Jays? That relocated further up Hagley Road ages ago MysterE - great renovation.

Yeah, it was that one, gosh, just proves how long I haven't been there, the Bilash in Knowle is my balti hotspot ever since I moved/worked toward Moseley/Solihull.

would be a real shame if this one didn't happen, or gets put on hold, would really improve the area, i think the edgbaston shopping centre is the absolute pits!! I suppose the only consolation is thats its not directly in the centre of town, so not everyone has the misfortune of seeing it!

Ever noticed how much land the 5ways Broadway building occupies at 5ways? It doesn't offer especially large floorplates either compared the quantity of land it takes up and the Tesco is an awkward shape too.

Now, if Tesco promised to move across the road to Edgbaston Galleries, Asda could build the Spiral Tower above their store and Broadway could be knocked down and replaced with a 200 metre tower on the 5 ways ridge!

Easy peasy

Ever noticed how much land the 5ways Broadway building occupies at 5ways? It doesn't offer especially large floorplates either compared the quantity of land it takes up and the Tesco is an awkward shape too.

Now, if Tesco promised to move across the road to Edgbaston Galleries, Asda could build the Spiral Tower above their store and Broadway could be knocked down and replaced with a 200 metre tower on the 5 ways ridge!

Easy peasy

that would be really sweet if it happened, if only things were that simple

foxtrot for ken hardeman's job!! who's with me?

:lol:

it would be great, but clathorpe and tesco have NEVER got on... i really do hate tesco!

What happened to Waitrose, surely they have a different customer base and are not affected by the Tesco/Asda proposals?

I can see tesco occupying the entire the country and turning into a concentration camp full of thier own. I wholeheartedely agree with you there Woodhousen.

Its a shame that so many developments seem to hinge on letting space to supermarkets,

surely Calthorpes can make money out of the scheme without one, other developers seem to manage, why dont they just add some residential, afterall that side of five ways is very desirable

What happened to Waitrose, surely they have a different customer base and are not affected by the Tesco/Asda proposals?


There are only two Waitrose in Birmingham, they have a very strict policy about the areas they put stores in and the customer base. The two Birmingham stores have been there for decades and are exactly the same as the day they were built. One is in Hall Green, on the Stratford road by the Bull's Head Pub and the other one is in Sutton Coldfield. I must admit I love shopping in Waitrose, when I can afford it.

^^The Waitrose in Mere Green is considering moving or just shutting down. It's in a bad location. I don't know much about that though.

From the MIPIM website:

The plans, which have received detailed planning consent from Birmingham City Council, will see the existing 1960's office and shopping scheme demolished later this year and replaced with a new 424,500 sq ft development boasting 159,300 sq ft of Grade A office space, 57,000 sq ft of retail (including a food store) and leisure, hotel accommodation and 800 car parking spaces

Looks like the units will be vacated before long! This ties in with what I have heard from Calthorpe that they are in the process of appointing a demolition contractor.

Hopefully calthorpe house will be under construction then the area will be a real building site.

A council document showing disposal of land on Harborne lane adjacent to Edgbaston Shopping centre.
http://80.86.36.120/vault/XDDocStore_6/0202655_Surplus%20Property%20Report%2023%20Plan%20010307.pdf

This report seeks to declare a site surplus to highway or transportation purposes, thereby enabling it to be made available for other Council purposes or to be sold on the open market.
http://80.86.36.120/vault/XDDocStore_6/0202845_Harborne%20Road,%20Edgbaston%20-%20surplus%20site.pdf

Looks like co-ordination with the moves Bio has noted.

I would've thought that Edgbaston Galleries would be perfect for a Waitrose; you'd get all the middle class residents of Edgbaston and Harborne shopping there, not to mention the trade from people working in offices on and around Five Ways.

Alternatively, it might be a good place for a Whole Foods Market (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com) (who bought Fresh and Wild, and I've heard are expanding in the UK).

This is coming along nicely.

http://www.fifty4hagleyroad.com

i was around here the other day, thort there was sum nice high rise buildings, though sum could do with a good clean.

When I used to live in Bearwood I used to spend hours sat in stationary traffic on the hagley road so saw loads of the Edgbaston Shopping centre site.

Hope this scheme goes to plan as will be a massive improvement on that site

It looks very boxy if i may say now thats not a common feature of todays architecture is it? plus the great tanoshi bar i will miss so much. it might be smart & clean but its another dissapointing souless development.

Modernisation doesnt have to equals no imagination does it?

It is boxy but there is something about it that is also quite appealing. It will fit in incredibly well too which is good.

I just want to see this thing get done now...

I believe the Phillpots closed last week which is an indication that they are clearing the remaining tenants out.. presumably in preparation for demolition some time soon.

This may or may not be relevant, but the Marriott chain of hotels has just been bought.

Could this give them the certainty they need to build their extension?

depends on their new owner.... certainty on expanding, or certainty that the new buyer may not have the funds to extend straight away after such a purchase!

just went past this area and there only appears to be two business left open !!

well, there is one thing i can say for certain, and thats this site WILL be redeveloped. however, its use, layout and quality totally depends on what its uses are AND the outcome of the public enquirey for the tesco/asda developments down the road!

And from what I heard the site will be demolished soon, but it sounds like the plot may be left vacant. A surface-level car park?

seems odd to demolish and loose rental income when you could wait til your sure of what your building and keep the rental comign in from sitting businesses....

not sure Calthorpe's are that competent

well i have a feeling that the CPOs were already issued after planning approval and so it would just be abandoned land is they didnt demolish it. atleast making it into a car park (however unsightly) would atleast give it some profitability

I dunno if it would be unsightly in comparison to what's there! ;)

I think Woody's right - the businesses will have already made relocation plans, and when it comes round to it, it will be a lot easier, quicker and possibly more fruitful when developing the site in future. If, for example, an investor/tenant came forward, then the construction could start as soon as planning is given, whereas it could take a while to demolish first.

Unfortunately brum2003 Calthorpe do not have to do anything to make money, that is why they are slow at doing things. They always take a very long-term view of things too (they have been knocking around for 300 years I think!).

Still, the signs are that they are moving into a gear not seen in them since the 70's!

http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/mail/news/tm_headline=shopping-centre-plan-is-hit-by-delay%26method=full%26objectid=18976853%26siteid=50002-name_page.html

Shopping centre plan is hit by delay

BIRMINGHAM'S newest shopping centre is still up to four years away from a potential launch date.

The £110 million Edgbaston Galleries scheme - the next key stage of the city's rebirth - may not now be completed until 2011, say landlords Calthorpe Estates.

The huge new shopping complex, which will replace Edgbaston Shopping Centre, has already been in the planning stages for more than three years after being plagued by a series of cash wrangles between Calthorpe Estates and Birmingham City Council.

Planning consent for the scheme, which will provide 420,000 sq ft of retail, office, leisure and hotel space with car parking for 800, was obtained a year ago but no date for a start to demolition has yet been announced.

Meanwhile, a number of long-established businesses, including Horts wine bar, remain in limbo with no time limit for vacant possession of their sites.

David Povall, commercial director for Calthorpe Estates, denied that the scheme was facing major delays, but conceded a completion date could be as far away as 2011.

"Another 12 months has gone by and perhaps it has now slipped into 2011. My target is to do this as soon as possible, we need to regenerate the area," he said.

"The earliest we could now start on site would be the end of this year, the key date is the demolition." Calthorpe has still to go out to tender to appoint demolition contractors.

The new shopping complex will see the current 1960s concrete Edgbaston Shopping Centre flattened to be replaced by a 21st century project at the gateway of a key artery into the city centre.

"This is a very significant scheme for Birmingham, it is a really prominent site, " said Mr Poval.

He added there was already "significant interest" from hotel groups in the site.



Well, it's good to hear about progress, and if they start by the end of this year I'll be happy.

hmmm, though i cant say im optermistic about it.... :(

One word, Calthorpe.

Thats all that needs to be said. Followed by pissup and brewery.
No wonder they are despised and have a bad reputation.

ts not that they dont have the ability to do it, they were well behind this and developed a good scheme.... things were going well but they were hit by 2 unavoidable problems, the sale of the marriot hotel chain and tescos :(

Well im sure they can but you can understand why they are despised by so many and not well regarded.

On a city expansion note its interesting this will be extreme west with the new park and eastside as extreme east. Definite need for metro to link the two ends and then think about north to south connections.

Its good news i can now visit the same old bar before 2008 when im back for a short visit in winter & enjoy the balcony view sipping a drink away :banana: :cheers: I dont give a monkeys much for the design anyway how it so far appears just another typical lego stlye building which doesnt break height limits, Is this scheme anything to get excited about anyway? If it was more than 18 floors or an Iconic build like the cube then yea bring it on otherwise boring! boring! boring! i say.

I think any such new build like the pictures of edgbaston galleries ones are an architectural disgrace:ohno: Wasnt somebody in a high position saying about Birmingham not long ago, Birmingham needs to keeps its old buildings and only accept the highest quality designs and that planners should not get there way so easily. So yea any plans for new build should be really analysed and not taken lightly. The civic society are great and oon the otherside of new build we need a team of experts with a real taste and a kind of state of the art excpectation for what they appove.

Id be excited to hear anything about five ways developments though. Because that would be a potential pinnacle for the top of broad street though BST will probably be the tallest around that area i imagine.

BUMP. Well not much of a one, just something I saw today. There was a rather large digger on site, and new hoardings are going up on this land. All work being done my Amey outside for the hoardings, not sure about what was going on within the gated off area.

yes i saw people doing ground testing a few days ago so maybe morrisons are starting prep works for the store... unfoprtunately

yes i saw people doing ground testing a few days ago so maybe morrisons are starting prep works for the store... unfoprtunately

There were 2 diggers on site, portacabins have moved in and I'd say around 25 people on site yesterday at about 4pm.

like I said, ready to go....

^^Aah, you posted that on the Auchinlech House thread! We had no idea what you was on about!

It is a bit annoying this, I've now lost the car park i would regularly use for free.

I for one can't wait for a new super market to open at Five Ways. Tesco Five Ways is my most convenient store and I don't drive. Each time I go into Tesco it just gets worse. The supply of fresh food seems unreliable, and the variety of fresh meat and fish is dreadful.

Hurry up and build Morrissons :-)

Five Ways is going to become even more of a death trap once this opens.

I don't think they'd be able to do it, but the only way Five Ways would be releived of MAJOR congestion is if it became a burger roundabout, or if the roundabout was taken away all together and made into signalled junction, like Burnt Tree.

Gotta agree with Brumwill, its obvious Tesco is just running down the Five Ways store, not that it couldn't compete if Tesco's architects became innovative and brought some Waitrose class to the table:ohno:

Five Ways is going to become even more of a death trap once this opens.

I don't think they'd be able to do it, but the only way Five Ways would be releived of MAJOR congestion is if it became a burger roundabout, or if the roundabout was taken away all together and made into signalled junction, like Burnt Tree.

Surely it's practically already a burger roundabout, with the two lanes dipping under Five Ways and straight up on to Broad Street. Or are you envisaging the Middleway as the 'meat'?

Surely it's practically already a burger roundabout, with the two lanes dipping under Five Ways and straight up on to Broad Street. Or are you envisaging the Middleway as the 'meat'?

Yeah i'm on about the Middleway, as this causes the most traffic

It just needs traffic lights on it and better filter lanes for left turning traffic.

News from Business Desk, presumably this thread needs renaming and moving to under construction?:

http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/westmidlands/news/280257-work-starts-on-morrisons-scheme-at-five-ways.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=_8th_Feb_2012_-_Daily_E-mail

Work starts on Morrisons scheme at Five Ways

Morrisons, Five Ways

CONSTRUCTION work is underway to develop a new 50,000 sq ft Morrisons store at Five Ways, Birmingham, which is due to open before Christmas.

The scheme will include three levels of car parking providing 330 spaces. It will also include five additional retail units for let and office accommodation.

Morrisons has commenced the works following the acquisition of the site from Calthorpe Estates, planning permission having been granted by Birmingham City Council in March last year.

The store will be one of the supermarket group’s flagship stores.

David Darbyshire, project manager for Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC Stores, said: “Five Ways is at the gateway of one of Birmingham City Centre’s main arterial commuter routes and close to Harborne, Edgbaston and city centre homes and businesses. It is an ideal location to position one of our new format stores.”

Birmingham-based architect Davis Weatherill Partnership has designed the store.
Stephen Davis, partner at Davis Weatherill, said: “The old Edgbaston Shopping Centre reached the end of its useful life and this new development will be an attractive shopping destination ideally located for commuters and people living and working in the area.”

ISG, the appointed contractor, will employ more than 300 construction workers to build the supermarket.

office accommodation?

office accommodation?

Are there not small office units planned for above the smaller retail units?

oh i see... well ive stated a new thread now for the construction

Gotta agree with Brumwill, its obvious Tesco is just running down the Five Ways store, not that it couldn't compete if Tesco's architects became innovative and brought some Waitrose class to the table:ohno:

well it looks like they've extended the lease on the building for the next five years after 2014 so I think they're still looking at options. Believ me though, interiors wise, this not the worse store I've been to. Coventry's Cannon park is quite literally stuck in the 90's.

Annoyingly Tesco has a habit of maximising profit rather than maximising sales, so some stores, they feel, would make less of a loss if they simply have a delivery everyother day rather than everyday.

Anyway, this store is certainly NOT my favourite and given the changes in their circumstances, Morrisons might force them to raise their game... It'll be dead when they first open their doors.

It's been under construction for weeks, if not months. I pass it every day, the site entrance has moved to the hagley road now.