Official Birmingham Development Thread 37!

[woodhousen]

im not liking the sound of this...

http://www.birminghampost.net/news/b...5233-30877714/

[mikey23]

I wouldn't place too much store in that - they asked 308 people in the Midlands, not specifically Birmingham or Coventry. That said, it will be close whether we get a mayor or not.

[morestoreysplease]

That's where the whole confusion comes in! Midlands, West Midlands etc! If they had separate surveys for Brum and Cov authorities the reporter wouldn't end up looking like a proper numpty!

[DBadger]

If the mayor was for the whole of "Greater Birmingham", like London, I'd have voted yes :/

[Brum X]

Originally Posted by DBadger

If the mayor was for the whole of "Greater Birmingham", like London, I'd have voted yes :/

But Birmingham itself needs a "strong" voice before we can convince the rest of the area to join us. For me this is a start to totally transform how Birmingham and "Greater" Birmingham is run, however we need a YES tomorrow first for this to happen and people differing and saying NO isnt gonna help the city of Birmingham or Greater Birmingham in the short or long term.

So again everybody on here needs to vote YES

[sefton66]

Originally Posted by ReissOmari

Ay, I don't get this?

Here you go something to clear it up, building is up for sale,O2 will remain with a 22 year lease. Interestingly the current owner is selling because the venue is too small for them, could be interesting to see if they possibly buy and build a new venue in Birmingham

Birmingham's O2 Academy for sale at £2 million guide price
May 3 2012

One of Birmingham’s premier music venues – which has a special place in the heart of a generation – has gone on the market.

Birmingham’s O2 Academy is up for sale at an auction with a guide price of £2 million, and is expected to attract attention from speculators.

The venue, on Bristol Street, was previously a favourite haunt for many as the Dome nightclub, and has a capacity of 3,859 across three arenas.


It is on offer purely as an investment opportunity – as there are more than 22 years to run on its lease, which is sublet to the O2 Academy – but with a potential return of more than eight per cent, auctioneers are expecting significant interest.

Patrick Kerr, head of the commercial auction department at Allsop, said the property has come onto the market as it has been deemed too small by its current owner, who has plans to invest in larger premises.

He said: “The owners at the moment are a private investor and they have got properties all over the country. This is actually a bit small for them.

“The type of buyer we are expecting is a wealthy private individual. It may be someone local – because it is quite a landmark building – or it could attract interest from overseas.

“People will be attracted by the income. Anything that has got a long lease is going to attract interest because people are more risk averse in the current climate.”

The O2 Academy will go under the hammer at Allsop’s commercial auction at the Park Lane Hotel on May 21.

It offers an income of £165,500 a year, offering an 8.2 per cent return if the property goes for £2 million, and with interest rates at historic low levels, Mr Kerr believes that will make it an attractive option.

The largest lot in the catalogue with a combined guide price of £5.4 million to £5.6 million is a supermarket and four other shops which forms part of Wembley Central, being offered on behalf of Birmingham-based St Modwen.

George Walker, auctioneer and partner for Allsop, said: “We expect further interest from the increasingly opportunistic Asian investors who are using the exchange rate to their advantage.’’

Read More http://www.birminghampost.net/birmin...#ixzz1tnNXXYQG

[sefton66]

Greater Birmingham LEP pushes Nick Clegg for city deal
By Jonathan WalkerMay 3 2012

Birmingham has submitted radical plans to devolve power and cash to the West Midlands in a “city deal” to be considered by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

And in a display of co-operation between local authorities, it has won the backing of eight neighbouring councils for the plans.

The Government has promised “an unprecedented transfer of power from central government to local communities” in a series of deals with Britain’s eight core cities.

Ministers have already agreed deals with Liverpool, including an extra £75 million funding for the city, and Manchester, where there are plans to build up to 7,000 homes.

But Birmingham has taken a different approach to other cities and allowed the Local Enterprise Partnership, the body set up to support local businesses, to take the lead role in drawing up the deal, rather than the city council.

It has meant that Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership’s nine members are all signed up to the proposals.

They include local authorities in Bromsgrove, Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Redditch, Solihull, Tamworth and Wyre Forest as well as Birmingham.

Andy Street, the John Lewis managing director who chairs the enterprise partnership, joined Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby and Solihull Council leader Ken Meeson to present the plans at Westminster.

They spoke to a panel of senior ministers including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles, Transport Secretary Justine Greening and cities minister Greg Clark

Mr Clegg and colleagues will now consider the proposals with a decision expected in the summer.

While details of Birmingham’s proposed deal have not been published, they are expected to include a request that the city and other local authorities be allowed to take responsibility for training and skills.

Business leaders have warned that a low skills base is holding the region back, and a report by a Birmingham City Council committee last year warned that a fifth of the working age population has no qualifications, the highest figure in any of Britain’s core cities.

The deal is also expected to include proposals for making use of land in the city and the surrounding area, including the vast property empire built up by Advantage West Midlands, the regional arm of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The agency has been abolished, and much of the land it owned was transferred to the national Homes and Communities Agency. Mr Street and council leaders have also been talking to colleagues in the Black Country about devolving responsibility for transport to local level.


The difficulty here is that the region’s transport authority, Centro, covers the Black Country and Coventry as well as Birmingham and Solihull, and the Black Country has its own enterprise partnership while Coventry is part of the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP.

Birmingham’s proposed deal could also include a request to give the city more control over funding raised by a variety of government schemes designed to back employers, such as the Regional Growth Fund, a £2.4 billion Government fund to help businesses create jobs.

Local Labour politicians have been consulted about the plans, to ensure they still have the backing of the council if Labour regains control of the authority in local elections.

Meanwhile, Dudley MP Ian Austin has announced plans to create a cross-party campaign group to encourage the Government to move Whitehall departments out of London to the cities and regions of England.

He said this would promote more balanced economic growth, boost employment in the English regions and take pressure off the overcrowded capital. Mr Austin wants the Department for Business moved to the country’s industrial heartland of the West Midlands, and said the Department for Culture Media and Sport could follow the BBC to Manchester and says Defra could move to East Anglia.

He said: “Decisions about how Britain is run are taken by highly-paid civil servants with little knowledge about the rest of the country and how it is affected by the decisions they make. I reckon the business department would do more to support manufacturing if it was based in Birmingham or the Black Country.’’

Read More http://www.birminghampost.net/news/w...#ixzz1tpPG8B6Z

[k5villan]

why did the academy leave dale end? the new place is shit IMO

[benbobjr]

wasn't it because of the potential development on the land at Dale End?

[morestoreysplease]

Some observations:

I think work has started on the Hampton by Hilton hotel in the Jewellery Quarter if it's that building right next door to St Paul's metro stop.
I saw the new mosque / temple near to Spring Hill Tesco today and it is really nice - lovely stonework.
Scaffolding going up on rear of Kennedy Tower.

[ReissOmari]

Originally Posted by morestoreysplease

Some observations:

I think work has started on the Hampton by Hilton hotel in the Jewellery Quarter if it's that building right next door to St Paul's metro stop.
I saw the new mosque / temple near to Spring Hill Tesco today and it is really nice - lovely stonework.
Scaffolding going up on rear of Kennedy Tower.

So work has continued then? Its stalled for quite some time

[sefton66]

Birmingham beats Paris and Berlin in investment ranking
by Cillian OBrien, Birmingham Post May 8 2012

Birmingham has been ranked as one of the best places for businesses to invest in Europe – above Paris and Berlin.

Corporate real estate and economic development magazine Site Selection, ranks nations and city regions according to their appeal to investors in its Best to Invest listing, and ranked Birmingham fourth in Western Europe.

The second city was the only English city in the top ten and come above Vienna, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Zurich and Brussels.

The Best to Invest list considers factors including infrastructure, accessibility, business risks, foreign direct investment levels and any new or expanded facilities announced in the area during 2011.

Wouter Schuitemaker, investment director at Business Birmingham, said: “This list is produced by industry experts who analyse and compare global cities’ business offer.

“That Birmingham has come fourth – above such stalwarts as Paris, Vienna, Zurich and Brussels – is incredibly positive.

“The ranking really demonstrates how the city’s work to boost its profile as a business location with international investors, and their influencers, is beginning to show through.

“Birmingham attracted more inward investment than any other UK regional city in 2011 – and with our partners, we are working to build on this and push the city to the top of companies’ European relocation lists.”

Site Selection is based in the US and is read by a specialist audience of more than 45,000 senior executives and locations experts across the world.

Read More http://www.birminghampost.net/birmin...#ixzz1uIjsxkk5

[U475 Foxtrot]

here's the full list http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2012/may/cover.cfm

[markmcd1976]

These are the sort of messages marketing Birmingham should be using in ads.

Things like this and the New York Times story are great pieces of news and should be shouted from the roof-tops.

[ReissOmari]

Signage for Centre City

Application Number 2012/03166/PA
Application Type Advertisement
Site Address CENTRE CITY 5 - 7 Hill Street Birmingham B5 4UA
Proposal Display of 4 no. internally illuminated fascia signs

[sefton66]

Originally Posted by ReissOmari

Signage for Centre City

Documents now up, Same design as the Bruntwood logo. I expect we will see the app go in for the entrance refurb soon

http://eplanning.birmingham.gov.uk/N...rod_DC_PLANAPP

[Brum X]

Yeah, im really liking those signs and should look cool at nightime

[PSS1980]

Originally Posted by sefton66

Documents now up, Same design as the Bruntwood logo. I expect we will see the app go in for the entrance refurb soon

http://eplanning.birmingham.gov.uk/N...rod_DC_PLANAPP

Interesting, will the outside of the building get any sort of clean..or new glazing etc ?...or does it really need any...im not sure ?

[sefton66]

Probably be under a seperate app for replacement glazing with the new entrance. I hope they replace the glazing there seems a bit of a difference between some of the panels.

I think it has been cleaned? They had scaffolding around the podium not so long ago anyway

[howester89]

Originally Posted by Brum X

Yeah, im really liking those signs and should look cool at nightime

Whats there to like (or not to like for that matter) - pretty boring sign!