Selly Oak Shopping & Battery Park | Bristol Road | Mixed-Use | 15fl | 58m | Comp.

SimonTheSoundMan said:

Yet another supermarket.:madwife:

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sefton66 said:

A Replacement one and a lot more than just a supermarket!

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Sainsbury's Selly Oak supermarket plan drops hi-tech industrial park
by Neil Elkes, Birmingham Post May 31 2012

Sainsbury's Selly Oak

The long-awaited plans for a new major Sainsbury’s store and canalside development in Selly Oak go before the council’s planning committee for the first time next week when concerns over a missing high-technology industrial park will be raised.

The planning committee will be given a tour of the Selly Oak Battery site which Land Securities and Sainsbury’s hopes to turn into a major centre with a superstore, up to 20 shops, bars, restaurants, offices, student flats and hotels. Plans have also been amended, following widespread consultation with residents and local businesses, to include improvements to the Dudley Lapal Canal and better road links.

But missing is a previous pledge to turn part of the site into a medical or scientific research or high technology industrial park as part of the A38 Corridor Strategy.

An issues report to councillors does say there is a building of up to nine storeys ‘‘that could be used for offices or research and development”.

The report also states that if these uses are not viable the building could also be used as a secure residential unit.

Local planning strategies and a market report suggest the area is more suited to a smaller number of low rise buildings for a cluster of businesses and organisations, rather than a single use nine-storey block proposed.

The planning committee’s Labour members, who now hold the majority following the election, have in the past been particularly scathing over the loss of former industrial land to retail or commercial development and may demand alterations to the scheme after viewing the proposal in detail.

The development is expected to create about 3,000 jobs for the area and was supported by 38 per cent of visitors to a series of public exhibitions held in March. A further 48 per cent support elements of the scheme.

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New proposal for Selly Oak regeneration scheme
by Enda Mullen, Birmingham Post Jun 22 2012

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has revised plans for a Selly Oak regeneration scheme after five years spent trying to get the development off the ground.

Planning consent for the 20-acre site was first granted to the supermarket chain in 2007 – but was soon hit by the economic climate and a developer could not be found.

A planning application was then submitted in 2011 and faced opposition from the Lapal Canal Trust, which claimed the chain store was reneging on a deal to restore a section of the Dudley Lapal Canal which runs through the development.

But plans have now been amended once more, following consultation with residents and local businesses, to include improvements to the canal and better road links.

The site, off the new Aston Webb Boulevard, has been polluted by years of industrial and domestic landfill.

The plans would see the former Birmingham Battery and Metals site turned into a canalside development with a superstore, up to 20 shops, bars, restaurants, offices, a doctor’s surgery, student flats and hotels.

Neil Carron, project director at Land Securities, which became a development partner for the scheme in 2011, said: “It is a gateway site for Birmingham.

“Selly Oak is very important with the university and hospital here. At the moment the site is the missing piece in the puzzle.

“Just to get to the plan outline you’re talking about spending £20 million in remediation. There isn’t any value in the site. It is a cost.

“All the investment that will be in is worth around £200 million.”

The proposals are due before the Birmingham City Council’s planning committee on Thursday (June 21), following a site visit by councillors June 7. Concerns over a missing high-technology industrial park are set to be raised.

The revised plan does include a building of up to nine storeys “that could be used for offices or research and development”.

The report also states that if these uses are not viable the building could also be used as a secure residential unit.

Local planning strategies and a market report suggest the area is more suited to a smaller number of low rise buildings for a cluster of businesses and organisations, rather than a single use nine-storey block proposed.

Mr Carron added: “With the Lapal Canal link it has been difficult as you couldn’t put a canal through a shopping area. We’ve got a solution that we think will really capture the imagination.

“The flat bridges over the canal work like little drawbridges to allow boats to pass through.”

The developers hope the council will make a decision later this summer and if approved, would start cleaning up the site in 2013, with building starting the year after with the aim of opening in 2016. A new 100,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s supermarket would be the anchor store and would replace the nearby branch which is unable to expand as it is hemmed in on a triangular site surrounded by roads.

Around 1,600 car park spaces would be set at ground level and underground and there would be two buildings for student accommodation for 400 people.

Kevin Macmillan, development manager for Sainsbury’s, said: “It is a good strategic spot with the new hospital and university.”

A new extended waterfront area on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal will allow boats to turn and moor and a canal link will retrace part of the former Lapal Canal route, crossing the development through to Selly Oak Park.

Developers claim the site will create around 3,000 jobs, 400 of which will be at Sainsbury’s.

The development will include the road works on the Selly Oak New Road around the ‘triangle’ site and other road improvements in the vicinity. The development will be conditional on a £5.5 million section 106 agreement which will be agreed with the council and is likely to include improvements at the Bristol Road entrance, Bournbrook Recreation Ground and Selly Oak Library.

In 2009 Sainsbury’s sparked fury when it demolished the historic 1871 Battery and Metals Building on the site because it had become “unsafe”.

This was despite a pledge to retain it in the redevelopment.

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brumwill said:

While I like the idea of canal-side waterfront regeneration schemes. I find it quite an inefficient use of money and space, to reinstate/rebuild a section of canal that was filled in and will not actually go anywhere.

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brum2003 said:

The Lapal canal will eventually link up with the Dudley canal number 2 at hawne basin Halesowen, they are essentially the same canal, Reinstating the waterway for leisure uses through south Birmingham. Many canal restorations take decades but bring economic benefits and other benefits once completed. This will create a cruising ring around Birmingham achievable in a weekend with increased potential for tourism. Google Kennet & Avon for a prime example and the ongoing Hatherton restoration.

To not take advantage of this opportunity would be very short sighted as in 20 years this restoration could be realised and be a wonderful amenity for the area.

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woodhousen said:

this will never happen im afraid.

you are correct this used to happen, but this would involve the re-instatement of the Lapel Tunnel, which i believe was one of the longest of its type when built. it suffered numerous partial collapses in its very short life-span. i believe atkins was commission to assess the viability of opening the tunnel and its largely believe by now, most of the tunnel has actually collapsed...

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