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