A search for development and investment partners for a £1.7bn opportunity around Birmingham’s HS2 Curzon Street Station will be launched next year following a £1bn injection into the project by the government this week.
The public sector investment will prepare 348 acres of land identified in the Curzon HS2 masterplan for at least 4,000 homes and 6.5m sq ft of commercial floor space.
Birmingham City Council’s strategic director for economy, Waheed Nazir, said the procurement of development and investment partners would be led by the four or five major landowners in the area.
Major landowners include Hammerson (Martineau Galleries), the Gooch Estate (Typhoo Tea factory), the Gray Family (The Custard Factory) and Birmingham City University.
The public sector investment, which includes a Metro extension to Solihull and Birmingham International Airport, and new public squares around Curzon, is due to be complete by the time the HS2 station opens in 2026. Chaired by former British Property Federation president Liz Peace, the Curzon Regeneration Company will oversee the investment programme, bringing together key partners.
The majority of the investment has come from devolved business rates collected by the West Midlands Combined Authority, which was formed in November 2015 as part of a major devolution deal.
Nazir said: “I think this is a real demonstration of what can be delivered locally when power is devolved to an area that is ambitious and clear about wanting to deliver growth.
“The enterprise zone is quite a clear example of our ability to borrow on the projection of business rates, which wouldn’t have been possible in the past.”
Prime minister Theresa May linked the investment to her “industrial strategy” announced in July to promote growth across the country. The strategy is seen as an antidote to George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse agenda.
The investment comes in the same week as questions were raised by MPs in the Public Accounts Committee about the viability of the Y-shaped second phase of HS2 that will connect to Manchester and Leeds.
A committee report found that the extension was missing £7bn of funding. More assurance about sources of funding and finance for regeneration and growth was required to ensure the promised regional benefits of the project were delivered, the report said.
Further details of the second phase are due in the autumn.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “The government is fully committed to HS2 and the project is on time and on budget.
“Improving regional infrastructure is vital in supporting regional growth and building an economy that works for everyone. HS2 is a key part of this, and will be the backbone of our national rail network.”
How the £1bn breaks down
- £586.8m from the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership, which has been able to draw funds from future business rates within the enterprise zone, extended to Curzon Street, in a devolution deal signed last November
- £137.2m from the West Midlands Combined Authority, the devolved government formed in November
- £183.3m towards the cost of delivering Metro extension projects committed by the Department for Transport
Hear Waheed Nazir talking about the Curzon Street HS2 project at www.estatesgazette.podbean.com
