Property Advantage West Midlands
Issue 21 www.propertyadvantage.info
Contents
03 40
inside advantage From your Editor, Ian Halstead Signs of a new approach to economic development are beginning to emerge from Birmingham’s Alpha Tower, and not before time. The city council’s previous urban regeneration strategy was underpinned by the belief that a strong property market would stimulate both inward investment, and bring forward development sites and schemes. No-one suggested an alternative view during the boom years, but the brutal impact of recession, followed by the subsequent departures of both Clive Dutton and Philip Singleton, has cast doubt on such an optimistic model. Now it seems, the council’s preference is for a radical new approach, in which property-led regeneration will be just one element of its regeneration strategy.
Two of its assistant directors are increasingly to the fore; with Waheed Nazir driving forward the Big City Plan, and Jack Glonek bringing together inward investment, employment, skills and economic development. The latter’s brief will also cover both Locate in Birmingham and Marketing Birmingham, who will soon - as the public sector jargon has it - be ’co-locating’. Inevitably, we will be into the first quarter of 2010 before the new strategic direction of the merged organisations can be seen, although the logic of such a move is evident. However, it is still unclear as to who will ultimately take the top job in Alpha Tower, or even if the council’s labyrinthine recruitment process will begin before Christmas. It now seems likely that Dutton’s successor will still not have arrived before next spring, so the Nazir-Glonek axis will be severely tested in its early months. Yours, Ian Halstead Editor Property Advantage
Front cover image: Regal Property has submitted an outline application for its proposed £125m skyscraper in Birmingham‘s Broad Street. The 56-storey Regal Tower, unveiled at MIPIM 2009, features a luxury 289-bed hotel, 250 serviced apartments, and three floors of penthouses, with a parade of boutiques on the ground floor. If the plans are approved, Regal says site work could start before Christmas 2010. DTZ is providing planning advice. Our eyecatching cover image comes courtesy of Aedas Architects.
Contents 04 Sustainability. – Capita’s Gary Church goes solo. – Quakers preach a new gospel. – BPF’s Liz Peace on the warpath. – HCA kick-starts Walsall scheme. – Public sector squeeze is on. 19 Birmingham. – City projects earn plaudits. – Hi-tech foil roof for New Street. 27 Points of View. – Overseas investment is vital. – Housing spend needs tight focus. 31 Staffordshire. – High-value jobs to stay in North Staffs. – InStaffs chief is forced to go.
Property Advantage is conceived, designed & produced for you by: Open Box 32–35 Hall Street Birmingham B18 6BS +44 (0) 121 608 2300 www.openboxpublishing.co.uk Directors. Samantha Skiller sam.skiller@openboxpublishing.co.uk Stuart Walters stuart.walters@openboxpublishing.co.uk Design & Art Direction. Lee Murphy lee.murphy@openboxpublishing.co.uk Editor. Ian Halstead halsteadian@aol.com The Publishers wish to emphasise that the opinions expressed in propertyadvantage are not representative of Open Box Publishing Limited and accept no responsibility for the views expressed by our contributors.”