Birmingham to launch biggest regeneration project in more than a century

Yesterday a sneak-peek of a masterplan was revealed at the Birmingham 2040 conference which outlined goals to make the city greener, improve public transport and attract more investment.

More than 120 business leaders gathered to hear a preview of a ‘once in a generation transformation’ of the city based in the midlands. Titled ‘our Future City: Central Birmingham 2040 Framework’, the document, which has come as a result of two years of public consultation, is due to be launched on 16^th May this year.

In detail, the plan will be revealed at the URKEiiF property show in Leeds and will provide a radical vision of how Birmingham could become a global blueprint for sustainable living and working.

Simon Delahunty-Forrest, Assistant Director of Development at Birmingham City Council, told the Insider: ‘This is arguable the most important strategy written about our city for more than a century.

‘This is out route map to becoming a greener city of more jobs and better transport options, as well as higher quality, energy efficient new homes. It’ll double our green spaces to a level comparable with Vienna and also double our active travel routes to 20km, the same level as Copenhagen.’

In addition to significantly improving the built environment, the new plan also has the potential to create up to 74,000 new jobs over the next two decades.

However, despite displaying the positives, the Assistant Director highlighted complaints the plan had received about possible forcing people travelling through the city to ditch their cars.

At the conference, Delahunty-Forrest addressed these concerns as he said the plan envisioned narrower main roads into the city to allow for green features, but it was ‘not about demonising the car’.

Image: Brian Lewicki