Eastside Locks (originally known as Ventureast) is a major mixed-use development in the Eastside area of Birmingham, England. It is located next to the City Park development and opposite Curzon Gate. It is alongside the already completed Millennium Point and will cover the area to the rear of the building (now used as a car park) on top of the area alongside the road. It covers an area of 15.24 acres (6.17 ha). A replacement car park will be a multistorey building fronting Jennens Road. [2]
The current site was occupied by warehouse units, the Digbeth Branch Canal, a listed pub and pumping station. On AB Row was a locally listed Victorian former Co-op furniture factory which was severely damaged on 11 January 2007 in a suspected arson attack. The roof collapsed and 75% of the building was damaged by the fire which also destroyed seven arched windows. [3] On 18 January 2007 the façade of the building, which had survived the fire albeit smoke damaged, collapsed in on itself in high winds due to the lack of support it received after the fire was put out.
The area has been hailed as the most important development scheme in Eastside by Birmingham City Council due to the variety of uses it will provide. It has also been billed as being one of the largest regeneration schemes within walking distance of a city centre in the United Kingdom. [4] The canal, which is protected by the Warwick Bar Conservation Area will remain in the development. A Development Framework produced for the area stated that the canal would form the hub of the residential and hotel area. It also stated that the buildings will range from two to eight storeys. It proposed that a square, named Exchange Square, will be located at the back of Millennium Point and sketch designs were provided with it.
Demolition of buildings on the site began in mid-January 2007. [5] Demolition has continued on into early 2008.
The scheme was relaunched at the 2008 MIPIM property show in Cannes, France, in March 2008 as Eastside Locks to reflect the canalside character of the site. Goodman, the developers, propose that the scheme will consist of 675,000 sq ft (62,700 m2) of Grade A office space. The rest of Eastside Locks is likely to consist of 325,000 sq ft (30,200 m2) of apartments, shops, leisure space and a hotel. It is estimated that a total of 5,000 jobs will be created as a result of the development. [4]
A proposal for a 175-metre (498 ft) tall observation tower named the "Pinnacle Tower" were presented to the public in early 2006. [6] This will be located on Curzon Road on what was part of the Ventureast site. The tower was redesigned with more detailed designs were presented to the public in September 2006, [7] before being redesigned again and being relaunched as VTP200.
Centenary Square is a public square on the north side of Broad Street in Birmingham, England, named in 1989 to commemorate the centenary of Birmingham achieving city status. The area was an industrial area of small workshops and canal wharves before it was purchased by the council in the 1920s for the creation of a grand civic centre scheme to include museums, council offices, cathedral and opera house. The scheme was abandoned after the arrival of World War II with only the Hall of Memory and half of the planned Baskerville House complete. After the war the scheme was revived in a simpler form however the council never managed to implement the design.
Millennium Point is a multi-use meeting and conference venue, public building and charitable trust in Birmingham, England, situated in the developing Eastside of the city centre. The complex contains multiple event spaces, including a 354-seat auditorium, formerly Giant Screen IMAX cinema; Birmingham Science Museum, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire's School of Acting and Birmingham City University's Faculty of Computing, Engineering and The Built Environment, part of Birmingham Metropolitan College.
Birmingham is a major transport hub, due in part to its location in central England. The city is well connected by rail, road, and water. Public transport and key highways in the city are overseen by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM).
Digbeth is an area of central Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment scheme that will regenerate the old industrial buildings into apartments, retail premises, offices and arts facilities. The district is considered to be Birmingham's 'Creative Quarter'.
Although Birmingham in England has existed as a settlement for over a thousand years, today's city is overwhelmingly a product of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, with little surviving from its early history. As it has expanded, it has acquired a variety of architectural styles. Buildings of most modern architectural styles in the United Kingdom are located in Birmingham. In recent years, Birmingham was one of the first cities to exhibit the blobitecture style with the construction of the Selfridges store at the Bullring Shopping Centre.
The Big City Plan is a major development plan for the city centre of Birmingham, England.
103 Colmore Row is a 108-metre tall, 26-storey commercial office skyscraper located on Colmore Row, Birmingham, England. Completed in 2021, this building replaced the former NatWest Tower designed by John Madin and completed in 1975. In 2008, a plan by then owners British Land to demolish Natwest Tower and replace it with a taller modern equivalent was approved. This plan never progressed and in 2015 the building passed to the developer Sterling Property Ventures, who successfully applied to have the building demolished. Construction of the new tower began in June 2019 and completed in 2021.
The Jewellery Quarter is an area of central Birmingham, England, in the north-western area of Birmingham City Centre, with a population of 19,000 in a 1.07-square-kilometre (264-acre) area.
Bordesley is an area of Birmingham, England, 1.2 miles (2 km) south east of the city centre straddling the Watery Lane Middleway ring road. It should not be confused with nearby Bordesley Green. Commercial premises dominate to the west of the ring road, but much of this area is to be redeveloped. Blocks of residential apartments are planned and set for completion from the mid-2020s onwards. The largely residential area east of the ring road was renamed Bordesley Village following large scale clearance of back-to-back houses and redevelopment in the 1980s and 90s. Bordesley is the real life setting of the BBC series Peaky Blinders, and home to Birmingham City Football Club's ground, St Andrew's.
Masshouse is a development site in Birmingham, United Kingdom where 13 highrise blocks are being constructed for public services, commerce and residential purposes. When completed, the blocks will have a prominent position on the Eastside skyline.
Eastside is a district of Birmingham City Centre, England that is undergoing a major redevelopment project. The overall cost when completed is expected to be £6–8 billion over ten years which will result in the creation of 12,000 jobs. 8,000 jobs are expected to be created during the construction period. It is part of the larger Big City Plan project.
The Warwick Bar conservation area is a conservation area in Birmingham, England which was home to many canalside factories during the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Curzon Gate was a residential development located on the edge of Birmingham City Centre, West Midlands, England, on a prominent gateway site into the city centre. The land was formerly occupied by Castle Cement silos. The 4-acre (1.6 ha) site was located in the Eastside area, which is currently witnessing a large-scale regeneration scheme. It was located next to Curzon Park and opposite Eastside Locks, both of which are developments. It was bounded by a railway viaduct to the south and a road junction on the A4540 road. It was separated from Curzon Park by the Digbeth Branch Canal.
Pype Hayes is a modern housing estate area in the east of the Erdington district of Birmingham. It is within the Tyburn ward. Covering the postcodes of B24 and B76.
Birmingham city centre, also known as Central Birmingham, is the central business district of Birmingham, England. The area was historically in Warwickshire. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is now defined as being the area within the Middle Ring Road. The city centre is undergoing massive redevelopment with the Big City Plan, which means there are now nine emerging districts and the city centre is approximately five times bigger.
Eastside City Park is a 6.75 acre urban park located in the Eastside district of Birmingham City Centre. Designed by architects Patel taylor with landscape architect Allain Provost, the park was opened to the public on 5 December 2012 at a cost of £11.75 million. Lining the frontage of Millennium Point, the park provides 14,300 square metres of landscaped green space, 310 trees, a 110 metres (360 ft) canal water feature and a public square incorporating 21 jet fountains.
Birmingham Curzon Street railway station is the planned northern terminus of High Speed 2 in the city centre of Birmingham, England. The new railway will connect Birmingham to London Euston via Birmingham Interchange and Old Oak Common. Curzon Street will have seven terminal platforms and is planned to open in 2026.
Birmingham City University City Centre Campus "flagship" campus in the centre of Birmingham. It was constructed next to the existing facilities at Millennium Point and is part of the ambitious Eastside project - Birmingham's biggest physical regeneration scheme. The campus is the new home for media, arts and engineering learning and includes fully operational television studios, a library, performance theatre, lecture theatres and a learning resource centre.
The Fox and Grapes was a historic, heritage-designated public house in the Digbeth area of Birmingham, England. After some time derelict, and a major fire, it was demolished in 2018.