Curzon Gate
Encyclopedia
Birmingham City Centre
Birmingham city centre is the business, retail and leisure hub of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is newly defined as being the area within the Middle Ring Road. Birmingham city centre is undergoing massive redevelopment with the Big City Plan...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on a prominent gateway site into the city centre. The land was formerly occupied by Castle Cement
Castle Cement
Hanson Cement is a cement production company located in the United Kingdom It was called Castle Cement until 2009, when it was rebranded. The company is now owned by HeidelbergCement...
silos. The 4 acres (1.6 ha) site is located in the Eastside
Eastside, Birmingham
Eastside is a district of Birmingham City Centre, England currently undergoing a major redevelopment project. The overall cost when completed is expected to be £6–8 billion over a period of ten years which will result in the creation of 12,000 jobs. 8,000 jobs are expected to be created during the...
area, which is currently witnessing a large-scale regeneration scheme. It is located next to Curzon Park and opposite Eastside Locks, both of which are developments. It is bounded by a railway viaduct to the south and a road junction on the A4540 road
A4540 road
The A4540 is a Ring Road in Birmingham, England, also known as the Middle Ring Road, or the Middleway. There are proposals to make it a red route. It runs around the centre of the city at a distance of approximately . Birmingham City Centre is the area within this ring road. The ring road was...
. It is separated from Curzon Park by the Digbeth Branch Canal
Digbeth Branch Canal
The Digbeth Branch Canal in Birmingham, England is a short canal which links the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Aston Junction and the Grand Union Canal at Digbeth Junction in Digbeth....
.
The government's plan for High Speed 2
High Speed 2
High Speed 2 is a proposed high-speed railway between London and the Midlands, the North of England, and potentially at a later stage the central belt of Scotland. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government...
, published on 11th March 2010, requires the use of the Curzon Gate site.
The land receives its name from Curzon Street railway station
Curzon Street railway station
Curzon Street railway station was a railway station in Birmingham that was used briefly for regular scheduled passenger services between 1838 and 1854 when it acted as the terminus for both the London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway, with lines connecting Birmingham to London...
and five underground railway tunnels are located directly underneath the site where they terminate. The extension and reuse of the tunnels had been proposed for railway expansion in Birmingham, however, the proposals did not develop. These railway tunnels terminated at the Digbeth Branch Canal however when the Castle Cement silos were constructed, the tunnels were filled in up to Lawley Middleway.
The developers are the Eastside Partnership and the agent are Drivers Jonas
Drivers Jonas
Drivers Jonas was a longstanding private partnership of chartered surveyors in the United Kingdom. It was among the oldest firms of its kind in the world, having been founded in 1725. It was known for its public sector work, with contracts in defence, county councils, government offices and...
.
Planning history
Initial planning permission was blocked by the High CourtHigh Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
following intervention by MacDermid who were given permission previously to store hazardous chemicals on their Eastside site. This meant that all planning applications within a 0.5 kilometre (0.310686368324903 mi) radius of their site had to be approved by the Health and Safety Executive
Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in England and Wales and Scotland...
. However, Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
had ignored the HSE which led to MacDermid appealing to the High Court. However, planning permission was granted later on.
On October 12, 2006, an outline planning application for the development was presented before the planning committee who decided to defer it due to Section 106 payments.
Through previous consideration of the application an agreement over the Section 106 issues between Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
and the applicant was signed and completed on January 31, 2005. It provided for contributions on the overall site with overall site being defined as the Castle Cement site (which Curzon Gate will be situated on) and the Parcelforce
Parcelforce
Parcelforce Worldwide is a courier and logistics service in the United Kingdom. Parcelforce Worldwide is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd.Its international partner network allows it to extend its delivery reach worldwide...
site (which will be covered by Curzon Park).
Construction
The Castle CementCastle Cement
Hanson Cement is a cement production company located in the United Kingdom It was called Castle Cement until 2009, when it was rebranded. The company is now owned by HeidelbergCement...
silos were removed in 2005. Phase 1 of the development commenced the following year. Phase 1 consists of 748 student units as well as community facilities. It is currently operated by UNITE
UNITE Group
- History :The Company was founded in 1991 by Nicholas Porter, who at that time of increasing student numbers saw an opportunity to make money based on student accommodation. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2000.-Operations:...
, and has been open to residents since July 2008.
Phase 1 topped out in January 2008. Phase 2 will consist of a 12 storey tower with 260 private dwellings. As well as this, there will be a two-storey car park with 210 parking spaces, including 13 for disabled drivers, a café on the ground floor of one of the towers, a gym, retail facilities and a public open space. Phase 2 is yet to begin construction.
Design
The Eastside area was initially masterplanned by HOK InternationalHellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum
HOK is a global architecture, interiors, engineering, planning and consulting firm. HOK is the largest U.S.-based architecture-engineering firm and the "No. 1 role model for sustainable and high-performance design." HOK also is the second-largest interior design firm...
and the Curzon Gate scheme was designed by Hadfield Cawkwell Davidson.
Phase 1 takes its shape from the curve of the road junction. The block is of contemporary design with ivory-coloured stonework on the ground and first floor. The upper floors would have glazed curtain walling, powder coated
Powder coating
thumb|right|Aluminium extrusions being powder coatedPowder coating is a type of coating that is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. The main difference between a conventional liquid paint and a powder coating is that the powder coating does not require a solvent to keep the binder and filler...
windows, galvanised steel balconies and a standing seam roof. The 11 storey block is 31 metres (101.7 ft) tall.
Phase 2 will have 120 two-bed flats (including seventeen duplex units), 99 one-bed flats (including seventeen duplex
Duplex
Duplex commonly means double or twofold.It may also refer to:* Duplex , a two-unit apartment building or condominium* Duplex, a common electrical receptacle with two NEMA type 5 plugs* Duplex locomotive, a type of steam locomotive...
units) and 41 studio flats and 210 parking spaces and would be in a development of the following heights:
- 3–6 storeys fronting the canal with an additional seventh storey at the corner facing the proposed access road (south-western corner of the site)
- 2–7 storeys facing the railway viaduct
- 6–9 storeys fronting on to the new central street
- 12 storey tower fronting on to Curzon Street.
High Speed 2 and possible demolition
On 11 March 2009 the Government announced a plan for a high speed rail line from London to Birmingham, known as High Speed 2High Speed 2
High Speed 2 is a proposed high-speed railway between London and the Midlands, the North of England, and potentially at a later stage the central belt of Scotland. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government...
. The rail line would terminate at a new station close to the site of the old Curzon Street railway station
Curzon Street railway station
Curzon Street railway station was a railway station in Birmingham that was used briefly for regular scheduled passenger services between 1838 and 1854 when it acted as the terminus for both the London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway, with lines connecting Birmingham to London...
.
The report indicated that the Curzon Gate site would be required for the approach tracks to the new station. This would require demolition of the completed Curzon Gateway buildings and cancellation of or major changes to all developments planned in the block of land between Curzon Street and the railway.
External links
- Emporis: Curzon Gateway
- Eastside investments PDF (contains map showing Curzon Gate location)
- Birmingham.gov.uk
- Planning application for Curzon Gate
- Agenda Topic