Scheme to revamp Birmingham’s Martineau Galleries submitted for planning

Hammerson has submitted outline plans for the regeneration of its 7.5-acre Martineau Galleries site in the heart of Birmingham, including a proposal to deliver 1,300 new homes.

Glenn Howells Architects alongside Grant Associates as landscape architects have developed the masterplan proposal which was submitted for outline planning in July 2019. If approved, the scheme would rank as one of the largest city centre regeneration projects for Birmingham and the entire West Midlands.

Hammerson’s vision is to create a thriving new neighbourhood for Birmingham with a strong focus on high-quality public realm including a new public square and boulevard. The proposal also features 1.4 million sq ft of workspace for a range of businesses, space for restaurants, cafes and shops and a new hotel.

Located just off Corporation Street, the site is currently home to the Square Shopping Centre, King’s Parade and Dale End (High Street) car park. This development will completely transform the Dale End area into a new neighbourhood, creating a vibrant mixed-use destination.

Proposals include breaking down the mass of the existing shopping centre to open the site up to create a more connected quarter of the city centre. Some of the new interventions include a major new public events space in addition to a residential square and a new network of pedestrian streets.

The new scheme would sit alongside the HS2 rail station proposed for Curzon Street, which also features a landscape architecture strategy by Grant Associates.

Completion of the Martineau Galleries project is expected to take around 15 years and could create, or support, 8,000 jobs on the site. A decision on outline planning is expected later in the year.