Mayoral corporation boost for new Birmingham Sports Quarter

Image: Birmingham City FC

Britain’s biggest and most powerful Mayoral Development Corporation has been launched to significantly speed up the Birmingham Sports Quarter project and £11 billion regeneration of East Birmingham.

West Midlands Combined Authority said the Birmingham East Mayoral Development Corporation (BEMDC) will generate a multi-billion-pound boost for the local and regional economy, positioning the West Midlands at the front of the UK’s charge for growth.

Sport will be at the heart of the BEMDC, which includes land earmarked for the £3 billion Birmingham Sports Quarter and its showpiece 60,000 seat Powerhouse Stadium, served by a new Metro tram route.

The development as a whole will bring more than 50,000 jobs and 20,000 new homes to east Birmingham, where in some areas child poverty exceeds 50% and around 27% of adults have never worked – more than double the national average.

By combining a range of powers including land acquisition, planning, business tax incentives and infrastructure funding the MDC will be able to cut through red tape, build investor confidence and accelerate the injection of billions of private and public sector investment into the area.

It is the most significant MDC to be launched in the UK since the London Legacy Development Corporation was set up to transform large parts of East London following the 2012 Olympic Games.
 
The MDC will cover an area the size of more than 600 football pitches, and include some of the biggest regeneration projects in the UK and Europe including:

• The £4bn Birmingham Knowledge Quarter
• The HS2 Curzon Street Station and adjoining Central Heart site
• The £2bn Smithfield development next to the Bullring
• The £3bn Birmingham Sports Quarter

 
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said, “This MDC is big, bold and ambitious, reflecting Birmingham’s position as the UK’s second city.

“It will be a magnet for investment, de-risking major projects while providing the stability and continuity needed for investor confidence. It will also cut through red tape, so we waste no time getting spades in the ground on these hugely significant regeneration schemes.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to end the deep-rooted deprivation that has blighted lives for too long in East Birmingham and create places people and businesses are proud to call home.

“The scale of this Corporation shows that Birmingham is back and ready to lead the UK’s return to growth.”

The Mayor and senior figures at Birmingham City Council have spent months structuring the Corporation so it can unlock large-scale regeneration, accelerate development, and attract investment in a way that brings real and lasting change for local communities.

East Birmingham continues to experience some of the worst deprivation in the UK but the large-scale investment in and around the heart of the city is expected to provide unprecedented opportunities for jobs, homes and skills training for local communities.

Collectively, the projects included in the BEMDC area, including the Birmingham Sports Quarter, are set to transform surrounding neighbourhoods, improve transport connections, and help raise living standards for tens of thousands of local people.

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