Woodbourne Group’s first mixed-use net zero carbon development has taken a step closer following a landmark decision by city planners after six years in the making as Birmingham City Council planning committee decided to support the Curzon Wharf masterplan development.
The £360m waterfront ecosystem, known as Curzon Wharf, developed in a key quarter of the city centre and will generate more than 1,000 jobs, as calculated by planning specialists Turley and CBRE.
The proposals include new residential buildings – including Birmingham’s tallest tower – shops and offices, as well as research and development and life sciences facilities, will feature on the 1m sq ft site which is currently occupied by industrial units constructed in the 1960s.
Tani Dulay, chief executive of Woodbourne Group, said: “We’ve worked hard to reach this point and it is incredibly satisfying to stand on the brink of delivering such a world class development for a city I’m proud to call home. I would like to thank the planning committee, our team and everyone else that has supported this scheme.
“We need to help power the economic recovery by facilitating investment, creating jobs and acting as a catalyst to further success.”
Located next to Aston University and Birmingham City University, and within an eight-minute walk of the new HS2 Curzon Street Station, the development is expected to boost Birmingham’s economy by at least £151m.
Paul Kitson, Director of Place, Prosperity, and Sustainability at Birmingham City Council, said: “Curzon Wharf is an exciting project for Birmingham and builds upon our ambition to be a greener and more sustainable city. Being home to the world’s first mixed-use net zero carbon ready development is something we’re immensely proud of and after six years in planning, we’re delighted that the £360 million development has been given the green light to rejuvenate a key gateway into the city, as well as becoming another key piece of the Birmingham skyline.”
The scheme will include a residential build to rent apartment block which will stand 53 storeys high, making it Birmingham’s tallest building at 172 metres (564 feet). The purpose-built student accommodation will be 41 storeys and another residential element at 14 storeys tall.
In addition, the development will include nearly 130,000 sq ft of office, R&D and life science space, over 3,000 sq ft of retail units, more than 15,000 sq ft of leisure space, over 76,424 sq ft of new and improved public realm and 490 metres of new and improved walking and cycling routes.
