Dear #SubscriberFirstName# #SubscriberLastName#,
We have had a busy January at ebns, having received AWM approval for large scale projects worth over £20 million that will support our Strategic Investment Plans. Over the next couple of months we will be running fortnightly newsletters with focus articles on these exciting developments within the Zone.
As we move into this new phase we are also looking to redevelop our website in order to make it more inviting and user friendly for our stakeholders. We welcome any comments or suggestions you have about the website, or any part of the process of working with ebns.
Please email your comments to
Your feedback will be greatly appreciated.
FOCUS: £9 MILLION TO MODERNISE CHELMSLEY WOOD TOWN CENTRE
Plans for the £60 million redevelopment of Chelmsley Wood Town Centre received a huge boost this month, after AWM approved £9 million ebns funds towards the scheme.
The transformed centre will feature a mix of retail, office and commercial space, including:
- A large ASDA store and non-food unit
- Refurbishment of the public malls and a new, improved northern entrance to the shopping centre
- Replacement Council accommodation within the shopping centre; including the library, social services, register office and housing office
- Town centre office space
The scheme will significantly improve the business and inward investment offer of the area. AWM and ebns leaders are confident that it will pave the way for future regeneration initiatives.
Mark Pearce, Advantage West Midlands Corporate Director for Economic Regeneration, says, ?The transformation of Chelmsley Wood into a prosperous commercial centre will be a powerful symbol of the wider, long-term transformation of North Solihull.?
Graham Edwards, Chief Executive of ebns, adds, ?This is a huge step forward for Chelmsley Wood, providing local businesses and shoppers alike with a high quality town centre.?
?These major changes will substantially increase the area?s potential to attract future inward investment, and provide opportunities to connect local people to local jobs in a ward where unemployment rates are far too high.?
The centre, which opened in 1970, has been unable to compete with the offer of the more modern retail developments that have taken place within the Zone over recent years. Having lost market share, it has fallen victim to graffiti and vandalism, and local entrepreneurs have expressed concern that it is perpetuating the poor image and negative perceptions of North Solihull.
Owners Fordgate are keen to redevelop, but require public sector funding due to exceptional relocation costs associated with the development. Public sector intervention will also ensure that scheme takes a holistic approach to regeneration, including business support initiatives in partnership with Groundwork and employment initiatives to help residents access the 400 employment opportunities that will be created.
The redevelopment is part of the wider, 15-year £1 billion housing, schools programme being led by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, which is one of the biggest regeneration projects in Britain.
ebns are contributing to the project as part of our Strategic Investment Plan ?Developing Jobs Skills and Enterprise in North Solihull?, which aims to leverage £38 million of Zone funding and £142 million of external funding to improve access to training and employment, create sustainable physical developments and involve local communities in regeneration initiatives that substantially improve their quality of life.
ALSO IN NORTH SOLIHULL: NORTH SOLIHULL PARTNERSHIP SEEKS APPROVAL FOR SMITH?S WOOD VILLAGE CENTRE
North Solihull Partnership is to submit an outline plan to Solihull Council for a £20 million village centre in Smith?s Wood, proposed to be sited at North Arran Way. The centre will provide locals with
- A new primary school
- Youth and community facilities
- A new elongated market square with space for 15 shops for occupation by independent traders, who will provide a range of goods to local people and promote an area that the whole community can enjoy.
Janet Bradbury, Chief Executive of North Solihull Partnership says, ?This will be the first major development in a very visible and well used part of North Solihull.
We hope the proposed Smith?s Wood village centre will show the local people that we are committed to providing very real improvements to their community.?
Alongside the plans for the new village centre full planning applications have been submitted for two adjacent housing developments: Burton?s Farm Park and Woodpecker Grove. The developments will be taken forward by Bellway Homes, and will provide over 100 new houses and apartments between them.
North Solihull Partnership consists of Solihull Council, Bellway Homes, registered social landlords Whitefriars Housing group, and regeneration specialists Interpartnersip. This will be the first town centre application put forward under their programme ?Regenerating North Solihull?, a £1.8 billion initiative delivering improvements across every aspect of local life.
The programme focuses on the three wards of Chelmsley Wood, Smith's Wood, and Kingshurst & Fordbridge, which also make up ebns?s North Solihull remit. The wards are among the 10 per cent most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK.
Regenerating North Solihull is set apart by an integrated approach that places people, and education at the centre of the programme, yet still delivers transformational infrastructure improvements. Outputs will include a series of new primary schools, 5 village centres, improvements to 12,500 homes and building 8,000 new properties.
For further information please contact Alun Thorne at Core Marketing on 0121 643 8151.
ENVIRONMENTAL EMPLOYMENT MANAGER APPOINTED
ebns welcomes the appointment of Paulette Kumar to the new specialist role of Environmental Employment Manager at Fair Cities.
Iwona Tempowski, ebns Enterprise Development Manager, played an instrumental role in creating the post. Iwona says, ?Paulette?s appointment as environmental employment manager complements our Strategic Investment Plan ?Growth in the Environmental Business Sector?, which will see approximately £16 million of public and private sector funding into developing environmental businesses within the Zone between 2007 and 2015. ?
Iwona has been working with the Birmingham Strategic Partnership, JobCentre Plus, Faircities and Connexions in the Environmental Economy Group, a steering group which will provide support for Paulette in her new role.
Paulette will work with environmental sector employers to identify their recruitment needs and liaise with training providers to develop the necessary skills among the local workforce. The initiative will ensure that local residents are able to take advantage of the enormous opportunities for sustainable employment that the sector will provide in future years.
John Turner, ebns Employment Development Manager says, ?This is a fantastic opportunity for Zone job seekers to get in touch with developments in the Environmental Business sector. The sector is predicted to grow by some 6% per year and we already have a number of growing firms in the Zone who will be able to benefit from this new service.?
The environmental sector consists of private, public and voluntary sector organisations involved in improving or protecting the environment and is relatively new, with 50% of businesses having started post 1990. Economically the sector is as important as aerospace and defence, and it currently employs some 400,000 people. However, there is a widespread lack of knowledge about the sectors and activities involved.
The West Midlands itself also has a strong environmental sector, with approximately 1,600 companies operating across all sub sectors of the industry - at least 145 of which are based in the ebns Zone. The regional market has been estimated at between £1.3b and £1.8b per annum and is expected to grow at about 5% per year. However, in order to reach this potential, it will require well qualified people.
We warmly welcome Paulette and wish her well in her work.
To contact Paulette email
EASTSIDE CITY PARK:
An acclaimed international architecture practice, Patel Taylor, have been appointed to take forward the creation of Birmingham?s first major city park in over a century. Patel Taylor were selected by an expert jury and won out from a field of six international practices as part of the park international design competition, launched in March 2006.
The design for Eastside City Park has been described by Birmingham City Council as ?Inspiring. Unique. Reinventing the notion of a park?.
The design comprises of three interconnected gardens forming a centrepiece to Eastside and connecting it to the core of the city. It will cover eight acres bordering on Curzon Street Station and Millenium Point, and stretching from the Digbeth Branch Canal through to the Bullring and Selfridges.
The project will enhance the city?s commitment to sustainability and set new standards in design and the use of resources. It will signal Birmingham?s position as a city of international standing, but above all else it will provide a space for Birmingham?s communities and draw people in from surrounding areas.
Andrew Taylor of Patel Taylor said, ?Birmingham has shown great vision, our park represents a new piece of city infrastructure which will brand Eastside and create a focus for residents and visitors alike.?
Eastside city park will also provide added value to ebns?s Strategic Investment Plan ?Digbeth and Eastside Growth through Enterprise?, by connecting the universities and educational developments with the Digbeth Creative Quarter.
Taylor Patel will be assisted in their project by one of the world?s foremost contemporary park designers, Allain Provost, the creator of Parc Citroen in Paris. They will be developing the park in partnership with Birmingham City Council.
For further information, please visit
Thank you for your time.
ebns
www.ebns.co.uk
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