The £600 million New Street Station Gateway project, that will give the West Midlands region a world-class rail hub, reached a major milestone this week when Birmingham City Council completed the purchase of The Pallasades shopping centre.
The centre, situated above New Street station, is key to the redevelopment of the entire area as part of the flagship scheme funded by Network Rail, Birmingham City Council, Advantage West Midlands and Centro.
Councillor Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council and chairman of the New Street Funders Board, said: “This is a significant development in the Gateway project and its speedy acquisition means that the momentum is building towards delivering a completely new rail station for Birmingham, the region and the UK.
“The current station is creaking at the seams with double the passenger numbers it was designed to cope with. New Street sees over 33 million passengers a year and each week the entire combined population of Manchester and Liverpool pass through the station.
“The purchase of the Centre was an important component of the plan, and shows our commitment to the project and our determination to ensure Birmingham has a station fit for the future.
“Network Rail are key partners in our proposals and they will continue to undertake the day-to-day management of the Centre, through their current agents Savilles. So, it will be ‘business as usual’ for tenants, staff and shoppers alike – a New Start for New Street begins now.”
Mick Laverty, chief executive at Advantage West Midlands, said: “This is an important and positive step forward for the Gateway project, particularly in such a challenging time for the economy.
“Our £100 million investment is still the largest investment in a single regeneration project by any regional development agency in the country and shows our commitment to creating a world-class rail hub for West Midlands.
“During the downturn it is vital that government funding from Advantage West Midlands and partners in the public sector keep major physical developments moving forward, creating jobs and changing lives long after the global economy has picked itself up and brushed itself down.”
Neil Thompson, construction director for Network Rail, said: “The commercial agreement is a significant development for the project. Network Rail has been working on detailed designs for the station, following the launch of visionary concepts last year, which will enable us to start on site as early as possible.
“The public has made it absolutely clear they back our plans to transform New Street and this deal means passengers are one step closer to the station they deserve.”