Eastside, Birmingham
A major brewery was located near Curzon Street station and this resulted in the establishment of a public house further down the road which currently exists as a Grade II listed building.
The River Rea, which remains largely hidden due to high brick walls surrounding it constructed in Victorian times, also flows to the extreme east of the area.
Large scale projects which involved the renovation, demolition and reparation of the area started to be aired to the public.
In 2001, the entire Eastside area was split into five sub-areas: The first part of the plan to be implemented was the demolition in 2002 of a large elevated road junction called Masshouse Circus to make space for redevelopment.
Masshouse Circus was part of the Inner Ring Road, which had become a "concrete collar" stifling expansion of the city centre.
[1] Matthew Boulton College had a new major facility built in 2005 overlooking the Masshouse site,[2] and the New Technology Institute was completed in 2006; the first new buildings in a Learning and Leisure Zone.
[4] This will be called Curzon Park and will feature a major low to mid-rise mixed-use scheme with residential, leisure and hotel facilities.
[5] Next to this is one of the largest of the projects which will see large areas of land being transformed into a city park at a cost of approximately £11 million.
It is expected that once HS2 is complete journey times from London into Birmingham City Centre will be reduced to only 45 minutes with the potential to bring £1.5 billion of investment into the region.
Another area of land next to Moor Street railway station which was freed up by the demolition of Masshouse Circus will be home to a development named City Park Gate.
Island House and the nearby pub will be retained in the development however Eurodiscount Megastore, a large warehouse store, was demolished in November 2006.
The outline planning application was submitted on 29 November 2006 and a consultation process began in late December and ended on 3 January 2007.
[9] On 29 May 2008, Birmingham City University held a public consultation on their plans to construct a new campus on a cleared 4.17-acre (16,900 m2) brownfield site directly opposite Curzon Street station.
[12][13] Another project was the refurbishment of the Curzon Street railway station entrance hall which would make it the home of the Royal College of Organists.
The VTP200 proposal was for a 200-metre tall "VerTiPlex", the tallest observation tower in Britain, designed by RTKL to be a "bold and dynamic icon for Birmingham and the West Midlands in the 21st Century".
[16] One development set to start in late 2006 is the Martineau Galleries complex which will require the demolition of the Carling Academy, surrounding shops and a multi-storey car park.
As a result, Birmingham City Council agreed to undertake the innovative step of co-locating sustainability advisors with the Eastside team.
Group membership consists representatives of 17 organisations (mainly NGOs such as the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country) and individuals with professional interest in Eastside.
Policy and decision makers will be targeted to raise awareness of sustainability and ensure relevant information is made available.
Late in 2008, a new artist-run public gallery called Eastside Projects opened with an evolving exhibition including architecture, performance and the full gamut of visual art forms by artists from local and international artists including Liam Gillick, Laureana Toledo and Heather & Ivan Morison.
The gallery is located on Heath Mill Lane and, along with Ikon Eastside and Vivid, now forms part of the largest concentration of contemporary art venues in the city.
Curzon Street Station is becoming a centre for arts in the Eastside with exhibitions including a neon light show at the base of the steps leading to the entrance of the building, which took place during June 2007.
The plan emphasizes the importance of green spaces, improved transportation links, and the preservation of the area's industrial heritage.
