Hopes for a city centre park as part of the redevelopment of the Wholesale Markets site have been boosted after Birmingham City Council agreed to consider it.
CityPark4Brum is campaigning for Birmingham to create a green oasis in the heart of the city, pointing to great city parks of the world such as New York’s Central Park as inspiration.
Its aim is to persuade the city council to create a large and landscaped green park in the centre of the city and believes the development of the current Wholesale Markets site offers the perfect opportunity.
And the proposals have been boosted after a city council cabinet member said there was justification to “re-examine the current Smithfield vision”.
The group started a petition on the change.org website after the city council unveiled its ten-year vision for the development of Birmingham Smithfield, the current Wholesale Markets site, in March.
When the markets move to Witton, which is expected to be completed in 2016, the council wants the 34-acre site to encourage more families into the city centre, with plans for museums, cinemas, art galleries and music venues to be created in the area bordering the Bullring.
The site is also expected to deliver more than 1,000 new homes and according to the council it could add £470 million a year to the local economy and attract millions more visitors.
CityPark4Brum founder Jim Tucker said: “The draft that went out for Smithfield seemed to have little or no green space.
“There were one or two little pieces but essentially there were no plans for green space in original documents.
“I set up a petition before the consultation ended and got more than 2,000 signatures in just over four weeks.”
Mr Tucker sent the petition to councillors and planning officers and says he has received “positive feedback”, with the council saying it is prepared to examine the possibility as part of the development of Smithfield and the neighbouring Southern Gateway.
“Councillor Lisa Trickett, cabinet member for sustainability, has written that she will ask the planning team to consider proposals for this area of the city – Smithfield and the Southern Gateway,” he said.
In an email to Mr Tucker, Coun Trickett (Lab, Moseley & Kings Heath) wrote: “For all the reasons you have already presented there would appear to be sufficient justification to re-examine the current Smithfield vision along these lines.”
The campaign has also received an encouraging response from city council deputy leader Coun Ian Ward who said “as a city we are seeking to maintain and expand our network of green space”.
Now Mr Tucker hopes pressure can be maintained on the powers that be to see CityPark4Brum’s vision become a reality.
He added: “My understanding from these comments is that the scheme put forward in the draft planning document will not be the final plan.
“This is good news but we have to keep the pressure up on the council so that the new masterplan has plans for green space that the city centre so desperately needs.”
Coun Trickett did feel ambitions along the lines of creating something to compare with Central Park might be over ambitious.
In her correspondence with Mr Tucker she said: “Whist I agree with your wish to see more parks and green space in the heart of the city, I don’t think that the Smithfield development has the scale to feature a New York style ‘Central Park’ equivalent for Birmingham.
“However the Smithfield development connects directly with the Southern Gateway area, which is much larger and so could accommodate a much more significant area of park or urban green space.
“Currently I am aware that the Southern Gateway is being looked at from the point of view of how much more could be made of the River Rea and its hidden tributaries.”
