Calthorpe Estate is undoubtedly one of the jewels in Birmingham’s crown, but that hasn’t made it immune to the economic realities of the recent downturn. Editor Alun Thorne spoke to director of development Ralph Minott about the future of the estate – and that Aldi supermarket.

In the world of speculative development, securing an occupier is seen as something of a Holy Grail. When the money men are doing the math, there is nothing like a nice juicy pre-let to make a project look all the more attractive.

But it is certainly no guarantee of success – just ask Calthorpe Estates.

This time three years ago its flagship Edgbaston Mill scheme was flying high, having agreed terms with Holiday Inn and a number of top notch restaurants, only for the financiers at HBOS to get cold feet as the credit crunch began to bite.

But the nine-acre development site opposite the Edgbaston cricket ground is beginning to attract the interest of potential occupiers again and Calthorpe’s director of development Ralph Minott believes the signs are looking increasingly positive that Edgbaston Mill will before long be a high quality retail and food hub as was originally planned.

“Right now Edgbaston Mill has not been in a better place,” said Mr Minott. “The Lehman debacle happened in the third quarter of 2008 and by the end of 2008 the funders HBOS had said no.

“We went to the market to try and promote that site as we had agreed heads of terms with some of the biggest restaurant names on the High Street, but it didn’t happen and the planned hotel also withdrew.

“The response we are now having for the main site is very encouraging and we are still committed to developing the site as previously planned.

‘‘In the next few months we are hoping to submit a planning application for the site for shops, restaurants and a hotel. ‘In many ways this bucks the market at the moment and shows we are moving in the right direction.

“The amount of shops and restaurants that have gone under recently mean that availability for potential units is high so to be bringing new shell opportunities to the market is tough but the interest shows the strength of the location.”

Securing new occupiers during the downturn can be a thankless task and Calthorpe’s decision to submit plans for a new Aldi supermarket on part of the development site was not necessarily met with universal approval.

Mr Minott said there was significant interest in the vacant lot next to the main development site at Edgbaston Mill but when it came to the crunch it was Aldi who followed through their commitment and he was delighted it did.

He said: “Whatever people may think of Aldi, this is a strong international retailer and for many of those cricket fans from around the world who visit Edgbaston it will be a name very familiar to them unlike maybe an M&S or a Waitrose. From the beginning Aldi showed real intent and its founding philosophy very much resonated with us.

“We had to take a long term view about servicing the full catchment of Edgbaston and the company shared with us the responses it received to its public consultation they were undoubtedly around 80 per cent positive.

“Let’s be honest, if you live in that area and you want to shop then you have to travel. If we can get the convenience store that we want for the main development then the balance on the site will be fabulous.”

Mr Minott said stores of around just 10,000 sq ft present various challenges for retailers and although five supermarket chains were in negotiations for the site, when the contracts were on the table it was only Aldi that followed through its interest.

He said: “The fact is that the majority of the interested parties pulled out whereas Aldi was confident that it could deliver with that size store and we were more than happy to stick with them.

“The challenge was to come up with a design that accommodated three active frontages and due to its prominent position it was important that it wasn’t an eyesore whichever way you were approaching it and Aldi went away and came back with a solution of real quality.

“The original timber frontage was not good enough so we wanted them to go away to look at stone that would stand the test of time and that is what they did.”

Mr Minott said it was inevitable that some people were not happy with Aldi and others would be equally unhappy with a Waitrose.

“Every part of Edgbaston matters to us, not just the well-heeled.

‘‘We have to provide for all,” he said.

“We want to provide the best place to live and work but not just for the best streets.”

Away from Edgbaston Mill, Calthorpe has been busy investing millions in ensuring that the historic estate remains attractive to the modern business occupier.

In the past two years the estate has successfully completed the award-winning refurbishment of 100 Hagley Road as well as the speculative development of Calthorpe House, one of the region’s greenest buildings.

Mr Minott said it was projects like this that would be vital to Edgbaston retaining its reputation as a key business centre in the 21st century.

He said: “100 Hagley Road is very much what Calthorpe is always looking to do – regenerating the estate is what we are all about. 100 Hagley Road was a 1950s building, very tired and nobody would have given it a second glance.

“We took a view that it was a chance to do something really different and exciting.

“We started with the design team and challenged them to come up with a proposal that met all the challenges, such as the traffic and the aesthetics of the estate and most importantly the sustainability agenda that is so important to us.

“We were striving for a BREEAM very good rating for a refurbishment and we left no stone unturned in trying to deliver that.

“The estate is predominantly Victorian but occupiers are looking for modern sustainable space so it is up to us to deliver that for them.

“At a recent property event in Nottingham I heard person after person talk about how BREEAM and sustainability were not as important as they once were, but I am adamant that a sustainable approach still has real value and doesn’t have to come at a significant cost.”

Mr Minott said that there are other good reasons why Edgbaston is such a well established business district.

He said: “One of its main attractions is that it is very very accessible.

‘‘The fact is that in Edgbaston you can pull up at your front door and that is something that is very difficult to provide in the city centre.

“We don’t have a Snow Hill or a New Street but we have the local train connections at Five Ways, quality office space and a fabulous ambience.”