A £1.8 million programme of demolition work is clearing the way for the key Edgbaston Reservoir and Icknield Port Loop canalside redevelopments in Birmingham.

Sixty-five acres of derelict and underused land in the Wiggin Street and Freeth Street area of Edgbaston are to be transformed into a high-quality, residential-led, mixed-use scheme.

Advantage West Midlands has appointed Connell Brothers of Manchester to carry out an eight-month programme of demolition work. It is clearing two sites, one off Wiggin Street and one off Freeth Street.

The regional development agency has invested a total of £16 million in the development to pay for an extensive land assembly programme, demolition and remediation work and developing a masterplan with key partners Birmingham City Council, British Waterways and English Partnerships.

Tim Davies, development team leader at Advantage West Midlands, said: "This site is just a mile from Birmingham city centre and a ten-minute walk from Brindleyplace. It is without doubt one of the most exciting development opportunities in the West Midlands region.

The sites have great potential to contribute to the creation of an excellentlydesigned, sustainable development of homes and high-quality work space which will attract new investment to an area full of canalside character.

"We have now assembled a significant site which effectively joins the city's land with that of Isis (British Waterways' waterside regeneration arm). It will be comprehensively masterplanned."

Clive Stone, managing director of Birmingham-based Redcliffe Catering, is the owner of the Centennial Centre in Icknield Port Road, opposite the development.

He said: "We are celebrating 21 years in business at the Centennial Centre and to see work starting on site is exciting for businesses in the area and the local community.

"Redcliffe Catering will be working with Advantage West Midlands and the other land-owners to see what opportunities the development can offer to bring a new lease of life to an area neglected for far too long.

"When I bought the Centennial Centre building in 1988, people said I was mad. Now they say I'm a genius."

The start of work concludes more than five years of preparatory work by AWM, working with Atkins, FPCR, Colliers CRE, Eversheds, British Waterways, Birmingham City Council and English Partnerships.