Plans have been unveiled for Birmingham's tallest office building fronting onto the Bullring and Wholesale Markets.

Long-awaited proposals for the next phase of the Beorma Quarter scheme in Digbeth show developers have increased plans for a giant office building reaching up to 30 storeys.

The tower is set to become the third tallest building in Birmingham after the BT Tower and Radisson Blu hotel if built as proposed.

Kuwait-based property group Salhia Investments, which is leading the Beorma Quarter project, plans to demolish and renovate some existing buildings and erect three new towers on land bounded by Park Street and Digbeth next to Moor Street Car Park.

The scheme has been welcomed by a local business leader who said it strengthened key regeneration plans for the giant Wholesale Markets site.

Paul Garry, chairman of nearby Southside Business Improvement District, said: "The Beorma Quarter is playing a leading role in gentrifying this part of the city and can only encourage further investment.

"Salhia also deserves significant praise for their perseverance with this scheme which is the culmination of ten years worth of effort to get to this point.

"The scheme also reflects the increasing interest in the city from international investors and bodes well for progressing key transformational projects such as the Smithfield markets development site in the near future."

Comment: Hail the growth of a city centre office tower

Phase two of the Beorma project would see a 30-storey tower containing office and residential accommodation built directly opposite Selfridges.

The plans, drawn up by architecture firm Broadway Malyan, include the refurbishment of the locally listed 135-136 Digbeth and 137 Digbeth, which will be converted into retail space.

It is also proposed to retain the main Digbeth street façade of the locally listed 138-139 Digbeth.

Architect's model of the Beorma Quarter development
Architect's model of the Beorma Quarter development

Phase three would see two more towers built, of ten and 14 storeys respectively, which will front onto Well Lane and also contain a mix of retail, residential and office space.

Finally, four separate live/work units would be built between these two towers.

In total, the project covers 508,000 sq ft and would contain 223 apartments.

Expanding the main tower, even by just three storeys, is in marked contrast to recent developments in the city which have seen Regal's Left Bank, in Broad Street, and Dandara's V Building, in Suffolk Street Queensway, both dramatically scaled back from submissions originally made during the height of the boom years.

These new plans follow swiftly on from phase one which completes this summer.

Carried out by BAM Construction, it saw the wholesale renovation of the Grade II listed Digbeth Cold Storage building to create office space and an innovation centre while a 108-bedroom apart-hotel run by French chain Adagio opened earlier this month.

This is the company's second UK apart-hotel, after launching in Liverpool in 2013, and it also plans to open in London and Edinburgh in 2016.

Proposals for the Beorma Quarter project date back to before the recession and a previous planning permission awarded in 2009 contained plans for a 27-storey block.

The whole quarter has been valued at between £150 and £200 million but has suffered a troubled journey as challenging market conditions and the complex nature of the site mean it has been beset by delays.

Work was due to start in 2009 before coming to the table again in 2010 and also 2012, after the planning permission was renewed, following a land grab dispute the previous year.