Pictured above: Stuart Kirkwood of Advantage West
Midlands, MP Liam Byrne and Mark Stapleton of PxP West Midlands at
the Hodge Hill site
Regeneration partnership PxP West Midlands has received planning
permission for the first phase of a £35 million development
in Hodge Hill, with the potential to create up to 500 new jobs in
the area.
The approval paves the way for the redevelopment of a former
manufacturing facility on one of the most significant brownfield
sites in Birmingham.
With approval for B2 (general industrial) and B8 (storage and
distribution) facilities on the site, PxP West Midlands is now
actively marketing the 22 acre Wolseley Drive site which lies in a
prime position bordering the Heartlands spine road and Bromford
Lane, adjacent to M6 Junctions 5 and 6, providing fast access to
both the north and south with close links to the M5, M42 and M54.
Having worked closely with the Environment Agency and Birmingham
City Council to bring the development forward, PxP West Midlands -
which is a Limited Partnership between Advantage West Midlands and
Langtree - is delighted to have attained planning for the site just
weeks after achieving outline planning permission for the £42
million Brindley Village II regeneration scheme in North
Smethwick.
"Hodge Hill is an area of the city which we strongly believe can
be positively regenerated to ensure Birmingham's inner districts
boast a wealth of economically strong and vibrant urban communities
where people want to live and work for the long term," commented
Mark Stapleton, managing director for PxP West Midlands.
"Hodge Hill has been in the press for all the wrong reasons over
recent months and we are pleased to be announcing some positive
news for the area. The planning approval for Wolseley Drive
offers the flexibility for distribution, manufacturing or recycling
businesses to create new facilities here in a prime location,
offering fast access to both Birmingham city centre and the
motorway network.
"With the potential to create as many as 500 new jobs across the
entire site, we are confident that any business choosing to locate
here will benefit not only from purpose built facilities and having
the motorway on the doorstep, but also being positioned amid what
we know is a highly skilled local population with a strong work
ethic.
Liam Byrne, MP for Hodge Hill and Minister for the Cabinet
Office added: "I am very proud we've got the green light to
start developing more local land for jobs at Wolseley Drive. We
have to fight hard for more jobs in East Birmingham, so it's
excellent news that the government has pushed through plans to get
new land ready for more manufacturing.
"Advanced manufacturing has a great future in the Midlands and
it brings skilled jobs and better wages.
"In Hodge Hill we have a reputation for great manufacturing and
iconic products. That tradition needs backing - not walking away
from - in the 21st century."
Having received planning permission for Wolseley Drive, PxP West
Midlands is marketing the site via the Birmingham offices of
Colliers CRE and King Sturge. Interested parties should contact
Richard Lawrence (0121 265 7550) or Melissa Wase-Rodgers (0121 214
9952).