Posted on July 01, 2022

The Birmingham to Smethwick Canal Corridor and Grove Lane Masterplan has been awarded 'Best Plan' at the RTPI West Midlands Planning Excellence awards.

The Smethwick to Birmingham corridor is Birmingham and Sandwell’s historic canal district, stretching from The Roundhouse just west of Brindleyplace to Galton Bridge in Smethwick. It is the historic link between Birmingham and the Black Country and a cradle of the industrial revolution. Today the corridor is one of the most significant areas of brownfield urban renewal in Europe, with potential to deliver 4,000 new homes.

AspinallVerdi, as a part of multi-disciplinary team including Tibbalds and Urban Movement advised Bimingham City Council (BCC), Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Homes England, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and the Canal & River Trust (together ‘the Partners’) to accelerate the delivery of transformational regeneration within the Smethwick to Birmingham corridor (‘the Corridor’). Within the corridor, a more detailed masterplan was undertaken for a key residential led regeneration area at Grove Lane adjacent to the new Midland Metropolitan Hospital, which is under construction and due to open spring 2022. This area has been identified as being able to accommodate over 800 new homes and ancillary complimentary uses.

Working alongside Tibbalds (masterplanners) and Urban Movement (transport consultants), AspinallVerdi provided property, viability and delivery advice on the emerging masterplan options. A series of reports were provided to help shape the masterplan proposals, including:

• Property Market Report – used to inform proposed residential typologies and densities, other complimentary uses and values.
• Land Report – an assessment of the potential acquisition costs associated with land assembly, based on land registry information, market analysis and VOA data.
• Viability Analysis – initial high level viability appraisals undertake on bespoke Excel based model to help inform unit numbers / density. Further detailed appraisals were undertaken using Argus to test viability of individual parcels of land, thereby allowing the flexibility to bring forward individual parcels of land reflecting land assembly and control.
• Delivery Paper – we are advised on delivery issues, with a focus on phasing based on land ownerships and a core area of development. We considered the role of key parties and the need for public sector funding to help unlock development.