Revised designs have been unveiled for Birmingham's £1.9 billion Smithfield project following complaints from government body Historic England.
The new-look proposals focus on public realm and commercial buildings and have also been brought forward due to changes in the Building Safety Act, according to lead developer Lendlease.
A trio of public events are now being held over the coming weeks ahead of a new planning application being submitted to Birmingham City Council by the end of the year.
The Smithfield development site, off Upper Dean Street, was once home to Birmingham's Wholesale Markets but these relocated to a new purpose-built facility in Witton in 2018.
Sign up for your free West Midlands newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from across the West Midlands including Birmingham, the Black Country, Solihull, Coventry and Staffordshire.
Click through here to sign up for our email newsletter and also view the broad range of other bulletins we offer including weekly sector-specific updates.
We will also send out 'Breaking News' emails for any stories which must be seen right away.
For all the latest stories, views and polls, follow our BusinessLive West Midlands LinkedIn page here.
Earlier this year, Historic England hit out at the Smithfield regeneration plans, saying they would harm the historic cityscape and disturb significant medieval remains.
It said the site occupied an important position as it was regarded as Birmingham's birthplace where a settlement first developed around the moated manor house of the de Birmingham family, the Parish Church of St Martin's and its marketplace the Bull Ring.
A market has operated at Smithfield for more than 800 years
Changes are also due to come into force related to fire safety which state a second staircase must be installed in residential buildings above 59 feet tall.
The proposed key changes to the designs are as follows:
- Festival Square will now be called Manor Square and relocated to sit above a buried moat and manor house while the markets have been split into two plots. One will have an indoor market, dining hall, restaurant and event space and the second plot will be home to the open and rag market.
Lendlease said the new location had been designed to avoid building over the buried archaeology of the moat and manor house while retaining their historic location close to St Martin in the Bull Ring Church.
- Cultural and musical facilities will now be located in one building instead of multiple, on the southern corner of Manor Square.
- The footprint and height of some of the residential buildings have changed to address upcoming changes to the Building Safety Act.
- Finally, amendments to the public space include increased tree planting in Manor Square, retaining existing trees on Edgbaston Street, shortening Upper Dean Street to accommodate the new layout of the markets and ensure a direct connection between them and Manor Square.
Smithfield project lead Colin Murphy said: "We're holding public meetings and making information about the proposed changes available online as early as we possibly can before submitting the changes to the planning application as we're fully committed to building trust and a strong relationship with local communities in Birmingham.
"Their perspectives are essential as we look to take this scheme forward."
The revised plans can be viewed at the following public events:
- 11am-3pm, October 27, Bull Ring Indoor Market
- 3pm-7pm, November 1, St Martin's Church
- 11am-3pm, November 11, Bull Ring Indoor Market
The updated designs can also be viewed on the Smithfield Birmingham website.
