Case Study: Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham

In 2004, Denis Wilson was asked by Ashfield Land Ltd to consult on transport, accessibility and parking provision for a new 133 unit residential and commercial development in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. The development was designed by local architects Turner Woolford Sharp, with planning work undertaken by Turley Associates.

After meeting with the local authority’s Highways Department we produced an initial assessment that focused on the impact of new residential traffic on existing industrial traffic in the area. We also highlighted the need for any new connections from the site to the nearby city centre to be both workable and sustainable.

Because of the site’s proximity to existing bus, train, metro, cycling and pedestrian routes, we were assured that parking provision for around 50-60 per cent of the units would be acceptable, so our first assessment gave us 70 spaces in the development’s underground level and another 10 in the courtyard. Access was fairly straightforward through an existing junction and a new underground access which was reached from a one-way street right next to the site.

We held lengthy talks with the planning authority to ensure that all servicing, noise and pedestrian access issues were successfully addressed and our initial transport assessment was submitted along with the planning application shortly after.

Unfortunately, the local authority’s urban designers objected to the courtyard parking on two counts, saying that it wasn’t a proper use of available space and that headlights could cause a nuisance at night. Our main concern was that removing these spaces would lower the overall number of spaces, which went against a national political policy that looked towards full parking provision for all new developments.

This was borne out when the application was returned with a recommendation to increase parking to, or near to, 100 per cent.

As any reduction in the development’s units would make the scheme unviable, we clearly needed to look for a second assessment that would satisfy the local authority. Discussions with their planning officer confirmed that any movement towards full provision was going to be essential.

With that in mind, we decided to move the disabled parking to the courtyard, which freed up four more spaces underground. We also provided drawings to show that an additional 10 spaces could be provided in the one-way street next to the development, funded through the s106 contribution. We also found that a nearby NCP car park could offer secure, 24-hour parking for 25-30 vehicles on an annual season ticket basis.

Armed with this revised assessment, the applicant could now demonstrate that the development offered 110 spaces – a dramatic increase to 83 per cent provision.

The application was approved with no conditions set for off-site parking.

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