£60m Birmingham Eastside regeneration revealed

Birmingham’s Eastside is set to be regenerated to provide new facilities for businesses, artists and academics.

The £60m plan will see Birmingham’s derelict Belmont Works, originally built in 1899, restored to its former glory as part of a major overhaul.

£14m of funding has been provided by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with £1m Local Growth Funding from GBSLEP.

It is hoped STEAMhouse will help create up to 10,000 jobs across the West Midlands region and help support the growth of the ‘Midlands Engine.’

The Grade A listed building on Cardigan Street has stood derelict since being gutted by a fire in 2007 but will now be transformed to house STEAMhouse’s permanent home. This will provide additional facilities and spaces for SMEs, as well as a new home for the University’s School of Computing, transforming the student experience for computing and digital technology students.

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, James Brokenshire,  formally announced Phase Two of Birmingham City University’s STEAMhouse project during a visit to the second city yesterday (July 4)

Mr Brokenshire said: ‘The STEAMhouse project is a fantastic example of how government investment is creating new jobs and boosting growth across the West Midlands.’

‘As the new Ministerial Champion for the Midlands Engine, I’m committed to improving opportunities across the region and this £15m of government funding will bring together businesses with the arts, science and academia under one roof to drive forward economic growth.’

The development continues Birmingham City University’s investment into the Eastside district of Birmingham and follows a programme worth over £260m to develop state-of-the-art facilities for students and staff.

In addition to the STEAMhouse Phase Two project, the University has acquired three plots of land adjacent to their existing campus in the city centre.

Professor Julian Beer, deputy vice-chancellor at Birmingham City University, said: ‘I am delighted to unveil our plans to develop STEAMhouse Phase Two and transform the historic Belmont Works building. STEAMhouse Phase Two will provide space for talented and innovative people from across academia, business and civic society to come together and develop ideas and products that change the world.

‘This marks the continuation of the University’s commitment to the regeneration of the Eastside district of the Birmingham. I am particularly pleased that we have the backing of Government for a project that supports economic growth in the West Midlands.’