END OF LINE FOR GRAND CENTRAL?

31-08-2007

Plans for a £350 million redevelopment of Birmingham's Eastside won't just create new offices and apartments - they'll kill off hopes of a major new rail interchange in the city, leaving the controversial New Street Gateway project as the only game in town.

Developers Grainger plc have put forward an ambitious proposal involving offices, hotels, and apartments - all part of reviving the rundown area close to Millennium Point.

So far, so good you might think.

What's controversial is that the scheme relies on building on the old Parcelforce depot which experts have identified as the ideal site for a new rail hub.

In March 2006, Solihull-based consultants Arup and the architect Murray Rayner outlined the alternative possibility of creating Grand Central Station there - and although the Parcelforce site wasn't formally identified as the location, it was widely recognised a3s the best location.

The cost was estimated at £500 million - about the same as the New Street project - but, crucially, allowed much greater scope for expanding track capacity.

One of the criticisms of Gateway is that although it will boost city centre shopping opportunities and make life more comfortable for passengers, it will do nothing to reduce rail bottlenecks.

Maybe that's why it has so far attracted only £128 million of government funding, and has sparked a furious row between ministers and the local authority (see here)

Arup's Colin Stewart argued in March 2006 that Grand Central offered much greater scope for integrating rail with bus, metro and taxi.

He said: “This is a unique opportunity. Few, if any cities have a site on a railway junction, close to the centre which is suitable for a railway station.

“We need to make sure that development in Birmingham over the next three or four years, does not prejudice the next 50."

With Birmingham City Council giving it's backing to Grainger's Eastside application which is due to be heard on September 7, it looks as though those words have gone unheeded.

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