Ambitious Paradise Circus redevelopment of Birmingham gets approval

Planners have backed plans for the dramatic transformation of Birmingham’s Paradise Circus.

The £450m scheme is set to become a reality after the application submitted by developer, Argent, gained outline approval from Birmingham City Council’s planning committee today.

Around 17 acres of land between Centenary Square and Chamberlain Square will be developed to provide up to 12,000 jobs in a mixed use redevelopment including offices, shops, leisure and cultural facilities together with civic amenities and a new four star hotel to replace the existing Copthorne Hotel.

In total, the development will comprise a gross internal area of 1.8 million sq ft in 10 new buildings, making it one of the UK’s largest city centre planning applications approved this year.

Leading the Paradise Circus team is Argent’s Senior Project Director Rob Groves, who said: “The redevelopment of Paradise Circus has the potential to make the most significant impact on the city centre for a generation.   The site’s combined qualities of its central location and historic landmarks creates an unrivalled opportunity to create a sustainable, first class environment that will transform this key part of Birmingham city centre.

“Receiving the unanimous support of the City’s Planning Committee is a fantastic start to the scheme and a reflection of the significant commitment made by the whole Paradise team to deliver this complex application. We believe that we are now in a position to build on this momentum and will continue to move forward with the detailed design process to bring the development to life.”  

Paradise Circus is the first development to progress within Birmingham’s new city centre Enterprise Zone with approval for an investment of more than £60m into the required infrastructure changes to support the initial launch of the development. The subsequent regeneration could pave the way for thousands of new jobs.