Britain's biggest development corporation launched for £11bn east Birmingham regeneration

A new development corporation has been launched to speed up the £11 billion regeneration of east Birmingham, in what its backers describe as the biggest and most powerful body of its kind in Britain.

Mayor Richard Parker launched the Birmingham East Mayoral Development Corporation on 19 May at the UKREiiF real estate conference in Leeds, after it was given the green light by the Government.

What it will do

The corporation brings together powers over land acquisition, planning, business tax incentives and infrastructure funding in a single body. Its supporters say this will cut through red tape and make it easier for investors, who will only have to deal with one organisation instead of many.

It is expected to bring more than 50,000 jobs and 20,000 new homes to east Birmingham, one of the most deprived parts of the country. In some areas more than half of children live in poverty, and around 27 per cent of adults have never worked, more than double the national average.

It is the most significant development corporation launched in the UK since the London Legacy Development Corporation was set up to transform east London after the 2012 Olympics.

The projects inside it

The corporation covers an area the size of more than 600 football pitches, including:

• the £4 billion Birmingham Knowledge Quarter;
• the HS2 Curzon Street station and the neighbouring Central Heart site;
• the £2 billion Smithfield development next to the Bullring;
• a major creative industries hub in Digbeth; and
• land set aside for the £3 billion Birmingham Sports Quarter and its planned 60,000-seat Powerhouse Stadium, to be served by a new tram route.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to end the deep-rooted deprivation that has blighted lives for too long in East Birmingham and create places people and businesses are proud to call home," said Mayor Parker.

He described the corporation as "big, bold and ambitious", adding: "The scale of this Corporation shows that Birmingham is back and ready to lead the UK's return to growth."

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the new body would give the mayor the powers "to unlock thousands of homes, jobs and vital infrastructure".

Linking growth to local people

Joanne Roney CBE, managing director of Birmingham City Council, said the corporation would "enable and accelerate developments in the heart of the city and in East Birmingham that will transform lives".

"We will also make sure we deliver the greatest impact for our residents by linking the economic outputs of the MDC directly with deprived communities," she said.

The mayor and senior council figures spent months designing the corporation. Its success will be judged not only on buildings and investment, but on whether jobs, homes and training reach the communities around it.