£13m Birmingham city centre park set for 2012 opening

Oct 28 2009 by Paul Dale, Birmingham Post

Birmingham’s first city centre park for 125 years will be open for public use in 2012, it was confirmed last night.

Final approval for work to begin on the £13 million Eastside City Park is expected to be given by the city council cabinet next week.

The eight-acre grassed area linking Park Street Gardens with Lawley Street Middleway and the canal will run alongside Millennium Point.

Cabinet members will award the contract for constructing the park to Wates Construction, subject to planning permission being granted.

The park, which will include water features and a public performance area, has been designed by architects Patel Taylor.

At the same time, Millennium Point will develop a £2.5 million science garden to sit alongside the park.

Cabinet regeneration member Neville Summerfield said: “Eastside City Park will support our standing as a global city, providing a space for local people and visitors around which high quality developments are already taking shape. The park will also act as a focus for the world-class attractions that are being developed within Eastside, and will connect the city centre with neighbouring communities.”

Coun Summerfield (Con Brandwood) added that the park would boost Eastside’s reputation as a major city centre regeneration zone, helping to pull in over £2.7 billion of private sector investment which would lead to the creation of 12,000 jobs.