Property Market and Employment Survey - Blackswan Property
Blackswan Property Limited, based in The Big Peg, Vyse Street, Jewellery Quarter, has been appointed by the Birmingham City Council to create a Property Market and Employment Survey of the Jewellery Quarter.
This is just a brief summary of the survey highlighting the most important aspects and conclusions, however, if you would like to read the full document, please follow this link.
The Blackswan approach to the survey involved developing a multi-layered strategy that allowed efficient data collection. This involved a series of different stages and activities:
Mapping – Blackswan produced and developed their own map of the Jewellery Quarter, which allows for recording multi-layered information. Their map includes streets, the building boundaries, the buildings within those boundaries, any parks, canals, railways, tunnels or railway stations, as well as the artificial boundaries of the different areas of the Quarter.
Plot Making – In order to create a comprehensible framework for the survey, Blackswan has divided the Quarter into approximately 650 primary and 150 secondary survey plots. A survey plot is ideally composed of a building or group of buildings of a similar age, condition, usage and occupation. Where there was a vertical separation in a building, because of different ownership, there were both primary and secondary plots created, to allow for greater accuracy in the results.
Street Survey – Every plot was assessed from the street against approximately 25 different criteria.
Desktop Survey – Every plot was assessed against some criteria that were not possible to be observed on the site visits, or if there were better sources available, these were analyzed subsequently.
Telephone Interviews – Over 450 telephone calls were made, and over 75 individual interviews were held with different businesses in the Quarter. A consultative survey was produced on various issues within the Jewellery Quarter.
Face-to-Face Interviews – The team also consulted people on a face-to-face basis.
Stakeholder Survey – A number of stakeholder meetings were held with the different Jewellery Quarter stakeholders, aiming to assess what they believed were the main issues and priorities of the Quarter.
***
Blackswan also attempted to determine what characteristics make each one of the Jewellery Quarter localities their specific character identity. Below is a brief summary of their observations and suggestions.
The City Fringe
Being in close proximity to the City Centre, the City Fringe has a more corporate, commercial feel, than the rest of the Quarter.
The southern half of this area has an extremely high density and very dense employment within large companies, while the northern area is mostly disused, although it has great potential for large developments on either side of Ludgate Hill for office, leisure or residential use.
Currently, the area has no facilities for the residents, workers and students, and as a result, it is recommended to create a greater range of facilities and an identifiable hub.
St. Paul’s/ Canal Corridor
Similarly to the City Fringe, St. Paul’s/Canal Corridor is also divided into two distinct areas, with the neighborhood around St. Paul’s Square characterized by high rates of employment, residency and footfall, while the area west of Newhall Street, along Charlotte and George Street is less well utilized, with large empty sites.
The area around St. Paul’s Church has retained its Regency style and character, while also having one of the highest rates of residency, with 32% of all of the residents in the whole of the Jewellery Quarter living around this neighbourhood.
A large amount of space to the west of Newhall Street offers a significant opportunity for growth in commercial and residential space. The area also requires a greater range of facilities (with the exemption of restaurants) and a growth in the nighttime economy.
The Industrial Fringe
The area with most activity and employment lies along Warstone Lane, with a very active frontage and a cluster of light industrial and typically jewellery based businesses. The rest of the Industrial Fringe is however plagued by disuse, dereliction and vacancy.
Although there are some fine Victorian buildings interspersed throughout the area, the majority of the buildings are simple and unremarkable, dating back to the Inter-war or Post-war period.
This area has suffered significantly over the last thirty years and has lost most of its character and industry. However, that essentially makes it into a blank canvas for new developments and regeneration, with little restrictions in place compared to other areas of the Quarter.
The Industrial Middle
Although situated in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter, the Industrial Middle has no central area and is characterized by numerous large roads (Vittoria Street, Frederick Street, Graham Street), with areas of high utility interspersed with areas of vacancy without a specific and clear boundary, like in the case of the City Fringe or St. Paul’s/ Canal Corridor.
The highest vacancy is concentrated around the Regent Street area, particularly on Vittoria Street, with some unused places on Frederick Street.
The area has a typical Jewellery Quarter character, with the majority of buildings being of a Georgian, Regency, Victorian and Edwardian style, varying from typical three-story townhouses to large Victorian factories and small workshops.
The Industrial Middle has significantly lower rates of employment and activity compared to the Golden Triangle or St. Paul’s area, but a higher proportion of underutilized and vacant space compared to these areas.
The Industrial Middle provides a unique opportunity for connecting all areas of the Quarter, and of developing projects and new uses that actively contribute to the Jewellery Quarter brand.
Golden Triangle
Being the core of the Jewellery Quarter, the Golden Triangle contains what people from outside of the Quarter would consider its core characteristics: the museum, the railway station, the clock tower and virtually all of the jewellery retail.
It is a hub of activity for all types of businesses, having gradually grown into an incubation centre for new and small businesses, especially in the creative industries.
Similarly, to the Industrial Middle, the Golden Triangle has retained most of its original buildings from the Pre-war period, with a couple of exemptions around the Big Peg.
Being the heart of the Jewellery Quarter, the success of the Golden Triangle very much determines the success of the Quarter as a whole.
Great Hampton Street & Viaduct
This area has a retail-focused use along the main road, with industrial and storage uses behind.
These two areas have the lowest rates of employment, high rates of dereliction and vacancy, as well as some of the poorest condition properties.
Surprisingly, they still retain many of their large commercial Victorian buildings, but these are overshadowed by the poor condition of the other buildings surrounding them.
These areas show all the signs of full market failure, which needs major intervention in order to be rectified.
Conclusions
Locality Branding Blackswan have used the names given to the different Jewellery Quarter localities as they have been named in the Jewellery Quarter Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Plan, however, they noted that these names do not give an accurate image of what the localities are truly like. They suggested they are renamed, helping localities establish their own place identity and encouraging communities to grow and own their neighbourhoods. Here is a brief outline of the suggestions given in renaming the various localities:
City Fringe – Ludgate
“City Fringe” is a name that suggests being on the periphery, and not a centre of activity. A new name is needed to describe the area as a place to live, work and invest. “Ludgate” builds on the relative success of the area around Ludgate Hill, and for the non-locals, it also connects with Ludgate Hill in London.
Industrial Middle – Pen Quarter
The “Industrial Middle” name is likely to suggest a place filled with steel warehouses and trucks, which is an unhelpful and inaccurate description of the heart of the Jewellery Quarter. Having one of the highest proportions of listed buildings and heritage buildings of anywhere in the country, and being home to numerous works buildings, like the Argent Centre, Victoria Works and Baker and Finnemore, which were all originally pen makers, the “Pen Quarter” would be a name that is appreciates the area’s industrial heritage, without labeling the place as industrial. It also adds a unique selling point, which contributes to outlining the identity and character that the area is lacking at the moment.
St. Paul’s/Canal Corridor
St. Paul’s is a name that carries a brand and image, and thus Blackswan proposes it is kept while introducing a new name to the area to the south of Newhall Street.
Golden Triangle – Jewellery Quarter Central
Blackswan proposes introducing a simpler name for the Golden Triangle, which fully and accurately describes it as the centre of the Jewellery Quarter.
Industrial Fringe – Warehouse District
Choosing a name that accurately represents the Industrial Fringe, with all the derelict and vacant sites, poor quality buildings, and only a couple of heritage buildings interspersed throughout the area is a rather difficult task. The Warehouse District name is inspired from one of the successful developments, the Amazon and Wexler lofts located in the area, and is aiming to represent the warehouse and loft living that characterizes big cities, hopefully encouraging further developments of this type in the area.
Great Hampton Street and Viaduct – Rag District
The area around Great Hampton Street has always been a centre for garment business, and cheap clothing is still traded here today, locally referred to as “rag trade”. The “Rag District” name acknowledges what was and is happening in the area, while also describing it as an edgy area that is thriving with people and activity and offering a base to market and develop on.
