July 2009 Archives

I love it when a press release and accompanying picture lands on my desk and makes me chuckle and this one from Chord Deeley is a corker.

Chord's jovial managing director Chris Rosier certainly got into the swing of the developer's recent marketing launch of its redevelopment of the Kettleworks building - the former home of the Swan brand kettle manufacturer - into 220,000 sq ft of offices.  The Kettleworks forms a key part of Chord Deeley's St George's scheme in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter.

Never known to take a hot beverage if there's a cider on offer, Rosier insisted on a tasteful (ahem) shot of himself with some strategically placed kettles made at the former factory.

Well, after much talk, we can finally see which numbers have come up on the cards that housebuilders were invited to play with earlier in the year by the Homes and Communities Agency in their Kickstart bingo, er I mean programme. A total of 67 residential schemes in the Midlands have been shortlisted for a share of the national £925m pot (£109m for 35 schemes in the West Midlands and £114m for 32 schemes in the East Midlands).

Note the key word 'shortlist' there. No pay-outs are certain yet and we'll have to wait until August to find out whether all of the nominees will be lucky winners. Although the HCA has always been keen to point out that the cash release "is not a hand-out to developers", how much will actually return to the public purse is very much open to debate.

The funding is undoubtedly a welcome shot in the arm for the resi elements of some foundering major projects including Urban Splash's Walsall Waterfront mixed-use development and Masshouse Development's Masshouse scheme at Birmingham's Eastside which have both stalled during the recession.

So, Mark Billingham and Alan Chatham (aka Birmingham Development Company) have snapped up another big, outdated building in Birmingham that they hope to transform with a major mixed-use development.

Following their successful creation of the Mailbox - the former Royal Mail sorting office - and its second phase known as The Cube, the duo plans to carry on with its formula of taking large, obsolete properties, reinventing them in an exciting way and, of course, making a nice profit.

It's worth bearing that last bit in mind when you consider that, unlike their previous forays, the pair has this time decided to acquire a scheme in a prime location, the 500,000 sq ft former Trinity Mirror print works site in the city centre's Colmore Business District.

An astonishing 155 people attended Coventry City Council's Annual Summer Networking Event at St Modwen's recently completed Whitley Business Park in the city outskirts yesterday lunchtime. Whether it was the delicious menu of poached salmon with melon, chocolate brownies, washed down with fizz that was the main draw, or as Coventry City Council Leader Ken Taylor said, the fact that people had nothing better to do in this quiet market, remains unclear.

But having amassed such a large audience, Taylor (pictured left) and his director of city development John McGuigan, were quick to reassure their guests that although the council is required to slash its total budget by 20% over the next two years, everything will be done to ensure that the effects on the property industry are minimal.

I'm stepping out of the Midlands and heading north of the border to cover developments in Edinburgh for EG's Scotland focus in August.

I'm looking for some market feedback  on the prospects for major developments in the Scottish capital, in light of the economic crisis and objections from UNESCO?

The feature will be published on 29th August and my deadline is 10th August.

Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts. I shall be back from holiday on Monday 27th July and raring to go... Contact me on: 07771 673458 or email: lisa.pilkington@rbi.co.uk

I look forward to hearing from you...

The summer silly season is nearly upon us and what with the so-far-non-existent long, hot summer, swine flu and the ever-present gloom of recession we're all looking for reasons to be cheerful. But come on, Advantage West Midlands, sometimes you just need to tell it how it is.

And how it is, is that 122 schemes that were earmarked for AWM funding will now have to go without a cash injection from the regional development agency. I can't tell you today exactly which schemes are affected as AWM won't reveal who and where until it has talked to the relevant parties first.

While out and about I get to speak to a wide variety of property players, including architects. They're not always best-loved by developers, but some of them certainly have a good viewpoint on how the industry is fairing in the economic downturn and the effect it is having on clients and the designs of their buildings.

Birmingham-based Glenn Howell is one. He likens the recession to a "very, very, strict detox or boot camp programme," he adds: "those that were not healthy when we entered into the recession have fallen by the wayside."

Howell believes investors and developers mindsets have changed. And in a good way: "Previously unrealistic land values are now at much more manageable levels and people have had a real mind shift becoming more human about the schemes they want to deliver. Yes, projects are still financially driven but quality of life and fairness of a scheme have become the root of projects we're working on instead of unworkable high densities."

I recently asked for constructive suggestions on ways in which Birmingham's transport infrastructure could be improved so that it is fit for purpose by the time a recovery of the city's commercial property markets is in full swing.

This followed on from my feature in EG's Birmingham Focus last month that revealed a worrying absence of concrete timelines for some of the city's most urgent transport improvements. So I was delighted when Ian Stringer, regional senior director and head of  GVA Grimley Birmingham office, came forward with some very positive ideas on how occupiers can help themselves.