Parking provision in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter is to get a welcome boost with the creation of 137 new spaces in Charlotte Street. The new car park is at the rear of RO St Bernards’ (ROSB) and Birmingham City Council’s Newhall Square development (formerly the Science Museum).
The pay-and-display facility will be managed by Urban Car Parks and is operational 24 hours a day, throughout the week.
Parking in the Jewellery Quarter has come under pressure following the increase in the number of residential schemes in the area.
The influx of visitors to the popular tourist destination, plus pressure from city centre workers looking for cheaper parking space, has added to the demand. The Big City Plan, the blueprint for future development of the city, highlighted the need for additional parking in the area.
Parking at the Charlotte Street site is just £3 per day. Permits are also available.
The Jewellery Quarter Association (JQA), which was established to conserve, protect and improve the working environment in the area, has, since it was set up in 1990, lobbied for improved parking provision.
Marie Haddleton, president of the JQA, said: “We welcome the addition of properly managed and cheap new car parking in the area. The area has always suffered because of insufficient parking and this will undoubtedly help ease the problem.”
Chris Bond, chief executive officer at ROSB, said: “In the long-term, we have plans to develop offices and homes on the site. In the meantime, we hope the car park will help relieve parking congestion in the Jewellery Quarter and attract more people to Newhall Square.”
Newhall Square is a £63million mixed-used scheme. It boasts a 100-bed Travelodge, the hotel chain’s best performing UK operation, fronting a new public square; 6-7 Newhall Square, a contemporary office building of 10,8565 sq ft/1,008 sq m and 144 Newhall Street, a Grade II listed building which has been refurbished to create 6,028 sq ft/560 sq m of office space, and The Engine Room, the refurbished former exhibition hall of the Science Museum, now 5,283 sq ft/490sqm of space suitable for bar/restaurant or office/studio use. Agents on the scheme are Colliers CRE and GBR Phoenix Beard.
