EC Harris on team that will look at development of Birmingham over next the 20 years

Urban Initiatives has been appointed to draw up a masterplan for the city of Birmingham, apparently the biggest plan of its kind in the UK.

The strategy, which will cost £750,000 to compile, will co-ordinate the physical, economic and cultural development of the city centre over the next 20 years.

It will look at how the city can be better connected and how the city’s assets can be used to generate more private-sector investment.

Currently, the city council owns almost half of all the land within the 2,000 acre city centre.

Urban Initiatives is the lead member of a team that also includes: Urban Delivery, Donaldson’s (soon to be part of DTZ), Roger Tym & Partners, Trowers & Hamlins, EC Harris, M&N and Atelier Ten.

The masterplanners will be continuing the work of Professor Michael Parkinson, who was called in by Birmingham City Council last year to draw up a 'visioning study' for the area.

Council leader Mike Whitby said the masterplan would underpin the future development of the entire city and wider region.

He said: “By developing an integrated approach within which public and private sectors work in unison, the masterplan will create an environment within which all parts of the city centre are linked together. It will ensure that future change and development is predicted and managed, and opportunities for inward investment are maximised.”

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