March 2021
Jez Collins speaks to BABMAG
Last year Upper Trinity Street’s Culture Consultant Jez Collins spoke to Birmingham’s BABMAG to explain his role in the development proposals and gave some insight into what the future might hold for the area. Here Jez expands on the interview he originally gave and brings us up to date with the scheme which is currently in for planning.
Talking about his role within the project team and the community consultation he said:
“I’m contracted by Cole Waterhouse to work with them during the planning process for the Upper Trinity Street development, but I’m not really there to talk about the heights of the building or massing or density, my role is to talk about how culture, creativity and heritage might be incorporated into the site. As an example, I say “okay, you’re building a 30-40 storey tower block, but what are you going to do on the ground floor level, what are you doing for the existing and future communities in Digbeth, what connection to the surroundings is there on the first three floors of the tower?” What does this development say about Birmingham, how does it reflect Birmingham?
In an area like Digbeth, which is the cultural and creative heart of Birmingham, there are concerns from the existing community about the future of the area and perhaps tensions about the changing nature of the area. So the other part of my role is to make meaningful links between Cole Waterhouse and the creative and cultural sector. I suppose I help to facilitate conversations between the different parties.
It’s easy to say that all big developments are just driven by ruthless developers looking to build and make a quick buck, but Upper Trinity Street really doesn’t fall into that category. It has a different focus than other proposed developments – it’s very much first and foremost about retaining the sense of community that exists here and if possible nurturing it and working alongside it.
Damian Flood, CEO of the Cole Waterhouse, and his team have taken steps to ensure the development will bring people together and create a thriving neighbourhood with new residents, while also improving the lives of existing residents and they have undertaken a lot of local consultation to get people’s feedback on the plans. I share a studio space in Digbeth and I honestly can’t wait for these developments to happen because as much as I love Digbeth, and I’ve been visiting the area for over forty years, it’s in desperate need of some love and affection but there has to be a balance. Again, something Cole Waterhouse is striving for.
With Upper Trinity Street Cole Waterhouse is creating a new neighbourhood right in the heart of Digbeth and neighbourhoods need communities, culture and connectivity to thrive and prosper. We worked really hard to involve the local community as much as possible and set out from the very beginning to ensure the consultation programme was deep, wide and purposeful. This, I believe, is reflected in how our plans have been revised as we prepare our submission to Birmingham City Council.
There are some truly amazing additions to UTS that we can’t wait to share with everyone this year and we hope people will follow our story and share in our vision for creating a vibrant new community at this historic site.
