Revitalising the Irish Quarter

The new £400 million redevelopment of the Irish Quarter will be the first project to officially acknowledge the area's Celtic connections. The project is expected to be completed by 2009 and will link up with the thriving new Bull Ring shopping complex and the further planned Eastside redevelopment.

The redevelopment will be centred on Digbeth High Street, Bradford Street, Cheapside, Camp Hill and the Bull Ring and when completed will provide approximately 1,500 homes and 1.5 million sq ft of commercial space, creating hundreds of new jobs in the process.

Creating a balance between residential accommodation and business space, will be a key element of the redevelopment. The first part of the project will see the landmark Abacus building in Alcester Street redeveloped into 176 apartments, together with the development of a further 600 apartments, offices and neighbourhood shops along the Bradford Street/Cheapside corridor.

The site surrounding the Birmingham Irish Club will form the main entrance to new Irish Quarter and there are audacious plans to raise and integrate Birmingham's little known River Rea to provide opportunities for riverside pubs, cafes and walkways together with new landscaped public squares within the Quarter.

In addition to creating a new "neighbourhood" within the city, and providing up to 1000 construction jobs during the development process, it is anticipated that the range of business space on offer will also provide a further 1000 permanent jobs for the City Centre when fully occupied.

Whichever way you look at it, it's an exciting vision that will boost the transformation of the Irish Quarter into a place which meets the aspiration of the City Council and the Irish community, businesses, new residents and of course, the city as a whole.