Following Local Centres Funding from the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) in 2021 to create a Jewellery Quarter Cultural Action Zone, the Jewellery Quarter Development Trust (JQDT) has since worked with local stakeholders to develop three distinct visions for the future of the Jewellery Quarter.

Prompted by the Jewellery Quarter Neighbourhood Plan, which has completed its public consultation and is due for local referendum in early 2023, it is hoped that the visioning studies will both stimulate investment into the area and maximise the potential of the Jewellery Quarter’s assets. The visions will also demonstrate how the Jewellery Quarter Neighbourhood Plan could be implemented in areas most in need of reconnection or regeneration.

Working with over 30 volunteers across 3 working groups to develop the visioning studies, the process involved the identification of local issues, local assets, desired outcomes and many solutions, resulting in a robust, aspirational and deliverable vision.

The areas, now given three distinct names, include: Chartists, the south-western border of the Jewellery Quarter that connects Paradise with Spring Hill; JQ Common, the traditional heart of the area which covers the Jewellery Quarter train station, Chamberlain Clock and The Golden Square; and Great Hampton Street, encompassing both Hockley Hill and Constitution Hill.

The visions can be read in full online here.

A common theme throughout the visioning studies is how greenery can be introduced to increase the number of outdoor spaces and develop a further sense of community. One proposal is to transform Hockley Circus into a connector between Handsworth, Soho, Hockley, Newtown and the Jewellery Quarter by turning the flyover into the ‘Hanging Gardens of Hockley’. The vision would see the planting of community gardens and allotments, taking inspiration from The Sky Garden in Seoul and New York’s ‘The High Line’.

Another proposal sees the development of a Linear Park running along Summer Hill Road to help repair the ‘tear’ in urban fabric between the Jewellery Quarter and Ladywood. A new network of trees and urban greening through narrowing the road would provide spaces for members of the public to spend time outdoors and encourage a new sense of community and create a safe and attractive green link to encourage people to travel by foot and bike from Winson Green and Spring Hill.

Following Local Centres Funding from the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) in 2021 to create a Jewellery Quarter Cultural Action Zone, the Jewellery Quarter Development Trust (JQDT) has since worked with local stakeholders to develop three distinct visions for the future of the Jewellery Quarter.

Prompted by the Jewellery Quarter Neighbourhood Plan, which has completed its public consultation and is due for local referendum in early 2023, it is hoped that the visioning studies will both stimulate investment into the area and maximise the potential of the Jewellery Quarter’s assets. The visions will also demonstrate how the Jewellery Quarter Neighbourhood Plan could be implemented in areas most in need of reconnection or regeneration.

Working with over 30 volunteers across 3 working groups to develop the visioning studies, the process involved the identification of local issues, local assets, desired outcomes and many solutions, resulting in a robust, aspirational and deliverable vision.

The areas, now given three distinct names, include: Chartists, the south-western border of the Jewellery Quarter that connects Paradise with Spring Hill; JQ Common, the traditional heart of the area which covers the Jewellery Quarter train station, Chamberlain Clock and The Golden Square; and Great Hampton Street, encompassing both Hockley Hill and Constitution Hill.

The visions can be read in full online here.

A common theme throughout the visioning studies is how greenery can be introduced to increase the number of outdoor spaces and develop a further sense of community. One proposal is to transform Hockley Circus into a connector between Handsworth, Soho, Hockley, Newtown and the Jewellery Quarter by turning the flyover into the ‘Hanging Gardens of Hockley’. The vision would see the planting of community gardens and allotments, taking inspiration from The Sky Garden in Seoul and New York’s ‘The High Line’.

Another proposal sees the development of a Linear Park running along Summer Hill Road to help repair the ‘tear’ in urban fabric between the Jewellery Quarter and Ladywood. A new network of trees and urban greening through narrowing the road would provide spaces for members of the public to spend time outdoors and encourage a new sense of community and create a safe and attractive green link to encourage people to travel by foot and bike from Winson Green and Spring Hill.

Image Credit: BPN Architects