In 2021, the company Lendlease was awarded the contract by Birmingham City Council to deliver the £1.9bn redevelopment of Smithfield, a 42 acre site in the heart of Birmingham. Lendlease now have an online consultation running, asking the public for their opinion on the outline plans for the site (see the link). The plan includes a park, which has come as a direct result of the petition that you signed as part of the CityPark4Brum campaign, which now has over 11,000 signatures. 

However as we feared, the suggested park is clearly not large enough - at about 1.5 acres, it is no more than half the size of either Cathedral Green or Eastside City Park, which are currently the only areas of significant green space near to or in the centre of Birmingham. So where will the tens of thousands of new residents planned for the city centre go with their friends and families? Is it right that only the leafy suburbs of Birmingham should have great access to green and open space for improving physical health and mental wellbeing? We don't think so. A park provides the ultimate clean air zone for a city. And the recent pandemic has only served to further highlight the vital health benefits of access for all to green space. But of course, this is no recent revelation - as long ago as 1876, the then Mayor of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain, talked about 'the importance of having these lungs for great cities, breathing places for their toiling and industrious population’. 

The CityPark4Brum plan would extend the park towards the heart of the development site, making it the focal point for Smithfield and the location for markets and cultural buildings. The park would also act as a green hub for the city centre, from which walking and cycling corridors span outwards in many directions, connecting with other areas of green space. It would also be the location for festivals, concerts and community events. Smithfield's recent use for Birmingham Pride and the forthcoming Commonwealth Games shows the economic and cultural benefits of having sizeable areas of public open space in the city centre.

Do you agree that the park should be larger and the focal point for Smithfield in the heart of Birmingham? Whatever your views, please have your say on the online form, but you have to be quick - the deadline is Sunday 24th April.