Tram plan revealed after weeks of top-level talks.
Byline: STAFF REPORTERA'LIFE transforming' PS1 billion proposal to build a tram line into East Birmingham and on to north Solihull has been revealed after weeks of high level negotiations.
The new Metro line would take passengers out of the city centre through Digbeth to a new PS2.9 billion Blues super-stadium and sports quarter in Bordesley Green then continue on to Heartlands Hospital, the NEC, Birmingham Airport and the HS2 interchange and proposed health and science campus at Arden Cross.
It is a transformative vision that has been sold to senior Government figures, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, as 'a moment of great opportunity' for an area rich in potential but lacking in jobs and crippled by some of the highest child poverty rates in the country.
It has been described as a nationally significant project comparable to building a new runway at Heathrow.
Ministers have been personally lobbied for weeks by West Midlands mayor Richard Parker and American investor Tom Wagner, CEO of Blues' owners Knighthead.
The details of the proposal have now been revealed with the Government being urged to give it the green light and deliver the funds to kickstart it.
The draft proposal, carrying the strapline 'Invest a Little, Unlock a Lot' makes the case that a relatively small investment in new transport connections - with an initial ask of PS350-400 million - could support billions of pounds of new private-funder schemes and thousands of jobs.
The new line has been vaunted for over a decade and long championed by Birmingham MP Liam Byrne and former mayor Andy Street, but never happened.
But hopes are now high that it will finally happen. It would run first from Curzon Street, the new HS2 station, via Digbeth and on to the east of the city. It would pass through the entertainment hub being created at Digbeth Loc, and on to the Sports Quarter site at Bordesley Green.
The ambition is that this first phase would be ready for the opening of the Blues stadium, currently slated for 2030.
Later it would be extended out towards Heartlands Hospital, the NEC, Birmingham Airport and north Solihull, to the HS2 interchange at Arden Cross.
It would also be a connection that would support developments at Washwood Heath, Bordesley Park and Tyseley Energy Park, all geared towards job creation, and to JLR Solihull and Rolls Royce Solihull.
Mayor Mr Parker said: "We are working really closely with Government. I have spoken to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves and she has also met with Tom Wagner, along with other ministers, as we all want this to be joined up. We hope we have their support - they recognise this is not just a tram line, but will connect communities to each other and to huge investment opportunities.
"This is a massive opportunity for our region and the city of Birmingham and my role is to use my powers and commitment to ensure this happens quickly.
"What often happens is we need public funds to create infrastructure to lure in investors, in this case that has been turned on its head.
"We are connecting up a necklace of opportunity from the city centre out to north Solihull."
In a joint statement, Mayor Parker, Labour leader of Birmingham City Council John Cotton and Conservative leader of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council Ian Courts say the shared plan is 'a moment of real opportunity for East Birmingham and North Solihull'.
They say it will 'bring new jobs, better transport, more homes and stronger communities to the people who live here.'
The American investors at Knighthead, led by Mr Wagner, have gone public on the need for better connections to ferry thousands of sports and entertainment fans to and from the new sports village they intend to create around a new stadium for Birmingham City FC.
Wagner has said it would be a 'crime' if the project was diluted or lost for the sake of investing in public transport that would also benefit the area's 375,000 inhabitants.
While nobody in Government has publicly committed the finances required as a contribution to the project, all indications are that it will definitely happen, with an announcement potentially linked to June's spending review.
The Post understands an initial outlay of around PS350-PS400 million would cover the costs of the first phase to the Blues sports quarter.
Why the new tram line could be 'life changing' THE East Birmingham area is blighted with some of the lowest rates of employment and economic investment in the country. More than one in four adults (28.8%) have no qualifications, while 27.3% have never worked, more than double the national average.
As a result child poverty is running at close to 50%, rising to 75% in the worst off neighbourhoods. The presence of the tram will help regenerate the East Birmingham to North Solihull area, which is the focus of an inclusive growth zone chaired by Hodge Hill and North Solihull MP Liam Byrne.
It would drive growth to a population of 375,000 souls in one of the most deprived and least economically active areas of the country - bigger than Oxford and Cambridge combined. In their proposal, the political leaders say: "This would position significant employment opportunities at both ends of the proposed West Midlands Metro extension, providing significantly improved accessibility for the large residential (areas at the heart) of the zone."
They add that the new mass transit scheme for East Birmingham has been identified by the National Infrastructure Commission as a 'national priority for investment'.
As a separate but linked development, the Blues owners are strongly lobbying for the current Adderley Park train station to be moved closer to the proposed sports quarter as another way to get people in and out of the area.
CAPTION(S):
Details of the PS1bn project have been unveiled after ministerial lobbying by (right) Richard Parker and Tom Wagner
 Printer friendly
 Cite/link
 Email
 Feedback
| |
| Author: | STAFF REPORTER |
|---|---|
| Publication: | The Birmingham Post (England) |
| Geographic Code: | 4EUUK |
| Date: | May 8, 2025 |
| Words: | 975 |
| Previous Article: | RAISE A gLAss With Jane Clare. |
| Next Article: | Frontline war hero raped two teenagers while they were drunk. |
| Topics: | |