Birmingham Star City development plans unveiled - including McDonald’s move and car park demolition

A Birmingham McDonald’s could be demolished to make way for a huge industrial complex and hundreds of jobs. The demolition is part of a big redevelopment at Star City that would see the fast-food restaurant flattened and relocated to another area of the site.

A total of 630 parking spaces including part of a multi-storey car park would also be lost. In their place, developers Star City Trustee Ltd are proposing “a high-quality, modern industrial and logistics development” that they say would provide hundreds of jobs and help to bring investment to Nechells Ward. The Goals football centre in the eastern part of the site would be retained with new access roads provided for visitors.

The site, on which Star City was built in the year 2000, was formerly occupied by the coal-powered Nechells Power Station which was built in 1915, extended in 1964 and closed in 1982, and is located to the north-east of central Birmingham.

When built, Star City provided over 30,000 sqm of net lettable floor space, including a 25-screen cinema and bowling alley, making it the largest leisure park in the country, and one of the biggest in Europe.

In a design and access statement, a representative for the developer Star City said: “The proposed development represents a logical way of making better use of the under-used eastern car park.

“With the site bordered by industrial or retail warehouses on two sides, bringing industrial on-site and extending the industrial context is a logical step, which would have a limited impact on the existing leisure facilities.

“The proposals seeks to create a high-quality, modern industrial and logistics development that will be attractive to prospective occupiers which will contribute significantly towards one of the council’s key priorities of creating local employment opportunities.

“Moreover, the development will reinvigorate an underutilised part of a popular leisure asset in Birmingham, future-proofing its use. This will reduce out commuting, indirect economic benefits to existing local businesses and represents a significant investment in the local area.

“The proposed sustainable employment development will represent a significant investment in the local economy and will result in considerable economic and social benefits for the local community.

“The proposal will create between 115 – 258 full-time equivalent (FTE) roles during the operational phase, with further jobs created through the construction period. This will contribute towards Birmingham’s Strategy of delivering more jobs over the Local Plan period. Furthermore, this development will generate significant growth in Nechells Ward, which is one of the city’s most deprived wards.”