BOXPARK Birmingham: Digbeth railway arches to be transformed into stunning £5m food hall

Digbeth’s historic railway arches will be transformed into a massive food hall as an award-winning food and events pop-up mall opens its third site in the UK.

The new site will be located at Floodgate Street Arches in the heart of Birmingham’s growing creative quarter, Digbeth, and will be an exciting addition to the city’s buzzing food and drink scene not far from where the hugely popular Luna Springs is already attracting crowds.

Digbeth will be the home of Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight-led studios Digbeth Loc as well be home to BBC Masterchef studios when BOXPARK opens in 2025. The neighourhood is already home to The Bond - where Joe Lycett’s talk show was filmed, as well as several exciting food and hospitality venues and festivals like Halloween Fest, The Independent Birmingham Festival 2023 and more.

BOXPARK will be an exciting addition to Digbeth offering all-day dining and a unique programme of entertainment. Founded in 2011, BOXPARK has evolved from being the world’s first pop-up mall to one of London’s most high-profile branded dining, leisure and retail developments with three sites in Shoreditch, Croydon and Wembley.

In addition to its existing three London locations, BOXPARK is launching its first development outside of the capital in Liverpool in Spring 2024 with another site planned to open in Birmingham in 2025. The group is also rolling out its sibling brand BOXHALL, a high-end food and beverage concept, with the debut site heading to Liverpool Street, London in 2024.

What to expect at BOXPARK in Digbeth?

BOXPARK has agreed a 15-year lease with landlords The Arch Company for the site, which will see the space under four 12m railway arches transformed into a stunning food hall and events destination. Spanning nearly 17,000 sq. ft, the proposed plans for Digbeth’s historic railway arches feature a large, covered structure with around 10 kitchen units and four internal bars set across two floors.

Proposals for the scheme also include an external space for seating with two bar units, which are positioned to create a suntrap, perfect for al fresco dining and intimate events.

The group is investing around £5 million into Digbeth, and the new opening is expected to create approximately 200 new job opportunities for the local community. On top of this, the scheme will also drive a significant volume of footfall to the area, with over a million people expected to visit each year, based on footfall metrics from existing BOXPARK sites.

BOXPARK will bring diverse street food, independent traders and iconic events, and aims to champion local businesses and talent as well as artists, creators and performers from Birmingham. BOXPARK will also work closely with Birmingham City Council to promote local supply chain routes and recruitment.

What did BOXPARK leaders say about opening new site in Birmingham?

BOXPARK CEO Simon Champion, said:“We are delighted to announce the new location for our next BOXPARK venture. Our team has searched extensively for sites in Birmingham since 2016, and having considered multiple locations across the city we believe Digbeth is perfect for this scheme. The area’s eclectic mix of creative businesses is the perfect match for our ethos of supporting and championing local creatives from food to art, music and beyond. As a dynamic and fast-growing business, we hope BOXPARK will be an exciting addition to Birmingham.”

Paul Thandi CBE, Non-Executive Chairman of BOXPARK, said:“Since my recent appointment as Chairman at BOXPARK, I’ve witnessed first-hand the passion, commitment, and creativity from the team to deliver operational excellence and introduce new, innovative concepts to drive footfall to its locations.

“My experience in regeneration and transformation with the NEC Group, as well as my connection with the City leads to me to have a strong belief that BOXPARK Birmingham will no doubt drive footfall, customer choice, experience and of course, unique entertainment into and around our fantastic site in Digbeth. I think the iconic brand of BOXPARK will be a great addition to the Birmingham offer which is a big driver for me and the business.”

Nick Cridlan, Leasing Director at The Arch Company said: “BOXPARK shares The Arch Company’s commitment to reuse and repurpose and we’re delighted to welcome them to their new home in Digbeth’s historic railway arches. This letting will see four arches in this burgeoning creative quarter transformed from vacant spaces into vibrant places for independent traders to thrive. This agreement forms part of Project 1000, our plan to bring a thousand empty or derelict spaces across England and Wales back into use by 2030.”