Looking down Bradford Street which has many apartment buildings currently under construction

THE TRANSFORMATION Of Birmingham's Irish Quarter will not come at the expense of the area's unique identity.
That is the verdict of regeneration chiefs spearheading the programme to develop the area.
Speaking exclusively to The Harp, Phil Coyne from Birmingham City Council outlined some of the history leading up to its development and how he sees the Irish Quarter taking shape over the years ahead.
"The Irish Quarter has existed since the fifties and originally the focus was more around St Anne's Church," he said.
"You also have things like the Irish Centre and Irish Welfare and a network of Irish-owned pubs.
"Even though the Irish community has moved further up the road to Acocks Green, Hall Green and beyond the identity of that area of the city has transcended the next couple of generations.
"In terms of the identity of the Irish Quarter this was very much based around the evening economy in the area. We started to look at how we could develop that into something that was more sustainable.

Phil Coyne

The scheme is scheduled to take place over the next five years. The development will be two-fold, both commercial and residential, with a drive to recruit Irish companies to base themselves there.
So why is it happening? Part of the changing face of Birmingham it is as much a drive to recognise how the Irish community has helped to shape Birmingham over the years, according to Phil.
"We want to keep the Irish Quarter there as recognition of the contribution the Irish have made to the development of Birmingham over the last 50 plus years. Not just in physical terms in the links between the community and the construction industry but also in social terms as that is sometimes the bit that doesn't get recognised."
It was four or five years ago when the council's strategy for the area first took shape. Birmingham has seen many changes in recent years and one was a diminishing number of manufacturing companies traditionally based in Digbeth and the surrounding area. While there are still many manufacturers operating in the vicinity, the decline in manufacturing as a whole in Britain took its toll, perhaps more so in a place like Birmingham, part of the nation's industrial heartland. Some of the buildings along Bradford Street that were once centres of manufacturing have been vacant for more than ten years.
But it is this change that has actually paved the way for the development of the Irish Quarter, particularly opening up Bradford Street as the key focus.
Essentially it is Bradford Street, a street with plenty of character of its own, that will be the centrepiece of the development, many of its grand former factories being transformed to shape a 21st century identity for the area. Not all of the old buildings will be preserved. Given their former industrial use some are not suitable but Phil says many with "better quality architecture" will be.
The emphasis will be on residential and commercial development with the possibility of some specialist retail, though with the new Bullring nearby the aim is not to concentrate on the retail sector.
Part of a wider project to transform Birmingham the Irish Quarter sits close to the Bullring, Eastside and Millennium Point.
"All these things were coming on stream and this was an opportunity to add another quarter to the city," said Phil.
All these initiatives both serve not only to extend and improve the city centre but also attract visitors.
In this sense the Irish Quarter is no different and the leader of Birmingham City Council Cllr Mike Whitby has already spoken of his hopes it will become a tourist attraction in its own right, particularly as far as Irish Americans are concerned.
As well as residential and commercial developments there will also be some new squares and open spaces, serving as locations for the annual St Patrick's Day celebrations but also as a focus for activities and entertainment all year round.
Another boost will be the creation of jobs and Phil estimates between 1,500 and 2,000 will be created in the area over the next five years.
So what stage are things at now?
"We now have a series of development opportunities in the pipeline. In ball park terms we are talking somewhere in the region of £400-500 million," said Phil.
"Initially what we are going to be doing is develop from the top end of Bradford Street at Camp Hill down to the coach station, which itself is the subject of a redevelopment proposal.
"Bradford Street is one of the longest, straightest and widest streets in the city and in development terms it presents us with a real opportunity.
"Starting at the top end it will be residential with some commercial and as you get nearer to the city centre it will be more commercial but with some residential. There are somewhere between 1,700 and 2,000 residential units planned."
So how will the Irish identity be maintained? One key feature of the ongoing development is to attract Irish companies to the area, though Phil is the first to admit that it will not be exclusively Irish.
"It would be naive to think we will get all Irish companies there, that is not the nature of the market place but if we can get a proportion of Irish companies there then that will really give an identity that will make it sustainable."
The first stage involved signing up developers. These are now on board and the second stage of the project is to attract business to the area.
"We are trying to attract Irish businesses to the area. We developed a second marketing strategy where we are targeting the top 500 Irish companies, including hotels, insurance companies, banks, restaurants. So if they are looking to locate outside Ireland we want to bring them to the Irish Quarter. That is key to establishing the identity of the Irish Quarter in the longer term."
Phil added that one thing they are keen to avoid is what has been dubbed "shamrockery". The area will certainly not be festooned with harps and shamrocks.
"It has already got its identity but we want to make that identity sustainable and keep it there," he added.
Despite the work that has been done, this drive is at a relatively early stage. The developers are still working on their proposals but in the near future they hope to set up a marketing suite in a bid to demonstrate to prospective tenants their vision of what the area has to offer. Planning permission has already been granted for some of the big schemes along Bradford Street and the frontage of High Street, Deritend and outline planning permission has been given for a hotel..
"We have got these development proposals in the pipeline now and our big challenge is to develop and maintain the character of the Irish quarter," Phil added.
"We think we have a unique investment opportunity and a sound investment product. If can follow the route we have set out we believe we can create an Irish Quarter that will still be there in 20 years time."