A heritage regeneration company has unveiled plans to revitalise part of Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter with a creative and media centre.
Post_hoc Developments, which specialises in creative sector projects, has submitted plans to build the new 100,000 sq ft creative hub, with film, photography, digital, music and jewellery studios as well as commercial space, shops and houses.
The plans for 'Key Hill Studios' include the refurbishment of the grade II-listed Harry Smith Building on the corner of Key Hill and Hockley Hill, which dates back to the 1820s, and the adjoining grade II-listed Gem Buildings which were built in 1913.
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Included in the plans are 18 townhouses, apartments above shops and studios linked by a series of squares and pedestrian routes through the whole site.
In addition to Key Hill Studios, the plans also include a new bar/restaurant in the Gem Buildings.
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The site has been pieced together from a number of separate owners, with PCPT Architects given the brief to create an urban mixed-use scheme for a site that has been derelict or under-used for 20 years.
David Mahony, co-director at Jewellery Quarter-based Post_hoc and principal architect on the scheme, said: "We wanted the ground floor to be vibrant, which also fits in with the proposed new masterplan for the Jewellery Quarter, so adding shops for independents made sense."
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The Lampworks, a film and creative studio set up by Post_hoc and Birmingham Film Festival president Kevin McDonagh, opened last summer after they acquired a former factory and two adjoining Victorian houses in Key Hill Drive opposite the application site.
The whole scheme could create up to 150 jobs.
Chris Barrow, co-director at Post_hoc, added: "We saw the opportunity to add further spaces and resources for creatives, at the same time as regenerating a lost part of the Jewellery Quarter.
"Consideration is being given to the commercial spaces being owned and managed by a community interest company, thereby ensuring long-term survival."
Subject to planning approval, Post_hoc plans to begin refurbishment of the existing historic buildings later this year to provide working studios for hire, with construction of some of the new housing to start by early 2021.