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New images of Birmingham’s Arena Central development reveal wide public spaces including an urban meadow.

Landscape architect Gillespies has designed the public realm for the 9.2-acre site, including almost four acres of soft landscaping.

The design features a distinctive pedestrian ‘spine’ that runs through the site, connecting the commercial and retail zones fronting Broad Street to the north with the residential districts on the south side.

The landscape gradually declines from hard granite paving closest to the commercial buildings becoming softer as it moves to the south, the stone giving way to a wild meadow at the opposite side of the site.

Gillespies said the work aimed to create “the feel of a contemporary linear urban park”, and Jonathan Wallis from Miller Developments said inspiration was drawn from the High Line elevated gardens in New York.

Jonathan Wallis, Miller Developments, said: “Other large-scale mixed-use developments tend to be cut from the same cloth, but the intention for Arena Central has always been to create a public realm that reflects an inviting, urban park environment rather than just another hard concrete space between buildings.

“We have always envisaged Arena Central as being aligned with some of the world’s greatest statement spaces, such as the High Line in New York City and with almost half of the space given over to soft landscaping, Gillespies has produced a design that perfectly echoes our aspirations.”

The plans show wide steps inter-linked with water features, ramps and soft landscaping connect the plot’s various elevations, with curved benches breaking up the straight lines of the pathway.