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PRIVACY
Economic Development

Comment: Opportunities beckon - but challenges remain

Birmingham property experts Rupert Young and Carl Durrant assess the future for Birmingham's as it prepares for HS2 and more staff moving here from the South East

Rupert Young of Nurton Developments

Rupert Young, development director with Nurton Developments in Birmingham, paints a positive picture of future life in the city.

The HS2 Bill may now have all but received Royal Assent but debates about the merit, cost and precise route of Britain's controversial high-speed rail project will continue to run.

However, there are no qualms about the proposals to be heard in Nurton Developments' office in Birmingham or about the city's strategic direction of travel.

I've been back in Birmingham for just over 21 years and have never felt more positivity from the business community about what is happening here.

This is not just from people based in the city or those in the property sector.

When I talk to my long-term contacts in London, the South East and other regions, they have the same upbeat opinions about Birmingham, as a place to work, to live and to invest.

I hear all the time, from senior people in Birmingham, that London-based professionals are ever more receptive to the idea of coming here.

At Nurton, we see HS2 as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform our ageing rail network, increase capacity on the West Coast Main Line and strengthen the links between Birmingham and London.