Sixteen buildings in the Jewellery Quarter will be renovated after the district is set for a £2 million funding boost.
The Quarter’s business improvement district has this week been successful in the first round of a potential award of a £2 million Townscape Heritage Grant, which assists communities in the regeneration of conservation areas.
The grant, which will be awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), could see the listed buildings benefit from much-needed renovation and the repairing of lost features which will ensure their heritage is maintained. The Jewellery Quarter Development Trust has been awarded an initial £36,000 in development funding to work up the application that will potentially access a further £1.9 million under the Town Heritage Initiative.
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David Mahony, chair of the Jewellery Quarter Development Trust, said: “It is a tremendous boon for the trust that after only two years this national body has shown confidence in what we have and plan to achieve that they have awarded us an initial £36,000 to explore further developing the area.
“It is exciting times for the Jewellery Quarter not only with HLF funding but also the Golden Square and other projects from the Trust.
“Our mission is to make the Quarter an area to live, learn, work and visit and it is only with investments such as this that we will be able to accomplish this.”
The funding bid is part of plans to regenerate areas around Vittoria Street, Frederick Street, Albion Street and Legge Lane.
The trust will be working with partners in the community including Birmingham City Council and English Heritage over the next five years to access the £2 million if approved.
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This comes after the Jewellery Quarter’s Business Improvement District was launched in May 2012.
It is estimated that the BID levy will bring in an estimated £2 million over its five-year lifespan and could be expected to lever in a similar amount from other resources, so the funding would represent a significant boost.
Among the work carried out so far are cleaner and safer streets, improving marketing to increase footfall and inward investment, and improving connectivity to the city centre.
Sir Albert Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “A lot of hard work has gone into this application and I’m confident the Trust will be successful.
“To be awarded this grant would be hugely beneficial for the renovation and repair of some of the city’s historic buildings.”
Tim Johnston, planning and conservation director for English Heritage in the West Midlands, said: “The Jewellery Quarter is a special historic place with the conservation and repair of its unique stock of historic buildings a very high priority for English Heritage.
“We look forward to carrying on working with the Trust on developing and delivering the Townscape Heritage scheme for this hugely significant area”.