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Birmingham's civic leaders must stop wasting time and get the rebuild of New Street station underway, the Director General of the CBI has warned.

Sir Digby Jones, the Birmingham lawyer who leads the CBI, said it was time to stop talking and start doing.

Businesses depended on rail links, he warned a meeting at the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool.

Sir Digby said: "As a city, Birmingham has to pee or get off the pot. There are a lot of different ideas, but the time for a decision has come. Unless the private sector and the public sector work together, it will never happen. This is overdue, and it has to happen."

Sir Digby's comments were backed by Birmingham lawyer Andrew Sparrow, deputy chairman of Birmingham Forward, who says projects are stalled because of the council.

He said: "I have had numerous people approach me over several months from business circles questioning the lack of decision-making on the part of the city council. Their concerns are shared by others. From the ill-fated proposals for an underground system, always wholly unrealistic in cost terms, to the library plans, and, just this week, the threat to the Royal College of Organists' relocation to Eastside, the culture of indecision has become ingrained."

Plans have been drawn up for a £350 million redevelopment of New Street, backed by the city council, business leaders and Centro, the transport authority. Businesses warn the existing station is the worst possible welcome to Birmingham for travellers.

The station is operating with twice as many passengers as it was designed for and has often closed at peak times because of overcrowding and safety fears.