A WORLD-RENOWNED architect has been handed the reigns to create the masterplan for the Arden Cross development.
Studio Egret West has been appointed by placemakers Muse to bring the £3.2billion community that is said to create up to 27,000 jobs, up to 3,000 homes and up to six million square foot of commercial space to life.
The companies will now work with wider partners and stakeholders in the UK Central Hub, of which Arden Cross is just one component, and includes HS2, Department for Transport, Solihull Council, and the Urban Growth Company.
The new neighbourhood near the HS2 Interchange Station is being supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) with £57million committed to date to the wider infrastructure.
In November Muse was selected as the development partner for the 346-acre scheme by the landowning partnership Arden Cross Limited, and the team has looked to accelerate momentum behind the project by appointing Studio Egret West as the new masterplanner.
In September the Arden Cross partnership also signed memorandums of understanding with the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Birmingham, to investigate the potential of a medical and technology campus as part of the proposals which will be included in the revised masterplan.
Maggie Grogan, development director at Muse, said: “In due course, we’ll showcase a new masterplan and refreshed vision, and will work closely with the community and other stakeholders to develop it. Our approach will be bold, creative, collaborative and we’ll work tirelessly to deliver for the people of the West Midlands.”
David West, founding director of Studio Egret West said: “The opportunity to craft a multi-layered environment that blends the city with the countryside is what makes the project so exciting. We hope to interweave a place activating programme with nature-based systems.
“With our experience delivering similar types of schemes, both in the West Midlands and elsewhere, we are looking forward to developing a masterplan vision which the region can be proud of.”
