Top 40 law firm Trowers & Hamlins has advised Solihull Council and Urban Growth Company on a set of collaboration agreements which will bring forward the creation of 3,000 homes and 27,000 jobs in Solihull.
The agreements have been signed by the public and private sector organisations working on the 346-acre Arden Cross development site, which includes the location of the new HS2 Interchange Station.
The signatories are Arden Cross, the Department for Transport, HS2 , Solihull Council and the Urban Growth Company, who have committed to a shared objective to seek to release land around the new HS2 station for development as early as possible.
The Urban Growth Company is a special-purpose delivery vehicle created by Solihull Council to specifically realise the full economic potential of the HS2 Interchange Station and related infrastructure. The new jobs and homes are set to be created at Arden Cross in Solihull, and up to three years earlier than originally planned, after a set of development-enabling collaboration and development agreements were completed this week. These will maximise the benefits that HS2 will bring to the region.
The negotiations have been supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority, which has confirmed it is providing a £45m loan facility to help fund infrastructure at the site. This will include multi-storey car parking at Arden Cross for HS2 passengers, which is currently designed as a large surface car park, to free up more space for development.
Trowers have advised on this project for several years and have devised a number of innovate legal solutions to make this happen.
Real Estate Partner, Chris Plumley commented:
"This has been a very complex project but a great example of the public and private sectors working collaboratively to deliver regeneration. Everyone on both client and adviser side have bought into the shared vision and exciting purpose behind this scheme which is the delivery of regional prosperity. That was a great and sustained motivator throughout the negotiation process."
Nick Brown, Chair of the Urban Growth Company, said:
“This demonstrates the power of using regional expertise, with public and private sector partnering, to invest in infrastructure and remove barriers to growth. This will deliver jobs, homes, connectivity and opportunities for local people, ahead of HS2’s opening. It’s an innovative blueprint that can be rolled out along the route to generate wider economic growth.”
