THE much-vaunted £600 million ‘Gateway’ redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station and its surrounding area faces a delay of a year or more after the owner of the of the existing commercial site said it considering opposing a compulsory purchase order.
   
Birmingham City Council has published an 11-page CPO on properties affected by the Gateway scheme—including the Pallasades shopping centre, which is built above the station and its existing concourse.
   
The council’s order follows its granting of outline planning permission last year for the redevelopment of New Street Station, the Pallasades Shopping Centre and land to the south of the ‘Gateway’ site—a scheme that finally won government approval this year.
   
Warner Estate Holdings Plc has now said that while it and Agora Max, the joint venture which owns the shopping centre, both support the creation of a “high-quality retail offer” above the station, they remain concerned that the scheme currently being promoted “is not the most appropriate scheme for the city or for the Pallasades shopping centre.”
    
In 2005, Warner Estate formed a new property fund through which it bought the Birmingham Pallasades shopping centre for £151.5 million. The fund, called Agora Max Shopping Centre Fund, was formed together with the Bank of Scotland.
   
Network Rail is managing the ‘Gateway’ redevelopment scheme on behalf of a number of public sector bodies including the Gateway Consortium, comprising Network Rail, Birmingham City Council and Advantage West Midland— the regional development agency that has offered to meet £100 million of the project cost.
    
Chris Rowley, Network Rail’s Area General Manager West Midlands and Chilterns, admitted that the compulsory purchase order “is a key critical risk area for the project.”
   
Warner Esate said in a statement: “There are a number of important issues which remain unresolved and require further work. Warner Estate continues to liaise with Birmingham City Council and other members of the Gateway Consortium.”
     
The company has until the 29 August to object to the order and if it does a public inquiry will be held in around six to eight months time. Warner said if this happens the Secretary of State will consider the inspector's report and will announce a decision around six months later.

In answer to questions raised at a meeting with the West Midlands Business Council, David Golding—who heads major enhancements projects for Network Rail’s London North Western region—said the Gateway project was about creating extra passenger capacity at New Street station, not about creating any more track capacity.