The Perry Barr 2040 masterplan features a goal for a "joined-up green network" ©Birmingham City Council

A final draft of Birmingham City Council's Perry Barr 2040 masterplan, a key element of legacy proposals for this year's Commonwealth Games, has been recommended for approval by the Cabinet next week.

The final version of the plan features six key goals for the constituency in which the main Alexander Stadium is situated.

These include making Perry Barr "the best-connected suburb in Birmingham", and contributing to the city becoming carbon neutral as early as 2030.

The Council has vowed to "deliver ambitious change" which offers "benefits for all".

Strengthening existing uses of Perry Barr's town centre and creating new homes and activities is another of the masterplan's goals, as well as the creation of a "joined-up green network" featuring parks, waterways, allotments and public spaces.

It is also hoped that Birmingham 2022 will be used as an opportunity to increase opportunities for people to partake in physical activity and develop from beginners all the way through to elite sport.

Leader of Birmingham City Council Ian Ward said public consultation over the course of 11 weeks had proved crucial to the final version of the masterplan.

"Our bold decision to bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games shows how the Council was looking to level up before it became a fashionable term," Ward said.

The Perry Barr 2040 masterplan aims to help strengthen the town centre of the area in north Birmingham ©Birmingham City Council
The Perry Barr 2040 masterplan aims to help strengthen the town centre of the area in north Birmingham ©Birmingham City Council

"And it's clear that becoming the proud host city has unlocked a once-in-a-lifetime package of investment for Perry Barr and surrounding areas.

"But in order to realise the full potential of that golden opportunity we need a detailed vision and plan, shaped by local people.

"Through the extensive consultation staged last summer we received many comments and ideas that have helped refine the masterplan into the bold blueprint for how we will deliver new housing, better transport links, improved open spaces, new leisure facilities and upgraded infrastructure that have the maximum benefits for everyone in the area.

"Going forward we will continue working together with the community, stakeholders and other partners to regenerate north-west Birmingham for those who already live and work there - and for those who will call the improved Perry Barr their home in the years to come."

Five specific areas are targeted under the masterplan - Perry Park, Perry Barr Village, Perry Barr Urban Centre, Perry Hall Park and the Walsall Road and River Tame Corridor.

The Cabinet is set to meet next Tuesday (February 8) to decide on whether to approve the plan.

The Alexander Stadium, the main venue for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, is based in the Perry Barr area and is being renovated and expanded ©Birmingham City Council.
The Alexander Stadium, the main venue for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, is based in the Perry Barr area and is being renovated and expanded ©Birmingham City Council.

A report to the Cabinet from Birmingham City Council's strategic director for place, prosperity and sustainability, written by development planning manager Rebecca Farr, details projects that have begun as part of the public-sector investment into Perry Barr which it is claimed amounts to more than £700 million ($950 million/€840 million).

These include the redevelopment of the Alexander Stadium, which is set to hold roughly 30,000 spectators during Birmingham 2022 and around 18,000 after the removal of temporary seating, and of the railway and bus interchange in the area.

The new railway station is set to be opened in spring of this year.

Nearly 1,000 new homes are also under constructed as part of the Perry Barr Residential Scheme, with planning consent given for more than 900 more.

However, it adds that a long-term programme covering the next two decades is needed "to ensure that the momentum is maintained".

Organisers of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games last week marked six months until the start of what is billed as the "biggest event" that the area has ever hosted.

It is scheduled to run from July 28 until August 8.