£5m Sutton road re-routing on agenda

By jnewton

A £5M PLAN to redirect a major town centre road is being discussed again by regeneration bosses.

It follows correspondence between Birmingham City Council and Sutton MP Andrew Mitchell, who is asking the local authority to look at realigning Brassington Avenue.

An empty plot lies on one side of the road with The Mall shopping centre,  formerly Gracechurch, on the other.

Mr Mitchell says that repositioning the road closer to the railway line is key to creating a better future for the town centre.

He believes that the positioning of the road currently acts as a barrier to the rest of the area.

If moved, he argues, it would better integrate the area into Sutton town centre.

A plan by Sutton councillors to redevelop the town centre has won support.

However it has yet to be developed in detail.

Mr Mitchell, who estimates that moving the road would cost more than £5m, told the Observer: "It is clear from my discussions that were it possible for Brassington Avenue to be moved, we could unlock the whole development process to the great advantage to all of us in Sutton Coldfield."

City council cabinet member for regeneration, Councillor Neville Summerfield, told Mr Mitchell he would keep him up to date on any progress made.

He also promised that the council would 'work closely with potential developers' of the empty plot on Brassington Avenue to see how road realignment could be achieved.

But he added the enormous cost of moving the road could be prohibitive and would probably have to be met by a private developer.

Mr Summerfield said: "Moving the road is unlikely to generate sufficient value to make it viable to a future landowner of the Brassington Avenue site.

"The cost of building the road would have to be added onto the price of the land.

"That level of funding would be considerable for the city to find at this difficult time, especially since the other infrastructure and public realm works outlined in the framework runs into millions.

"Having said that, discussions are underway with interested parties to see if it is possible to better integrate the site with Gracechurch [The Mall] and the town centre."

A year ago, Mr Mitchell revealed that following similar discussions, The Mall group would not be buying the empty plot.

A buyer for the site, which has planning permission for around 200 flats, has yet to be identified.

The plot is currently overseen by receivers.

For more details on the town centre regeneration project, including the reorganisation of traffic, turn to Page 17.