Games to kickstart Birmingham 's 'golden decade of opportunity '

Next summer 's Commonwealth Games will kickstart a “golden decade of opportunity ” for Birmingham, delegates were told at the launch of a major economic report, writes Dan Harrison.

Birmingham City Council chief executive Deborah Cadman was speaking at the launch of the Birmingham Economic Review, which took place at The Exchange building in Centenary Square as well as being live streamed to Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce members.

The Birmingham Economic Review - published by the GBCC and the University of Birmingham 's City-Region Economic Development Institute - reviews Birmingham 's economic landscape, before and during the pandemic, as well as what lies ahead for the city-region.

Ms Cadman praised the resilience shown by Greater Birmingham businesses over the past 18 months, with support from the Chamber.

And while challenges still exist, she said major projects such as the Games and HS2 present an exciting decade of opportunity that the businesses and citizens of Greater Birmingham must take advantage of.

Ms Cadman said: “We 're absolutely clear that the Commonwealth Games will kickstart a golden decade of opportunities.

“The mission of the council is about making this happen and enabling you as business representatives and owners, as citizens, to be part of that golden opportunity. ”

She added that HS2 is a catalyst to improve parts of the city.

She said: “HS2 has already had an impact on this economy and will continue to have an impact. It 's not just about the train - we 're using it as a catalyst to improve parts of the city that are ripe for development.

“So if any of you go to Curzon Street, wander around Digbeth, look at that corridor from Millennium Point all the way through to Smithfields, you can get a palpable sense of excitement of creativity and growth. We want to capitalise on that. ”

The Economic Review panel also featured Professor Simon Collinson from the University of Birmingham and City-REDI, the British Chambers of Commerce 's head of economic Suren Thiru and Arup 's Midlands planning and economics leader Abigaile Bromfield.

The panel was chaired by Chamber president Steve Allen.

In his overview of the 2021 Economic Review, Professor Collinson discussed the knock-on effect firms ' policies on returning to the office will have on the economy - with city centre footfall impacting on transport, property values and business location.

He said: “How many people go back to city centre offices will have a tremendous impact on the volume of footfalls in city centres.

“It will have a tremendous impact on small businesses that thrive off that footfall. It will have a knock-on effect on a whole range of metrics from the transport infrastructure, property values and also where firms come to set up their businesses.

“So the question for businesses is how much are they temporarily adjusting for short-term changes versus fundamentally long-term changes. ”

Suren Thiru shared his insight on the economic recovery across the country based on data from across the British Chambers network.

Arup 's Abigaile Bromfield highlighted the skills shortage that continues to impact on the labour market, while also outlining the design and engineering giant 's commitment to developing and upskilling people.

Read the 2021 Birmingham Economic Review here.

Pictured (from left): Professor Simon Collinson, University of Birmingham vice-chancellor Sir David Eastwood, Deborah Cadman, Suren Thiru, Abigaile Bromfield, Chamber CEO Henrietta Brealey and president Steve Allen