West Midlands Transport Developments To Impact Pro

Many things impact a local housing market, but when you consider the importance of transport, developments that help move from A to B are huge factors.

You only have to look at the way certain parts of London significantly benefitted from the Crossrail announcement. House prices in these areas rose significantly, ensuring property owners at the time experienced a significant spike in the value of their property.

There was even an opportunity for fast-movers to buy at a reasonable price and then see the value of their property increase without doing any work on it!

While the London housing market stands apart from the rest of the country, this impact is seen in the rest of the country as much as it is there.

Change is coming

This is why it is pleasing to see changes coming to West Midlands.

The latest West Midlands Metro tram extension runs for a mile, and will cost £227 million. The extension out to Digbeth is sure to have a major impact on the demand for homes in this area.

It is not as though this is the only transport extension in the local area. There is a 1.2 mile extension, running from Grand Central to Hagley Road. This extension is set to cost £149 million, and will hopefully be up and running by the end of 2021.

The new route is likely to be the catalyst for the transformation of Digbeth. Many people will agree the Eastside area of the West Midlands has been overlooked, but this new work will help. The new route will also benefit from HS2 connectivity.

Transport options revitalise areas

The West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, spoke about the work being carried out, and the impact of linking Digbeth to the rest of the city. He said;

"The thing we are celebrating today is the start of the work. We are creating the extension that will go from the existing Metro (line) in Bull Street and finishing up in the High Street by The Old Crown. In terms of the finish date, we are hoping that it will be 2025. I know that seems a long time away, but this is quite complicated work. We are working with HS2, the building at Curzon Street, and, of course, we have got to build a junction to the existing structure. The critical thing is that the money is all secured so we can press on. It's all about the construction now.”

The Mayor spoke of the new route having two distinct purposes;

“First to stimulate and reinvigorate the developments around Digbeth which of course is also being stimulated by HS2. It will be really exciting to enliven Digbeth (Deritend) High Street. But it also goes right underneath the HS2 station at Curzon Street. So it brings the rest of the network connected into Curzon Street, so you will be able to get on a tram in Dudley and come all the way to the HS2 terminus and then wherever you want to go across the country.”

We know these are challenging times, but at Innovate, we are here to help. If you have questions about the West Midlands property and rental market, get in touch with Innovate, and we will be happy to assist you.