St. Modwen 30 Years : A Generation of Regeneration 1 | Page 22

ST. MODWEN | A GENERATION OF REGENERATION | LONGBRIDGE, BIRMINGHAM

Longbridge High Street

Longbridge, Birmingham
If the oil refineries at Coed Darcy reflect the
raw power of Britain’s international trade from
Swansea docks, then Longbridge, Birmingham
epitomises 20th century manufacturing in
Britain - the beating heart of the car industry
in the Midlands.
Longbridge is the birthplace of classic British
motoring, including brands such as Austin,
British Leyland, Morris and MG Rover. It is the
home of the Mini. However, radical changes to
the industry and manufacturing economy in the
region in the late 20th century saw the phased
closure of parts of the works - the largest car
plant in the world - culminating in the collapse
of MG Rover in 2005.
That left the problem - what to do with 468 acres
of contaminated muck, metal and ground water
located just eight miles from Birmingham City
Centre? How to transform it into something new
whilst also celebrating its past? How to make
Longbridge again home to a community of
workers and families for the 21st century?
St. Modwen’s masterplan is now delivering that
vision with an ambitious programme of new
homes, modern business and industrial space,
a town centre and campus for Bournville College.
Delivery of the plan has had to contend with a
major remediation challenge. The car plant had
made its mark on the landscape for over

22

a century - leaving sprawling hulks of metal and
glass above ground and a heavy toxic footprint
in the soil.
St. Modwen set about its clean-up with a phased
remediation strategy, agreed in partnership with
the environmental authorities.
For the last decade, Longbridge has been the
patient in a long treatment process: painstaking
work has taken place to remove hydrocarbons
from the soil and ground water; tens of thousands
of soil and water samples have been taken,
processed and examined; dust, noise and odour
have been constantly monitored to ensure that
the new Longbridge can reflect the spirit and
heritage of the old, but not its chemical legacy.
468 acres and 100 years of manufacturing has
meant a lot of soil to scrub clean and some
specific challenges. At the Longbridge, East
Works site 120,000 tonnes of soil has been
transferred for the development plateau, along
with the creation of a huge cut-off wall to protect
the site from surrounding impacted areas.

23