The Sky Is Not The Limit: Airport Says 51-Storey Birmingham Skyscraper Is Too Tall
How tall is too tall? At what point does it make sense to say a city skyscraper is tall enough?
We may have an answer, not because of cautious investors or worrying viability assessments, but because Court Collaboration's £160M plans for the 51-storey One Eastide build-to-rent block have run into trouble with Birmingham airport.
The 667-unit scheme is before Birmingham planners this month. Construction is expected to commence in November and be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Birmingham Airport has objected, saying the tower, plus crane, would have a potential impact on flight paths. It said it is intervening to ensure a "safeguarding zone of the formalised flight path." What counts as too close to the flight path is determined by the European Aviation Safety Agency.
"In the case of the proposed development, the developer has commissioned an assessment of the comparability of the development in line with the airport’s departure and arrival routes but unfortunately this has not considered the departure route, which was introduced in May 2019, following an Airspace Change Process being undertaken by Birmingham Airport," an airport spokesmen told Birmingham Live.
The airport's concerns are understood to hinge on the cranes mounted on the structure during construction.
