The new year will also bring renewed financial stability at the council after several challenging years.

“This could set the foundation for increased growth and investment in the city,” said Arthur Morgan, partner at Fisher German.

Arthur Morgan and Greg Collings, partner and associate partner respectively in property consultancy Fisher German’s Birmingham team, recently attended a roundtable event discussing the future of growth and opportunity in the city.

Despite its challenges, Birmingham remains the largest city economy outside London and one of the UK’s most investable urban centres, contributing 40 per cent to the West Midlands’ economy.

Large-scale regeneration schemes, including the Sports Quarter around Birmingham City FC, the Knowledge Quarter around Aston University and Millennium Point, and a 12,000-home transformational scheme at Ladywood to the west of the city centre, all show huge confidence, ambition, and commitment to the city.

In addition, the council has now re-established a balanced budget and strengthened its senior leadership team, putting it in a much better position.

Greg Collings  said: “The city is well placed to make the most of these opportunities, but there is still plenty to do to realise Birmingham’s full potential.”

Integral to unlocking this potential are the opportunities for further impactful placemaking. Against the backdrop of government planning reform, efforts are being made to push towards housing targets at a greater pace across the country.

Crucial to achieving this is partnership — between the public, private, or third sectors.

“Strong collaboration between the council, businesses, Homes England, the West Midlands Combined Authority, universities, and community groups will be vital if planned and future projects are to succeed,” said Arthur Morgan.

For Fisher German’s part, the political will to bring sites forward for development and support planning consent — partly due to Government reforms around the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) — is excellent news for the city’s property sector.

Greg Collings added: “Our role is to ensure the right sites come forward at the right time, investments are sound, planning applications are robust and well received, and occupiers can move in, so Birmingham’s economy continues to grow.”