Correspondence: John EmeryJon Emery, Hammerson pc 100 Park LaneLondon W1K 7AR, UK. Tel: +44 020 7887 1000; Fax: +44 020 7887 1090; E-mail: jemery@hammerson.co.uk

¹joined Hammerson in 1989. In 1999 he was appointed Director for Development and in 2001 was charged with the responsibility for the development of Bullring on behalf of The Birmingham Alliance. In 2005, Jon was appointed Hammerson's Head of UK Development and a UK board director. During his time with Hammerson, Jon Emery has been responsible for managing a number of high profile developments for the company, including 99 Bishopsgate in London EC2 and Globe House on London's Embankment. Between 1997 and 2000, Jon was responsible for the award-winning riverside retail and leisure development in Reading, The Oracle. Since the completion of Bullring, for which he was development director, Jon has been responsible for leading the project teams involved in large-scale retail-led regeneration projects for Hammerson at Bristol with The Bristol Alliance, and at The New Retail Quarter, Sheffield, with Sheffield One and Sheffield City Council. Jon is also leading the development of a £350m project to revitalise Leicester city centre's retail quarter with a major new mixed-use development, which is to be completed in 2008.

Received 2 February 2006; Revised 2 February 2006.

Abstract

Just ten years ago, Birmingham was seen as the ugly sister of British cities: run-down, congested and unappealing to visitors. Thanks to a series of pioneering urban regeneration projects, the city is being rapidly transformed, with canal-side offices and restaurants at Brindleyplace rubbing shoulders with buzzing bars on Broad Street and the exciting Symphony Hall. However, one problem remained: the city's limited retail offer was not on a par with the international standard of its business and cultural facilities. One of Birmingham City Council's key objectives was to redress this balance, and more importantly, to stem the flow of shoppers and the associated economic benefits from travelling out of the city. Here, developer Jon Emery discusses Bullring — Birmingham's new retail and leisure destination and its largest city centre regeneration project to date. The lessons learned from Bullring are already shaping the next generation of city centre urban regeneration projects. One vital ingredient stands out: the way in which the city as a whole embraced and supported the creation of Bullring. The experience has shown that future regeneration projects need to articulate an appetite for change if success is to be achieved and sustained.