Our review of the big West Midlands business stories of 2022 is in the home straight as we look at the final quarter of the year. We are starting off with plans for a new beer festival to be run by Birmingham's Westside Business Improvement District.
Its chairman Gerald Manton, who took on the role in March, chatted to BusinessLive about his plans for the city district which includes Broad Street, known for its lively night-life so popular with visiting parties.
Mr Manton said he planned to host a huge festival of ale in September and was also looking at revamping New Year's Eve celebrations and hosting open-air street markets with live music.
The long-running redevelopment of Edgbaston cricket stadium took another step forward in October. A new hotel, skills centre and improved transport links could all be built as part of the next phase of work at the famous venue in Birmingham after Warwickshire County Cricket Club and the city council launched a joint bid for £20 million in funding.
Known as the 'Edgbaston Stadium and Community Masterplan', proposals include a multi-use community hub with the potential for an NHS walk-in centre, public space to host markets and events, a skills and apprenticeship centre and sustainable travel infrastructure.
A new £260 million mixed-use regeneration scheme in Digbeth took a key step forward after the developer behind the project acquired the land.
Manchester-based Cole Waterhouse bought the five-acre site for its project in Upper Trinity Street after entering an agreement with funder Ingenious to secure the land from multiple private owners. The masterplan for the site, which was consented last year, comprises 943 new residential units, public realm, a skypark, 133-bedroom hotel, flexible commercial space, car parking and the retention of the historic lock keepers cottage.
Medical technology and research firm The Binding Site was sold for £2.25 billion. The Birmingham-based company was acquired by scientific instrument supplier Thermo Fisher Scientific, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Binding Site, which originally formed as a spinout from University of Birmingham in 1983, makes medical tools aimed at improving the detection, diagnosis and management of blood cancers and immune system disorders.
An elevated urban garden, new food hub and community green space were just some of the ambitious proposals being mooted in November following a major consultation into the future of Birmingham's historic Jewellery Quarter.
A trio of separate 'visions' for the district were put forward which could see streets transformed into pedestrian friendly boulevards and a car park turned into a thriving destination for food lovers.
The aim is to breathe new life into tired properties, regenerate streets, increase greenery, create jobs and boost investment into the quarter.
Plans to build a £95 million, multi-storey car park containing around 4,000 spaces next to the new HS2 Interchange station in Solihull were approved.
Just a couple of weeks later an application was lodged to build the new HS2 depot and network control centre at the former LDV Vans site in Washwood Heath, north of Birmingham city centre.
It is expected to employ around 550 people and will be operational 24 hours a day, providing services such as cleaning, maintenance and inspection.
And in a related story, developer Muse was appointed to lead the £3.2 billion, mixed-use Arden Cross scheme next to Interchange which will contain commercial space, thousands of houses and new green space.
A popular food festival held in the heart of Birmingham's business district will return in 2023 after a four-year hiatus. Colmore Food Festival also announced it would move to a brand new home in the grounds of Birmingham Cathedral next July, having previously been held in Victoria Square.
The tenth iteration of the free event, which is organised by Colmore Business Improvement District, will be the first since 2019, after the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and 2022's was not held because of the Commonwealth Games.
Work on what will be one of Birmingham's tallest buildings was able to start after a £200 million funding deal was agreed to support the project.
City-based developer Court Collaboration struck a partnership with Pension Insurance Corporation to deliver One Eastside in Jennens Road which will comprise three buildings, one of which will be 51 storeys. They will contain 667 apartments to rent, residential gardens and courtyards, a gym, cinema, and sky lounge on the 51st floor.
Plans for a new 48-storey apartment tower in Birmingham city centre were revealed, comprising 462 apartments at the 2 Snowhill Plaza site.
A team of residential developer Hub and pan-European real estate investment manager Mark is behind the project after they acquired the derelict land next to the Snow Hill Estate development in January.
The bid to cement a lasting legacy of the 2022 Commonwealth Games was handed another boost in December after it was announced the British Open squash tournament would be held in Birmingham for the first time in 22 years.
The oldest pro competition in the world will welcome thousands of players, coaches, staff and fans to Edgbaston Priory Club and Rep Theatre for eight-days of competition next April. The tournament, whose origins date back to the 1920s, will provide a huge boost to the city's tourism economy and be seen as another example of Birmingham being able to host world-class professional sporting tournaments.
Proposals to have faster and more frequent trains across the Midlands were sent to the Government as part of a massive package of rail travel improvements. Up to 43 different communities, towns and cities would benefit from reduced journey times, increased number of journeys and bring the East and West Midlands economies together.
We finish our review of 2022 with the news of the sad passing of Adrian Shooter at the age of 74. Mr Shooter, who was an engineer by trade, is famed for launching Chiltern Railways in the 1990s but began his career with British Rail in 1970.
He led the creation of Chiltern Railways as it started operating the Chiltern franchise in 1996 and worked as both its managing director and chairman following the Government's programme of privatisation.
