Deal signed to deliver nearly 300 new affordable homes in Birmingham

Dozens of families struggling to afford a safe and decent home are set to benefit from a new development agreement aimed at easing the region’s housing crisis.

Birmingham City Council has invested in the scheme, along with Homes England and the WMCA providing funding to clean up the brownfield site so it is suitable for house building. Morro and Midland Heart will begin construction of the homes before the end of the year.

The development deal comes as latest figures show that across the West Midlands there are 7,148 households, including 14,229 children, living in temporary accommodation and 65,335 households on the region’s social housing waiting lists.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “In my first year in office, I’ve funded schemes that will provide more than 500 new social homes – that’s more than in all the schemes we have ever grant funded.

"Too many families in this region are living in cold, damp houses waiting too long for a home to call their own. This cannot be allowed to continue which is why I am helping to build more warm and safe homes for everyone.

"My target is clear: 2,000 new social homes a year by 2028 to tackle our housing crisis. We cannot do this alone – I am calling on housing associations and private sector developers to come together, just as we have at Yardley Brook, to build these homes and change the lives of thousands of families here in the West Midlands.”

Cllr Jayne Francis, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homeless, added: "The national housing crisis means that we have several people on lists waiting for a home, the need for affordable homes has never been more urgent.

"Tackling this crisis is a key priority for this council, and this development demonstrates how we can do this by leading and working in partnership with others.

"We will continue discussions with developers and housing associations to facilitate deals that can provide our residents with warm, safe, and energy-efficient homes."

 

The Yardley Brook announcement comes as the Mayor, WMCA and City Council, alongside other West Midlands local authorities, prepare to showcase more than £18 billion worth of investment opportunities at the UKREiiF property show in Leeds later this month.

Key projects to be presented to investors and developers in Birmingham include:

• The Sports Quarter regeneration scheme in East Birmingham
• Smithfield Birmingham - a £1.9bn regeneration of 17 hectares in the heart of the city
• The Birmingham Knowledge Quarter innovation cluster.

Joe Reeves, Deputy Chief Executive at Midland Heart, said: “As one of the largest housing providers in the Midlands, we have a key role to play in addressing the shortage of homes and providing decent, affordable housing for local people across the region.

“We are aiming to deliver 2,250 new homes by 2030, which, combined with the 4,000 we have already delivered during our last corporate plan period to 2025, will mean we will have delivered well over 6,000 new homes in a decade. Yardley Brook will be a huge part of this, and we look forward to working with our partner Morro, to transform this site, and develop and deliver almost 300 new homes.”

Tom Broadway, Managing Director for the West Midlands at Morro Partnerships, added: "We are all aware of the shortage of affordable housing across the country, and Birmingham is no different. This deal will go some way to increasing and improving the housing stock in an underserved region.

"Sustainability is a fundamental aspect of our work and is an inherent part of each development we build. Helping to make housing more affordable, accessible, and ready for the future forms part of our commitment to building responsibly and is an immensely rewarding undertaking in its own right.

“We look forward to completing construction on this development and seeing it evolve into a thriving community over the coming years."