‘Utterly shameful’: West Midlands Mayor slams Broad Street skyscraper plans in Birmingham

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has described the decision to approve an enormous skyscraper in Birmingham – with four per cent affordable homes – as “utterly shameful”.

The plans for the 47-storey tower in Broad Street, which would boast 525 homes, were given the green light by Birmingham City Council’s (BCC) planning committee earlier this week.

The development would include a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments as well as a lobby area, residents lounge, gym, well-being space and event space.

At a meeting on Thursday, councillors praised the design of the development but also expressed disappointment at the percentage of affordable homes included within the scheme, which was four per cent of the total apartments.

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Mayor Andy Street was also critical, writing on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday: “Just 4 per cent affordable is utterly shameful. At the West Midlands Combined Authority we are uncompromising on our 20 per cent affordable target. We’ve proved it can be done, but Birmingham City Council have got to get tough.”

A council’s officer report said the scheme has been through a “thorough and independent assessment”, which established that the development could “sustain an affordable housing contribution of six per cent without becoming unviable”.

However, it continued: “With a 20 per cent discount it will be difficult to secure tenants that meet the eligibility requirements in relation to household income. It is therefore recommended that a deeper discount of 30 per cent is secured which will reduce the provision to 4 per cent (21 dwellings).”

In response to concerns raised in this week’s meeting, planning committee chair Martin Brooks said: “As a committee, we’ve constantly flagged up the desire to meet our targets in terms of affordability and this does fall well short of that.

“But the problem is we’ve had a financial viability assessment which backs up the facts and then that makes it very difficult to argue something differently. I understand people’s concerns but I think in terms of the design, I would personally support this.”

The council officer’s report said the scheme would make a “meaningful contribution” towards Birmingham’s housing shortfall and provide economic, social and environmental benefits.

Mark Holbeche, CEO of Regal Property Group Living (RPGL), the developer behind plans, said on Thursday: “We welcome the decision by the city council’s planning committee today to allow us to bring forward this exciting building for the city. The development when complete will be the safest, most technologically advanced and sustainable residential project in its class.”

The development was approved at BCC’s planning committee meeting subject to a legal agreement.