Once in a generation Smithfield scheme to transform Birmingham city centre with new homes and shops

Proposals to build hundreds of homes as part of the massive Smithfield project were approved this week by the city council’s planning committee.

The specific development considered this morning consists of a single block of 408 apartments with flexible commercial space – including leisure and wellness facilities and retail units.

It will be built on a plot of land within the area of the Smithfield masterplan, which is set to transform the former wholesale markets near the Bullring shopping centre into a new destination with residential buildings and cultural spaces.

The huge development, which had its outline application approved last year, could also feature a park, market, pub/bar, theatre/cinema, retail, office space and more.

But concerns were raised during the planning committee over the housing mix and design when it came to the proposed apartment block, which will include a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom flats.

Coun Colin Green said he feared the number of one-bedroom, one-person flats could result in a “transitory population who don’t stick around” and a “lack of community”.

“I’m conscious the decisions we make today will last for 100 years – this is not a short-term problem,” he said.

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“If we approve this, the mistake to the city will last into the next century.”

Coun Martin Brooks said he was not convinced by the design of the proposed development.

“This scheme will last for many years,” he said. “We haven’t thought big enough in terms of what we’re doing here.”

Birmingham Civic Society previously echoed similar concerns, particularly criticising the “limited design quality” and a housing unit mix “which does not benefit families”.

“This does not bode well for later elements that will be brought forward,” it argued.

But a council officer told the meeting on Thursday (March 13): “We do consider the scheme aligns with the design code.”

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Coun Lee Marsham, chair of the planning committee, said “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.

On concerns over the housing mix, a council officer’s report published ahead of the meeting said the site formed only a proportion of the units proposed to be delivered across Smithfield.

“While this plot has a lower proportion of three bed units, it can be supported in this phase of the masterplan given that the plot falls within the northern part of the wider site, where the focus is on commercial and civic uses,” it said.

“The predominantly residential area of the site is to the south.”

It said the proposed apartments would make a “meaningful contribution” towards Birmingham’s housing shortfall and help regenerate part of the city centre.

The proposed development was approved, subject to conditions, following a vote among the members of the committee.