A landmark development scheme for Digbeth has been unlocked thanks to a £5m investment from the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Stone Yard will deliver 995 homes on 1.37 hectares of brownfield land in the centre of Birmingham with work set to start on site in 2022 and be completed in four years.

The deal announced in the last week will pay for the clean-up of the site, which has stood vacant in recent years, so it can be brought forward for residential development. It will include 20% affordable housing, using the WMCA’s unique definition of affordability, which is linked to real world local wages rather than property prices.

The investment has been made possible under the WMCA’s ‘brownfield first’ policy, which unlocks derelict industrial sites for new development, helping to protect green belt land in the process. 

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair or the WMCA, said: “It really is brilliant news that another 995 homes on brownfield land are to be built in the region, creating more local jobs and helping to protect precious greenbelt land.

“I am particularly pleased that this development is in Digbeth, which is undergoing a radical transformation. With new housing, HS2, an expanded Midland Metro, the BBC relocation, and Stephen Knight’s film studios all on the way – along with so, so much more – Digbeth is fast becoming one of the real jewels of the West Midlands.

“Despite the pandemic the WMCA has continued to use the money we have secured from Government to unlock and transform brownfield sites, helping to build new high quality homes that people need whilst protecting precious greenbelt land. That is exactly what we are doing once again with this Stone Yard development.”

The project is the largest ‘build to rent’ scheme in Birmingham and built across seven blocks, with the tallest standing at 32 storeys. It will also include around 30,000 sqft of commercial space for uses such as a gym, cinema and co-working space.

The scheme will be built around two landscaped courtyards and is being led by Birmingham- based residential developer Court Collaboration. The housing is designed by Glancy Nicholls Architects, alongside services consultant Couch Perry Wilkes and structural engineer CWA.

Coun Mike Bird, WMCA portfolio holder for housing and land and leader of Walsall Council, added: “Its regeneration is the latest in a series of WMCA investments that have continued throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, helping to provide market confidence and put in place the building blocks required to drive the region’s post-Covid-19 economic recovery plans.

“The proposals will regenerate a key city centre brownfield site bringing in-demand homes and helping to complete the regeneration of the southern side of High Street, Deritend, historically used for trade counters and car dealerships”.