City bids for £185m pot to build housing 9,000 homes already earmarked

THE government is being asked to put up funds to help build almost 9,000 new homes in Birmingham – with more than half earmarked for the Perry Barr area.

The £143.5 million regeneration of Perry Barr, including a potential Commonwealth Games athletes village, forms city’s largest single bid to the National Infrastructure fund.

With a national pot of £2.3 billion available, Birmingham City Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority are making four bids totalling £185 million for housing in the city.

Much of the money would be used to help prepare land for construction – through demolition of existing buildings, removing flood risk, decontamination and even rerouting roads and other infrastructure. The bids are: Perry Barr regeneration including 4,781 new homes, many on the former Birmingham City University campus, as well as new road layouts, bus route upgrades, community facilities and a revamp of the dingy rail station.

£30 million towards Greater Icknield in Ladywood where 3,500 homes are planned across five sites along with a new secondary school, an energy effi- ciency scheme Dudley Road.

East Birmingham – a bid for £8.2 million to help prepare three sites for the construction of 907 homes. These are 225 homes on the Bromford Estate, 273 properties on the Yardley Sewerage Works and 409 homes at Acocks Green

A bid for £3.2 million towards the development of 270 new homes on the Druids Heath estate. Plans could include the demolition of tower blocks and recently closed Baverstock School.

The government has put up a national pot of £2.3 billion to fund housing schemes put forward by councils and it is likely they are going to be oversubscribed.

The council’s cabinet was told that although the housing at Perry Barr would be used as an athletes village if the Commonwealth Games bid is successful, the regeneration funding would not offset the city’s estimated £150 million contribution to the Games.

Cllr Karen McCarthy (Lab, Selly Oak) stressed residents should be involved in regeneration plans.

“It’s really important to have genuine discussion with residents. We don’t have a good track record of consultation,” she said.

Birmingham has outlined longer term plans to build 53,000 new homes by 2031 – including 6,000 on the former green belt land east of Sutton Coldfield. and improvements to