Commonwealth Games Village gets green light
PROPOSALS for the Commonwealth Games Athletes’ village in Perry Barr have been given the go ahead after a vote by the city planning committee.
The scheme, on the Birmingham City University campus, will accommodate up to 6,800 athletes and officials for the 2022 competition, before being converted into around 1,400 homes.
The vast majority of the new properties (1,072) will be flats and maisonettes, alongside 79 houses and 268 extra care apartments. The plans also include a retirement village and a community centre.
But some concerns over the plans were raised by councillors, including the fact that less than 25 per cent will be allocated to social housing after the games.
There were also concerns raised over the potential noise pollution generated from the nearby railway. Despite this the committee voted unanimously to approve the plans, with work due to begin in early 2019.
Both the government and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) have already committed to £185 million worth of funding for the site. The council has plans for the Athletes’ Village to mark the start of a complete regeneration of Perry Barr after the games.