Plan to revamp town parade

A PLAN for a new multi-millionpound shops, restaurants and apartments development in Sutton Coldfield has been submitted to Birmingham City Council for approval.

Mercia Real Estate, which acquired the parade of shops and restaurants, from 10 to 38 Birmingham Road (pictured) in the centre of the town in 2019, is now looking to knock them all down and replace them with new buildings.

The one-acre site currently has some 17 premises, with 15 of those occupied by a mix of businesses, including a gym, a nail salon, a barbers, restaurants and a minimart. The current parade of shops has been described as a ‘‘detached, subservient and unattractive business area’’ in the application’s accompanying design statement.

Mercia wants to flatten the units and replace them with three blocks, each including retail, restaurant and commercial uses on the ground floor, and collectively 75 apartments above. One of the three blocks would have five storeys and two would have four storeys. It would have 12 retail units at the ground floor level, facing Birmingham Road.

The 75 apartments would be split into 16 one-bed and 59 twobed flats. Four of the two-bed apartments would be ‘four-person’. The application said: “In comparison to the existing buildings occupying the site, the proposed development presents an opportunity to deliver a more varied character in terms of scale, mass and appearance.”

Sutton Trinity city and town councillor David Pears welcomed investment in the town but added: “I’m concerned about the height and the parking. The number of parking spaces proposed is totally inadequate for the apartments.” A public consultation on the scheme runs until August 31.