£55m apartment scheme in Birmingham set for approval

The former data centre in William Street

Plans to build a £55m apartment scheme on the site of a former computer data centre in Birmingham are set for approval.

William Street Company plans 214 apartments, together with car parking and landscaping, on the site occupied by the computer centre in William Street.

Investors from Hong Kong and Macau are pumping the money into the project, which is another example of Far Eastern investment being ploughed into Birmingham.

The development would be arranged in a part five-storey, part eight-storey block facing William Street, Holliday Street and Communication Row. The proposal includes 64 car parking spaces with some private gardens and a decked area forming communal space for the remainder of the development.

Of the 214 apartments, 114 would be one-bedroom units with the remaining 100 providing two-bed accommodation. Six of the apartments would be duplex facilities. The majority (61%) of the apartments would accommodate two or more people.

The proposals have been listed for approval by today’s planning committee.

The council is asking for a Section 106 contribution from the developer to help towards the cost of local facilities.

A financial appraisal has been independently reviewed and the assessment concludes that a S106 contribution of £492,2000 would be achievable.

Given local priorities, the council has said that the money should be split between affordable housing (£292,000) and public open space (£200,000), with the latter likely to be designated to the upkeep of Moonlit and Sunset Parks.

It said that given that the apartment scheme was to be split between one and two-bedroom units then the number of families with children would be low – therefore a contribution towards school places could not be justified.

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