Plans in for 49 storey Paradise Octagon tower

A planning application for a 49-storey Octagon residential tower, continuing the latest phase of the £700m Paradise Birmingham scheme, has been submitted.

The 49-storey, 510 feet tall tower will create a new landmark for the city as well as provide up to 346 homes.

There will be a mix of one, two and three bed homes, including some at affordable rents for key workers.

Octagon follows on from the completion of the first phase of this mixed-use development, which includes the first two buildings, One Chamberlain Square and Two Chamberlain, as well as new public realm across the estate.

The next commercial building at Paradise, One Centenary Way, a 13 storey 280,000 sq ft office-led building, is now underway, and another commercial building, Three Chamberlain Square, is currently going through a design competition.

The Paradise redevelopment is being brought forward through Paradise Circus Limited Partnership (PCLP), a private-public joint venture with Birmingham City Council. The private sector funding is being managed by the international business of Federated Hermes. Argent is the development manager.

Rob Groves, regional director with Argent, said: “Our ambition with Octagon continues to be a simple one – to build one of the finest apartment schemes ever seen, not just in Birmingham or the region, but in the UK. This ambition drives the design and execution of the building and is reflected in everything about it – the height, size of the apartments themselves and their design, the views and the location in the city centre.

“Since the public consultation we conducted in May of this year, we have been listening to the feedback and working hard behind the scenes with Glenn Howells Architects to come up with new elements to this world-class design.

“It has always been our ambition to create a truly mixed-use development at Paradise that includes not just commercial buildings, but also leisure, hotel and residential spaces that complement the buildings we have already completed.

“By submitting our formal planning application, we now look forward to working with the city to progress the building through the planning process. Vital to this is the public feedback we’ve already received and this will figure prominently in our ongoing conversations will all stakeholders.”

Dav Bansal, partner at Glenn Howells Architects, said: “The approach for this design is straight forward: we want to create the finest city centre homes ever seen in the UK, in a location that is simply unrivalled and in a building that is a part of a world-class destination.

“This building is not just a first for Birmingham and a new landmark on the city’s skyline, but it will be a distinct and instantly recognisable design offering homes of unparalleled individuality with every home enjoying a generous 12.7m facet of the Octagon, a first ever for a residential product.”

Planning consultancy for Octagon is being carried out by the Birmingham office of Turley.