Plans for major Birmingham city centre resi high rise take a step forward

Developer CEG is bringing forward plans for the major redevelopment of the Smallbrook Queensway Buildings in Birmingham.

The company is looking to replace the existing properties with three separate buildings, delivering around 1,800 apartments.

The proposal will also open up the spaces between the existing buildings to improve connectivity between the city centre, the Chinese Quarter, the Gay Village and the emerging district at Smithfield.

The buildings will range between a 44-storey building to the west of Hurst Street, a 56-storey building between Hurst Street and Wrottesley Street and a 48-storey building on the eastern end, and will include new homes to rent on the upper floors.

The ground floors, facing onto a range of new or improved publicly accessible spaces at the top of Hurst Street and Wrottesley Street, will provide a range of commercial uses.

There are also early discussions with Birmingham City Council regarding the potential for the project to contribute towards the greening of the southern half of Smallbrook Queensway, as part of the wider ambition to claim back underused road space for active travel, as well as providing areas for relaxation and recreation.

The plans for the redevelopment come further to a planning application which was submitted in 2017 for the partial redevelopment and reuse of the site.

A public consultation launches today seeking feedback on the proposals.

A spokesperson for CEG said: “We’re delighted to be bringing forward these ambitious plans that will breathe new life into this part of the t the city centre and create new routes to and from Southside.

“Throughout the development of our scheme we have put particular effort into ensuring that our proposals for much needed housing within the city centre also help to create an extensive new public realm which can be enjoyed by those living and working in the area”

“We are working in close partnership with the council to get these proposals right, regenerating a significant site in the city centre. We hope the local community will help us in doing that by responding to the consultation.”

The public consultation on the plans will run until Monday 18th July.