Council to approve amendments to 1,100-home BCU redevelopment

Birmingham City Council is set to approve amendments to the redevelopment of the former BCU City North Campus in Perry Barr.

The 9.75 hectares campus was earmarked for the commonwealth games athletes village, with plans to convert the village into 1,146 residential units, 268 extra care apartments as well as commercial space and public realm.

However a review of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic meant the athletes and official were housed in three ‘campus’ villages at The University of Birmingham, The University of Warwick and The NEC Hotel Campus, rather than the single site ‘Athletes Village’ in Perry Barr.

Therefore variations under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act needed to be made to reflect that the residential development would be coming forward directly.

Changes includes references to ‘Games Mode’ and ‘Legacy Mode’, as well as amendments to the amount of units to be brought forward.

There will be an increase in units from 58 to 84 in plots 3, 4 and 5 as well as a diversification of housing mix from predominantly 4 bed units to a wider mix.

Amendments also include a reduction of properties in plot 10 from 209 to 183.

The council will vote in a planning meeting tomorrow (June 15).