The Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust (BMHT), the council’s housebuilding division, has published plans to build 2,708 new homes by 2029
The report covers an estimated £346m of housing sites across the city including larger regeneration projects, like in Kings Norton where unpopular housing has been cleared and replaced with high-quality mixed new homes, right through to smaller garage sites and stand-alone homes
The ten year programme looks set to build new homes for both sale and affordable rent with quality, sustainability and design at the very heart of their construction. The new properties will be constructed to lifetime homes standard, will benefit from highly efficient insulation, energy efficient boilers and heating systems and will feature Sustainable Drainage systems (SuDS) which will deal with any drainage issues and will promote biodiversity at each site.
It also includes a mix of house building styles featuring both traditional construction methods that will build larger family-style homes as well as the first phase of modular homes which allows the council to unlock previously unused, smaller sites.
Cllr Sharon Thompson, cabinet member for homes and neighbourhoods at Birmingham City Council said, “The national housing crisis is one of the biggest contributing factors causing homelessness right now in Birmingham.
“With the city’s population set to grow by a further 10% over the next 15 years, there is a pressing need to deliver more affordable, family housing within accessible locations to relieve the increasing burden. I’m delighted that Birmingham City Council is leading the way in social housing and is moving forward with its ambitious plans for the next ten years.”
The report comes out as Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust (BMHT) celebrates its tenth anniversary. It has to date built 3,126, with a further 365 new homes currently under construction. These homes have provided significant housing growth and BMHT is now the largest authority housebuilder in the UK.
Mr M. Mohamed is from one of the families who earlier this year moved in to a new property and commented, “My family and I had been on the housing waiting list for seven years. There are eight people in my family and until earlier this year, we had been living in a two-bed flat. To be able to move into a modern four-bed family home where my children will have the space they need to grow up happy and healthy is a fantastic step forward.”
