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Birmingham City Council set to approve new development by in-house company
Birmingham City Council’s cabinet will tomorrow consider proposals to build 131 homes over the next two years through its development company.
If approved, the £18.78m programme will see Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust (BMHT) deliver 107 new homes for social rent and 24 new homes for sale, mainly on small sites such as former pubs and garages.
Birmingham is the UK’s largest council landlord with more than 62,000 homes, while BMHT has developed around 2,500 homes since 2009 and 20% of all new build in the city since 2011.
The authority will seek to contract small and medium-sized businesses to build out the sites below 16 units through its Dynamic Purchasing System procurement vehicle.
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“Despite huge pressures on the council, we are determined to tackle the housing crisis – building new homes, working with housing partners in the region and pursuing creative solutions to address different housing needs,” said Peter Griffiths, cabinet member for housing and homes at Birmingham City Council.
Among the council’s housing stock are 213 tower blocks. It has previously committed to installing sprinklers in each of them at an estimated cost of £31m.
Alongside the homes included in this build programme, Birmingham has firm plans for 703 rented homes by 2020/21, with business cases being devised for a further 613.
A council policy document published in July outlined its ambition to build 1,500 homes by 2020.
There are 17,000 people on the authority’s waiting list for affordable housing.
