Birmingham is booming and should set a target to be the UK's fastest growing major city, the council leader Albert Bore has said . And why not. Midland New Street Station, the Metro Extension, Grand Central Shopping Centre and the new Mailbox work are all set for completion in 2015; there is more than one million square feet of city centre offices in the pipeline; and the Greater Birmingham and Solihill (GBSLEP) area is attracting more foreign direct investment than another local enterprise partnership zone in the country. So all is rosy in the Birmingham garden? Well not quite. There is quite a large elephant in the corner and that is that Birmingham City Council cannot accommodate the homes that it needs. The submitted Birmingham Development Plan (BDP) identified a need for 84,000 homes to 2031, but is acknowledged and accepted that that figure will be higher by the time the plan's examination has run it's course. Birmingham City Council only has though capacit...
Hello. My name is Sam, I am a Town Planner and I sometimes write about town planning-related things (in my own time and as an expression of my own opinions). I used to podcast, there is a link to that on this page somewhere, and I circulate a newsletter from time to time. There is a link to that somewhere as well. Should you be so inclined, I am on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford).