Work will begin later in the year on the development in Yardley

Nearly 300 affordable homes, including 150 for social rent, are to be built on the site of the former Yardley Sewage Works in Stechford.

The land in Cole Hall Lane is owned by Birmingham City Council, who have worked with housing association Midland Heart, housing developer Morro Partnerships, Homes England, the region’s Mayor and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to facilitate the deal.

Birmingham City Council, Homes England and the WMCA have invested in the scheme, providing funding to clean up the brownfield site so it is suitable for house building.

Morro and Midland Heart will begin construction of the homes before the end of the year.

The deal comes as figures show that across the West Midlands there are 7,148 households, including 14,229 children, living in temporary accommodation and 65,335 households on the region’s social housing waiting lists.

On a visit to the site, Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, who announced a £4.5m WMCA package for the development, said: “In my first year in office, I’ve funded schemes that will provide more than 500 new social homes – that’s more than in all the schemes we have ever grant funded.

“Too many families in this region are living in cold, damp houses waiting too long for a home to call their own. This cannot be allowed to continue which is why I am helping to build more warm and safe homes for everyone.

“My target is clear: 2,000 new social homes a year by 2028 to tackle our housing crisis. We cannot do this alone – I am calling on housing associations and private sector developers to come together, just as we have at Yardley Brook, to build these homes and change the lives of thousands of families here in the West Midlands.”

Joe Reeves, Deputy Chief Executive at Midland Heart, said: “As one of the largest housing providers in the Midlands, we have a key role to play in addressing the shortage of homes and providing decent, affordable housing for local people across the region.

“We are aiming to deliver 2,250 new homes by 2030, which combined with the 4,000 we have already delivered during our last corporate plan period to 2025, will mean we will have delivered well over 6,000 new homes in a decade. Yardley Brook will be a huge part of this, and we look forward to working with our partner Morro, to transform this site, and develop and deliver almost 300 new homes.”

Meanwhile, the region’s Mayor, WMCA and the City Council are preparing to showcase more than £18 billion worth of investment opportunities at the UKREiiF (The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum) property show in Leeds, where key projects to be presented to investors and developers in Birmingham include:

• The Sports Quarter regeneration scheme in East Birmingham
• Smithfield Birmingham – a £1.9bn regeneration of 17 hectares in the heart of the city
• The Birmingham Knowledge Quarter innovation cluster.