Birmingham council must take action to expand the city centre’s residential market if the current boom is to continue, a report has warned
Drivers Jonas’s research into Birmingham’s residential market claims that alarm bells are ringing because the trend for building luxury apartments on the city centre’s west side is reaching “saturation point”.
Almost all of the residential units that have been built, started or proposed within Birmingham’s Middle Ring Road since the mid-1990s have been high-profile developments centred on just two clusters: Broad Street/Brindleyplace and the Jewellery Quarter, including St Paul’s Square.
The research says that the trend has created a vacuum in the housing market. Average prices for new schemes have risen to around £2,368 per sq m (£220 per sq ft), with one-bedroom apartments in prime schemes commanding around £170,000. In contrast, a flat in one of the established central public housing estates nearby typically costs £26,000.
“It is becoming clear that Birmingham city centre is failing to meet the needs of middle range social and income groups. Most people who work in Birmingham city centre cannot afford the high costs of new residential apartments,” the report says.
Gary Cardin, planning director at Drivers Jonas, called on the city council to foster the development of “a range of services to support diverse, mixed communities – food stores, convenience shopping, recreational and community facilities. These have been slow to emerge thus far”.
Condin added that such services “are essential to attract the large mid-market and at the same time require a critical mass of local residents to be viable”.
EGi News 18/07/01
