West Midlands Mayor announces more social housing to help tackle region’s affordable homes shortage

Mayor Richard Parker's mission to kickstart the biggest social housing programme the West Midlands has seen in decades has gained further momentum with the announcement of another major investment.

The Mayor joined construction workers at the Port Loop ‘island community' in Edgbaston, Birmingham to confirm a £1.7m funding deal for 124 social and affordable homes on five acres of derelict industrial land.

The investment comes after 6,520 West Midland households, including more than 13,000 children, started the New Year living in temporary accommodation as the region continues to suffer from a lack of affordable homes. More than 60,000 people across the West Midlands are currently on housing waiting lists.

The Mayor said: “Far too many families in our region are stuck waiting for a safe and decent home. This funding for Port Loop will deliver over 100 new social homes on top of the 141 I confirmed for Digbeth only last month.

“Since I took office more social homes are being delivered by the WMCA than ever before. But this is just the start of my plans to tackle the region's housing crisis with more to be announced in the coming months.

“I'm turbocharging the construction of social and affordable housing to give people the stability and security they need in their lives. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home, and I'm focused on building the houses our communities urgently need.”

The Mayor has committed to improving the lives of people like mother-of-three Sunita Kaur Singh who has just moved into her new social home after spending much of the last 20 years in temporary accommodation trying the escape an abusive ex-partner.

Sunita said: “Moving from place to place, going from temporary accommodation to women's refuges and back into temporary accommodation is absolutely heartbreaking.

“When I first stepped into this place I was overwhelmed and broke down in tears, I was so happy I had finally got somewhere. When I told my children they thought I was lying because it was so nice. They said ‘take us to our real property' - I said ‘this is your home now' – they couldn't believe it.

“Getting this house feels like the answer to all my prayers. I am so happy. I never want to move from here.”

The Mayor has set a target of 20,000 new social homes over the next decade, while training local people in the skills they need to get jobs building those homes.

Only last month he announced a multi-million-pound investment into a residential tower scheme in Digbeth, Birmingham which will see 55% of the new properties classed as affordable with 141 being social homes for rent and 127 for shared ownership.

Once completed, the new social housing at Port Loop, which is being built by Keon Homes at a cost of £34m, will be managed by Midland Heart, one of the region's oldest and biggest housing associations. Of the 124 new homes, 103 will be available for social rent and 21 for shared ownership.

Glenn Harris, chief executive of Midland Heart, said: “It's great to be joined by the Mayor to see progress at this iconic development. This significant investment in social housing, supported by strategic partnership funding from Homes England, combined with our strong partnership with Keon Homes, will see 124 high quality, energy efficient homes handed over to local people who need them.

“We're looking forward to welcoming the first tenants to Port Loop later this year, and seeing this site transform into a thriving community of affordable family homes, a stone's throw from the city centre.”

The scheme is the latest chapter in the on-going regeneration of Port Loop, a long-term project being driven by Birmingham City Council, working with Places for People, developer Urban Splash and the Canal & River Trust.

The former industrial site, which is surrounded on all sides by canals, is being transformed into a new island community. To date 105 homes have been built.

But today's announcement means Port Loop will get its first dedicated social housing with 12 of the properties in the scheme being modular homes, built off site in factory-controlled conditions and then craned into place.

The Mayor is keen to see more modular homes used in future social housing schemes because they are quicker to build and cheaper to heat for the people living in them.

Mayor Richard Parker inside one of the new social homes under construction at Port Loop, Birmingham

Cllr Jayne Francis, cabinet member for housing and homelessness at Birmingham City Council, said: “This development at Port Loop will provide a welcome boost to the number of affordable homes at a time when the number of people on the housing register waiting for a home in Birmingham has never been higher.

“Port Loop is a fantastic example of how partnership working can deliver high-quality, energy-efficient homes while addressing the housing shortage in Birmingham.”

Henriette Breukelaar, regional director, Canal & River Trust (West Midlands), added: "As custodians of the nation's waterways, we're proud to be part of the transformation happening at Port Loop, where heritage meets modern living to create vibrant, sustainable communities.

“The canals that define this unique island site have been a cornerstone of Birmingham's industrial past, and now, through partnerships like this, they're at the heart of its regeneration. This new development reflects our shared vision of making canals and their surroundings places where people want to live, work, and thrive."

Matt Beckley, partnerships director at Keon Homes, said: “Bringing this phase of Port Loop back to life is a pivotal milestone in Birmingham accelerating its ability to provide affordable homes for local people.

“It's a perfect example of how partnerships and transparent collaboration can unlock a complex parcel of land and lay the foundations for 124 energy efficient homes that will form a thriving new community just a mile or so from the city centre.

“This has only been possible due to the working relationships we have with Midland Heart, Urban Splash and PFP, not to mention the foresight of Mayor Richard Parker, the WMCA and FDC to help fund some of the development costs to make the project feasible.

“For Keon Homes, Port Loop is our largest ever development in Birmingham and puts a marker in the sand for how far we have come in just over five years.”

Access to the WMCA funding was provided by the Property Team at Frontier Development Capital Ltd (FDC). FDC continues to work closely with property developers to arrange investments from the WMCA's funds.