Icknield Port Loop, a brownfield site encircled by Birmingham’s canals, is being transformed into a new waterside neighbourhood by a joint venture partnership of Urban Splash and Places for People.
The JV is working with landowners Canal & River Trust and Birmingham City Council to develop 1,150 new homes, as well as commercial property and community facilities across the 43 acre site.
CPUK Civils & Remediation has cleared the site and is carrying out groundworks under a £1.6m contract. A ground-breaking ceremony yesterday marked the official start on site of the first 77 homes.
Project director Adam Willetts said: “This transformative project is a catalyst for even wider regeneration of the Icknield Port Loop area for family city living, all just 15 minutes’ walk from Birmingham city centre. With creative and innovative design built in, our aim is to bring huge benefits to the existing community as well as those attracted to the new development with vibrant new uses for the canals and canal-side spaces and providing a range of modern homes.
“The extensive and multifaceted remediation of the site has been underway since the start of the year, including the complex rebuilding of the canal walls, clearing and recycling around 60,000 cubic metres of soil and materials and re-engineering the site levels to get it ready for bringing this new neighbourhood to life.”
Planning permission is in place for the whole of the first phase with a mix of 207 family homes and apartments, together with a new park.
Birmingham City Council leader Ian Ward said: “This is, without doubt, one of the most exciting residential developments in the city for a very long time.”
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