Student block to be built in historic Birmingham area amid ‘clear need’ for scheme

Proposals for a student accommodation block in an historic Birmingham area have been given the green light. As part of the plans, 86 Cliveland Street in the Gun Quarter will be demolished to make way for a new development which will provide 317 bed spaces.

It is also set to boast other facilities such as a laundry, gym, communal space/games room, outdoor amenity space and roof gardens. The proposals were previously recommended for approval but a decision was deferred at a planning committee meeting in September.

At the time, Coun David Barker said more information was needed to make an “informed decision” about whether it was the right location for student accommodation. In an update issued ahead of last week’s planning meeting, council officers said the most recent data available on purpose-built student accommodation showed a “clear need” for the proposed development.

READ MORE: Decision made on proposed Birmingham skyscraper described as ‘monolithic block’

It was recommended for approval again, subject to conditions. At the most recent planning meeting on Thursday, November 28, Coun Barker said he was minded to support the proposals, adding: [The development] would relieve capacity on places in the city centre that students might be in, given them more space which then in turn reduces pressure on say, Selly Oak and Edgbaston.”

Coun Martin Brooks, chair of the committee, said: “I do have some concerns about this site in terms of its proximity to the Gun Quarter and the fact it’s a somewhat large, monolithic structure that I don’t think fits as well with the industrial buildings as it could do. But I accept there have been some amendments to the design, certainly the number of storeys has been reduced.”

The update prior to the meeting also said: “The applicant has asked that members be made aware of the immense difficulties caused by the delay in determining this application to both the funding and the agreement with the contractor. In the event of approval, the applicant was targeting September 2026 for completion and first occupancy but that deadline has now been missed.”

Responding to those comments during the meeting itself, Coun Brooks said: “I think we had every right to delay an application where we were seeking very clear data as to what was going on. So I don’t think there’s any apologies for the committee to be making in that respect.”

‘Area changing with some pace’

A council officer’s report previously said there was a “demonstrated need” for such accommodation and the proposed development would bring into use a long-vacant brownfield site. However, it also highlighted that local businesses had raised concerns over the “encroachment of residential uses” into an industrial area.

Birmingham’s Gun Quarter was previously the centre of the world’s gun-manufacturing industry - but the report noted the area's character was changing with “some pace”. It said the site of the proposed development fell within the ‘Gun Quarter Growth Zone’ identified in the Central Birmingham Framework 2045.

The major strategy, which sets out the ways the city could transform over the next 20 years, said the northern quarters of Central Birmingham held “great potential”. “There continues to be a need to protect viable businesses and employment generating uses in the Gun Quarter but balanced with the delivery of housing growth,” the report said.

It said existing businesses should not have “unreasonable restrictions” placed on them as a result of development permitted after they were established. Summing up, the report said the proposals had an “architectural approach which would accord with that of this changing area".

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However, it recognised the development would cause some harm, such as the loss of a non-designated heritage asset. “Weighing the benefits and harms, I conclude that, on balance, the application should be approved,” it added.