Affordable homes scheme planned for old sewage site

Nearly 300 affordable homes will be built on the site of a former sewage works in Birmingham.

The Yardley Brook development, planned for the former Yardley Sewage Works site in Stechford, is being built to ease the region's housing crisis.

The West Midlands Combined Authority announced a £4.5 million investment in the scheme, which will allocate 150 homes for social rent.

Birmingham City Council, which has also invested in the site, said families struggling to afford safe and decent homes would benefit from the development.

Developer Morro Partnerships and housing association Midland Heart will begin construction of the 298 homes before the end of the year.

The development deal comes as council figures revealed 7,148 households, including 14,229 children, were living in temporary accommodation across the West Midlands and 65,335 households were on the region's social housing waiting lists.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said 500 new social homes had been funded during his first year in office.

"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," he added.

Joe Reeves, deputy chief executive at Midland Heart, said the group had a "key role to play" in addressing the shortage of homes across the region.

He said: "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."

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