Ladywood police station apartments set for approval
Proposals for 137 homes in West Birmingham have taken a step forward, after planning officers recommended approval for the scheme this week.
MIA Property put forward plans for the 0.9-acre former police station site on Ladywood Middleway in August last year, having snapped up a neighbouring plot around six months prior.
Now, the former police station and neighbouring social club look set to be demolished to make way for two housing blocks, if the application gets the thumbs up at the city council’s planning committee on Thursday.
If approved, 65 one-bedroom apartments and 72 two-bedroom will be built, with the development intended to be operated by Midland Heart as a 100% affordable scheme.
The city council’s urban design team and Birmingham Civic Society both lodged objections to the proposal – leading to council planning officers negotiating a number of changes to the design of the building during the consultation.
The city design officer maintained an objection to the proposals due to the lack of a principal entrance onto Ladywood Middleway, enhanced communal amenity space and an alternative ventilation strategy – but making their recommendation council planning officers said that, overall, the scheme was acceptable.
“On balance, the scheme would deliver a well-designed residential development that makes effective use of a sustainable brownfield site and, whilst certain design shortcomings have been identified, officers do not consider these to give rise to significant planning harm or to warrant refusal of planning permission,” they said.
“The proposal would make significantly more efficient use of the site than the retention and conversion of the existing buildings and would facilitate the delivery of a substantial number of new homes, including affordable housing, together with associated landscaping, biodiversity enhancements and sustainability measures.”
The application will be decided at Birmingham City Council’s planning committee on Thursday, 8 October.
Plans and documents relating to the proposals can be found on Birmingham’s planning portal using reference: 2026/01554/PA
