City’s ‘tallest tower’ plan for Martineau Place
Plans to demolish a Birmingham shopping centre and replace it with a residential-led scheme containing up to 2,000 homes, offices and retail units have been revealed.
Last week, applicants Henley Investment Management Limited & Sixth Street lodged a pre-application request to Birmingham City Council for plans which could see all buildings on the 2.7-acre shopping centre plot linking High Street and Corporation Street razed to make way for a residential tower building – set to potentially become the tallest in the city.
Documents submitted with an EIA scoping document say the design of the proposed development is yet to be finalised – however it will include a phased construction of a residential led scheme over a period of up to ten years, which would also include up to 260,000 sq ft of office and 20,000 sq ft of retail space.
The proposals, which would also include new public realm with “ecological enhancements”, would have a maximum height of 60 storeys, placing it significantly higher than the current tallest at the 49-storey Octagon, which stretches 509 feet into the Birmingham skyline.
An outline application for the scheme is currently being prepared for the scheme and – if approved – it would spell the end of the existing shopping centre at the ground floor, which was redeveloped in 2001.
The office building on the upper floors of the development which was redeveloped as the Staybridge Suites hotel in 2016 would also be demolished.
The complex also includes a dental clinic and a GP surgery , which currently serves around 18,000 patients, according to a report submitted with the EIA request.
“The proposal will be submitted via an outline planning application with all matters reserved, except for two of the tallest buildings where the details of appearance and scale will be provided,” said a report provided with the request.
“The Proposed Development will continue to evolve through ongoing community and stakeholder engagement, master planning opportunity and constraints analysis and collaboration with BCC as preapplication discussions progress,” it added.
The full scoping report can be found on Birmingham City Council’s planning portal using reference: 2026/00574/PA
