Last Longbridge MG Rover sites sold for £4m

Two plots at a former car plant in Birmingham have been snapped up by residential property developer Paragon Living, paving the way for up to 360 apartments to be built at the historic former industrial site.

The enormous MG Rover factory in Longbridge has seen around £1bn of regeneration effort since the collapse of the car giant in 2005, part of a masterplan which will eventually see up to 3,000 homes built across the former industrial site.

Longbridge, around eight miles south of Birmingham city centre, was once one of the largest car production facilities in the world, employing 25,000 workers at its peak.

But most of the near 500-acre factory has now been demolished after the production lines ground to a halt more than two decades ago – replaced with a fledgling town centre, alongside a science and technology park.

Now, the final two central sites in the centre of Longbridge have been purchased in a deal with Wolverhampton-based Paragon, worth £4m, according to property agent Savills.

Outline permission is already in place for two buildings set to house up to 360 apartments, which will eventually form part of a mixed-use scheme spanning the 2.44 acre and 1.73 acre plots.

The wider area includes Longbridge Technology Park, a 260‑home retirement village, Austin Park and improved riverside habitat, alongside retail and leisure uses such as Sainsbury’s, Premier Inn, PureGym, Marks & Spencer and Herbert’s Yard.

Michael Maguire, director in the Midlands Development Land team at Savills, said: “Longbridge is an important part of Birmingham’s manufacturing history and we are pleased to have secured a buyer for the final town centre plots.

“We look forward to seeing the plans progress as part of the wider regeneration.”