Holbeche Place phase two poised for green light
Muse’s plans to build 228 affordable homes as part of a major regeneration of Solihull have been recommended for approval this week.
The developer lodged proposals for the residential-led development in February this year under its social impact ‘Habiko’ banner – just days after a 1,600-home Holbeche Place masterplan was approved by the local authority.
The nine-storey apartment block will form the latest phase of the Holbeche Place project, already under way on the site formerly known as Mell Square, after the first 346 homes and two commercial units got the go-ahead earlier this year. Two commercial units on the ground floor of the building totalling around 1,700 sq ft are also included in the proposals.
Those plans look set to be given the green light at a planning committee on Wednesday, 15 July, after the scheme was tipped for approval by Solihull Council’s planning officers.
Phase two of Holbeche Place, shown to the rear of this illustration. The wider scheme was approved by Solihull Borough Council in February. Credit: Howells
Habiko, a public-private partnership between Muse, Homes England and PIC, was launched in 2024 with the aim of building 3,000 low-carbon, low-energy, affordable homes for rent by 2036.
Work is already under way on the first phase of Holbeche Place, which will see a multi-storey car park and a former department store demolished to make way for a landmark reworking of Solihull’s town centre.
A consultation exercise on the proposals carried out in February showed “broad support” for the project, according to a report produced by the borough council’s planning officers, ahead of a planning committee meeting set to be held on Wednesday, 15 July.
“It is considered that this residential-led proposed development achieves the aspirations for a sustainable, green and inclusive place that has people at the heart of the redevelopment,” said the planning officer’s report.
“The proposals take the form of a traditional, late Victorian mansion blocks. Mansion blocks have become characteristic of high-quality urban neighbourhoods, both desirable for residents and by communities.
“The incorporation of retail units in this location aligns with the masterplan aspiration to draw retail and footfall towards the central public space at Mell Square. This in turn will also create natural surveillance along Mill Lane and support the longer-term vitality along this route.”
Holbeche Place has been backed by around £20m of remediation funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority.
Howells have provided designs for the scheme while Turley provided planning consultancy services. The project team also includes Planit(Landscapes), Edge(Project Managerment), Arcadis(QS), OFR(Fire), Cundall(Engineerting and Highways), Greengage(Ecology), and GIA (Wind and Daylight Consultancy).
Plans and documents relating to the application can be found on Solihull’s planning portal using reference: PL/2026/00412/MARDW
