526 canalside homes at Arena Central recommended for approval despite heritage concerns

More than 500 new homes could be built beside Birmingham's canals after planners recommended approval for two residential towers at Arena Central, close to Gas Street Basin. The buildings, of 30 and 17 storeys, would provide 526 apartments along with shops, commercial space, communal facilities and landscaped public areas, the BBC reports.

The scheme will go before Birmingham City Council's planning committee on 12 November, with a council officer recommending that it be approved, subject to a legal agreement.

Completing the Arena Central site

The towers form part of the wider Arena Central masterplan, a mixed-use regeneration scheme on the site of the former HSBC headquarters, between Centenary Square and the canal. Much of Arena Central has already been built, including the bank's UK head office and government offices, and the new plans would bring a large number of homes to the remaining land.

The officer's report set out the public benefits of the scheme: more than 500 homes, new public space, regeneration, construction jobs and improvements for wildlife. It described the design as having a "strong, creative architectural concept", and said the buildings' form and scale complemented their surroundings. Although the towers are taller than those shown in the original masterplan, the report concluded that their height was appropriate for a city centre location.

Heritage concerns weighed up

The plans have not been without objections. Heritage and waterways organisations raised concerns about the effect on the historic canal setting, with the Canal and River Trust pointing to the "scale and massing" of the buildings.

Historic England welcomed the opportunity to complete the development of an important city centre site, but questioned the height of one of the towers and suggested that reducing it could help limit any harm to nearby heritage.

The planning officer acknowledged that the towers would change views from places including Gas Street Basin, Regency Wharf Bridge and the area around the Hall of Memory. But the report said no heritage asset would be physically altered or lost, and that their architectural and historic value would remain clear. It also rejected calls to cut the height of the 30-storey tower, arguing that this would not significantly reduce its effect on heritage sites and could detract from the quality of the building.

A much-loved corner of the city

Gas Street Basin sits at the heart of Birmingham's canal network, where the Birmingham Canal Navigations meet the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. Once a busy working wharf, it is now one of the city's most visited spots, lined with narrowboats, pubs and restaurants, and it recently featured in the Peaky Blinders film The Immortal Man.

The area has seen steady change over the past three decades, from Brindleyplace and the Mailbox to newer towers along Broad Street and Holliday Street. Each new scheme has prompted debate about how to add homes and jobs to the city centre while protecting the canalside character that makes it attractive in the first place.

What happens next

Birmingham needs many more homes, and city centre sites close to jobs, trains and trams are among the best places to put them. If councillors agree with the officer's recommendation next week, the scheme would add 526 apartments to the city's supply.

The decision rests with the planning committee, which can approve, refuse or defer the application when it meets on 12 November.