£8m injection brings huge scheme forward

Plans to transform swathes of Smethwick took a leap forward today after £8million in funding was handed over to developers.

It is expected that the 250-home Brindley II project will bring at total of £42m to the local economy with new shops, roads and footpaths created on land off Lewisham Road.

Regeneration partnership PxP West Midlands has secured funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the National Housing and Regeneration Agency for England and Urban Living, the Birmingham and Sandwell Pathfinder, to unlock the 11-acre scheme and create the first 193 homes.

English Partnerships has approved £6.5m in funding and Urban Living, which puts cash into borough housing regeneration projects, has committed £2.3m.

It was announced today that the money is in place to start buying up land.

Mark Stapleton, managing director for PxP West Midlands, said: "We are delighted to have been able to work with the HCA and Urban Living to secure this funding to support the acquisition to bring forward the development.

"This scheme will not only deliver circa 200 family houses to the local community, but it will also provide £42m of investment and trigger further large-scale regeneration projects in the locality."

The adjacent development, Brindley Village I, was completed five years ago and comprises 150 family homes.

The success of the scheme, the demand for many more new family homes from local people and the ongoing need for investment in regeneration projects in North Smethwick has triggered the development of Brindley Village II.

Brindley Village II encompasses the creation of some 193 new homes including properties of three, four and six bedrooms with 25 per cent of the units designated for shared ownership and social rented initiatives.