Brum backs £40m housing deal

Birmingham Council last night signed off a plan which will see it develop up to 400 homes in joint venture with contractor Willmott Dixon and WM Housing Association.

The homes, which will all be for private rent, will be built after the Council agreed to invest a 10-acre plot of land close to the city centre into a joint venture Limited Liability Partnership set up by Willmott Dixon and WM.

The deal, worth £40m, is designed to be the first phase of a wider plan which could ultimately see the council invest more land in the business in return for further homes for private rent.

Willmott Dixon has been working on the deal since 2010, and had hopes that land for up to 1,500 homes will ultimately be included.

The deal is based on the Homes and Communities Agency’s private rented initiative, designed to kickstart more housing construction for homes specifically for rent.