How a 1,600-homes scheme hopes to transform this town centre

A £20m investment has been announced for a major redevelopment of part of Solihull town centre - but what is Holbeche Place and why is it being built?

The scheme, formerly known as Mell Square, is set to see 1,600 homes, alongside shops, restaurants and public spaces, built in the centre of the town over the next decade.

Plans were originally submitted last year and approved by Solihull Council in February.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, announced on Wednesday he would invest £20m in the project.

He said the scheme was part of wider efforts to revive areas across the region.

"Too many town centres have been hollowed out over recent years and people have felt that decline," he said. "I want us to reverse that."

Holbeche Place is a major long-term regeneration project planned for the centre of Solihull.

Proposals include new homes, retail space, food and drink venues and public areas, designed to keep the town centre busy throughout the day and evening.

The scheme is set to include more than 1,600 homes, according to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

Parker said: "Holbeche Place is exactly the kind of redevelopment our region needs - high quality homes, new businesses, safer streets and more people living in and using the town centre every day."

The development will be delivered by developers Muse in partnership with Solihull Council.

Parker said town centres needed "life and vitality" brought back into them.

He said Holbeche Place would help create "a town centre people can feel proud of" by bringing more homes, businesses and activity into the area.

"High streets were never just places to buy things," he added.

"They were where communities met, where local businesses grew and where people felt pride in the place they lived."

Meanwhile, Solihull Council said the development would strengthen the town centre's position as "one of the UK's most resilient and high-performing town centres".

The WMCA said the first phases of the scheme would include 346 build-to-rent homes, followed by 228 affordable homes.

According to the mayor's office, the homes were intended to attract young professionals, families and downsizers into the town centre.

Councils and regional leaders across the country have increasingly focused on building homes in town and city centres as shopping habits change and more people buy online.

The government previously said it aimed to create 1.5m new homes in the UK over the next five years.

The WMCA said the neighbourhood would be built in phases over the next 10 years.

Funding from the mayor and the WMCA was helping "kick-start" the development and that delivery would "pick up pace in the coming months", a spokesperson said.

Lisa Turley, development director at Muse, said: "Holbeche Place will be critical to Solihull town centre's long-term success - driving growth, investing in retail, delivering new homes and curating quality public spaces."

Holbeche Place is one of several regeneration and housing schemes backed by Richard Parker since becoming mayor.

The WMCA has also invested in projects including Smithgate in Wolverhampton, housing schemes in Digbeth and affordable homes at Port Loop in Edgbaston.

Parker has previously pledged to build 20,000 social homes across the West Midlands over the next decade.

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