Affordbale Housing

What do we mean by affordable housing?

Everyone deserves a safe, secure place to call home. But for many people across Birmingham, finding a home they can genuinely afford is becoming increasingly difficult.

Affordable housing helps people whose housing needs can’t be met by the open market. That might be a family stuck in temporary accommodation, a young person hoping to stay in the area where they grew up, or someone working locally who has been priced out of renting or buying nearby.

The homes proposed at Tower Ballroom are intended to help address that need by providing high-quality homes at costs significantly below those typically found on the open market.

Who will these homes be for?

The homes at Tower Ballroom are being designed to meet housing needs identified by Birmingham City Council.

All 95 homes will be affordable homes, with the majority provided as Social Rent, alongside a smaller number of Shared Ownership homes.

Social Rent provides some of the most affordable housing available in the country. These homes are typically allocated through Birmingham City Council’s housing register to people and families with the greatest housing need.

For many residents, a social rented home can provide something increasingly difficult to find: security, stability and a place they can afford to build their future.

Shared Ownership

Shared Ownership helps people take their first step onto the property ladder.

Instead of purchasing a home outright, residents buy a share of their home and pay a reduced rent on the remainder. Over time, they can increase the share they own if their circumstances allow.

For many people who never thought home ownership would be possible, Shared Ownership can help make that ambition a reality.

A Long-Term Commitment

Unlike many private developments, Midland Heart will not build these homes and then move on.

As one of the Midlands’ largest housing associations, Midland Heart has been providing homes and supporting communities across the region for almost 100 years. If approved, Midland Heart will own and manage every home on the site for the long term, remaining responsible for the neighbourhood long after construction is complete.

That means more than maintaining buildings. It means investing in the community, supporting residents, caring for shared spaces and ensuring the development is a positive addition to the area for generations to come.

Midland Heart is committed to creating places where people can thrive, and that includes taking seriously its responsibilities to the surrounding environment. Alongside delivering much-needed affordable homes, the organisation is committed to protecting and enhancing biodiversity, creating new opportunities for nature to flourish and ensuring the development sits sensitively within the wider Edgbaston Reservoir setting.

For Midland Heart, success is not simply measured by the number of homes delivered. It is measured by the strength of the community that grows around them, the opportunities they create for local people and the positive legacy left for both residents and the wider area.

Designed for the future

The homes at Tower Ballroom are being designed to be some of the most sustainable new homes in Birmingham.

That means homes that are warmer in winter, cheaper to run and better for the environment.

Through high levels of insulation, solar panels and modern heating technology, residents will benefit from homes that use less energy and produce fewer carbon emissions than many homes built today.

For residents, the benefits are simple: greater comfort, lower energy use and reduced household bills.

The development is intended to become Birmingham’s largest net-zero neighbourhood and one of the first large residential developments in the UK to be designed to the new UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard (UKNZCBS).