Project
Planning secured for Plot 4A Smithfield Build to Rent
Posted on 19 March 2025
We are very happy to share that Plot 4A Smithfield, our Build to Rent project in Birmingham, has just received planning permission and will be one of the first buildings to be built as part of Lendlease and Birmingham City Council’s Smithfield masterplan.
The plans were approved at planning committee last week, marking a significant step in reshaping 17 hectares in the historic heart of the city to create over 3,000 new homes and an estimated 9,000 new jobs. The Smithfield Masterplan is one of the UK’s most ambitious regeneration initiatives and one we’re very proud to be a part of.
Designed in partnership with local architects, Intervention Architecture, our 37,853 sq.ft development will provide 408 high quality apartments above a mixed-use retail and leisure destination with a focus on health and wellbeing.
The building will form the longest elevation to Manor Square, a new public space designed by Field Operations. Our pleated, curtain-like façade reflects the theatre of the active square and sets the stage for the wider development. The scalloped metalwork curtains are a nod to the city’s industrial heritage and help to create a key identity that sings to the rest of the square.
A large residential communal rooftop garden, designed by LDA Design, sits atop the base podium to provide amenity space, and a rooftop pavilion houses a sunset lounge, communal dining, events space and work-from-home facilities. Further communal facilities are located on the ground floor including a gym, pet and bike washing area and a ‘library of things’ where people can borrow household items, tools and appliances, fostering a strong sense of community.
Care has been taken to integrate access and service routes to the new market designed by David Kohn Architects, balancing the needs of residents while supporting Smithfield’s living heritage of market trading and sustaining the district’s rich economic mix.
You can read more in the Architect’s Journal.