Birmingham City Council has established a formal partnership with Lovell to oversee the £1bn ($1.3bn) regeneration of the Druids Heath estate in south Birmingham, UK.
The project aims to deliver around 3,500 new homes over the next 20 years, including 1,785 affordable homes. Of the affordable units, 400 will be allocated for social rent.
The agreement follows Lovell’s selection as the preferred development partner for this project in January 2026, after a competitive procurement process.
Lovell, a national partnerships housing specialist, stated that the scheme will involve close engagement with the Druids Heath community to ensure the regeneration addresses current and future residents’ priorities.
Improvements are expected to extend beyond housing, covering local transport, community facilities, business areas and green spaces.
Lovell project director Simon Wingate said: “We are very pleased to have reached this important milestone in our partnership with Birmingham City Council, and we look forward to unlocking opportunity across Druids Heath together.
“Our focus is to hit the ground running and deliver early benefits for the community, through local job and training opportunities, improvements to shared spaces and collaborative work with local organisations.”
The phased scheme will see early actions focusing on job creation, apprenticeship and training opportunities, and shared space enhancements, as well as a substantial programme of community consultation.
The council and Lovell intend to deliver some of these early benefits before returning to the council’s planning committee later in 2026.
Further developments in terms of planning and wider community input are expected as the partnership moves towards the detailed delivery phase.
Birmingham City Council city housing executive director Paul Langford said: "The partnership agreement provides a legal guarantee that 51% of the homes on the scheme will be affordable. This is something that the council has long maintained a commitment to, and I am pleased we can now provide this reassurance to our residents.”
Lovell has previously taken part in regeneration work throughout the country, including projects at Woolwich Estates in London, the Compendium Living joint venture in Liverpool and Derby, and the Castle Vale programme in Birmingham stretching over 25 years.
