Another re-think on Icknield Port Loop

THE recent plans to redevelop Icknield Port Loop in Birmingham are once again on 'hold'.

The West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, now wants the government to provide cash for the city's plans to provide the 1,150 new homes planned for the Loop, Alan Tilbury reports.

Too expensive

The private developers believe it will be too expensive for them to clear away the old industrial buildings, digging up the concrete and possibly having to decontaminate whatever is underneath, all costing extra money, unlike building on a brownfield site or farmers' land.

So they want the government to step in and provide cash, and are quoting the government's manifesto committed to 'rebalancing housing growth across the country', with Andy Street stating:

Financial muscle of government

"We need the financial muscle of government to get them moving. We stand ready to get the diggers fired up, and build the homes we desperately need. With the right teamwork, and a fresh look at the numbers, perhaps Icknield Port Loop will soon be buzzing once again."