Developer of Birmingham Smithfield steps back from UK construction

The developer of a £1.9bn regeneration project in the centre of Birmingham said it was stepping back from the construction phase of its UK projects.

The Smithfield development is a joint partnership between Lendlease, a global real estate group, and Birmingham City Council.

It was due to bring thousands of new homes, businesses and open spaces to the site of the city’s former wholesale markets by 2035.

But Lendlease said it was “refocusing” on its strongest market, Australia, and would look for investors for the construction of its projects in the UK that would historically have been funded with its own money.

The Southside Business Improvement District (BID), which includes Smithfield, described the move as “alarming.”

Lendlease said it had historically paid construction costs from its own balance sheet but the complexity and timescales involved in large urban regeneration projects had become unsustainable.

The company’s European chief executive officer Andrea Ruckstuhl told Estates Gazette that the business remained committed to its UK projects, including Smithfield, and its focus remains on securing planning consent as soon as possible.

He said the firm was not “stepping away from any of our projects in Europe” but added in some instances they might look to “sell some of the plots” to other developers and investors.

The city council’s planning committee deferred making a decision on the Smithfield planning application on 16 May over concerns that open space in the scheme was not sufficient.

The organisers of Birmingham Pride, which had been held on disused Smithfield land since 2019, told the BBC earlier in May that plans for a festival square had been scaled back and were no longer big enough to host large scale events like theirs.

Julia Robinson, the manager of the Southside BID said: “We hope Lendlease remains committed to Smithfield and recognises the need for the city to have a home for Pride. Birmingham waits.”

A spokesperson for Lendlease said: “We’re working hard on securing a planning consent to regenerate this 17-hectare (42-acre) site in the heart of the city and look forward to presenting our application again in the near future.”

The city council declined to comment on the developer’s latest announcement.