762 canalside homes by St Joseph (Berkeley Group) in Birmingham’s Learning Quarter, near the HS2 Curzon Street site, from £220,000.
Glasswater Locks is a large canalside development by St Joseph, the West Midlands brand of FTSE 100 housebuilder Berkeley Group. It sits on a three-acre brownfield site between Jennens Road, Lawley Middleway and Belmont Row, with around 155 metres of frontage onto the Digbeth Branch Canal — in the city's "Learning Quarter", within walking distance of Aston University and Birmingham City University.
The scheme delivers one, two and three-bedroom apartments and duplexes across seven blocks built in three stages, alongside circa 13,000 sq ft of commercial space (Berkeley's current figure). Berkeley currently markets the scheme as 90% sold, with a limited collection of waterside homes remaining; the Canalside Club resident amenities officially opened in February 2026.
Why it matters: this is one of the closest large residential schemes to the HS2 Curzon Street station site — Berkeley puts it at less than half a mile. Station construction is well advanced, but HS2 opening dates remain subject to government decisions: initial services are planned to run to Old Oak Common in west London, with Euston connected later. The ~49-minute design journey time applies once full services run.
| Detail | Information | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Development name | Glasswater Locks | Verified |
| Location | Belmont Row, Birmingham B4 7RQ (Digbeth Branch Canal) | Verified |
| Developer | St Joseph — Berkeley Group | Verified |
| Structure | 7 blocks, delivered in 3 stages | Verified |
| Homes planned | 762 (1, 2 & 3-bed apartments and duplexes) | Estimated |
| Current pricing | From £220,000 (developer's published from-price, August 2026) | Verified |
| Sales status | 90% sold — limited collection of waterside homes remaining | Developer Claim |
| Tenure | Leasehold, 250-year leases · 10-year NHBC warranty | Estimated |
| Completion | In stages through to 2028 | Estimated |
Berkeley's own listing puts new homes from £220,000. Third-party sales portals currently show one-bedroom apartments from around £220,000 (up to ~£310,000) and two-bedroom homes from approximately £290,000 through agents (~£345,000 direct from Berkeley), with penthouses listed at £535,000–£550,000 — treat those ranges as estimated, since pricing varies by phase, floor and outlook, and the lowest-priced homes sell first.
At £220,000 as a first-time buyer you'd pay no stamp duty (under the £300,000 nil-rate threshold). A 10% deposit is £22,000. Run your own numbers with our mortgage and affordability calculators, and see the full cost of buying guide for everything beyond the deposit.
Prices at active developments change with each release. Confirm current availability and pricing directly with the sales team before making decisions. Figures above were checked in July 2026.
The site sits at the meeting point of Eastside, Digbeth and the Learning Quarter. Aston University and Birmingham City University are both walkable, the city core is moments away, and the HS2 Curzon Street station site is roughly an 8-minute walk. Digbeth's regeneration — including the BBC's move to the Tea Factory and the wider £1bn+ Eastside investment zone — surrounds the development.
Resident amenities (developer-described): the Canalside Club with 24-hour concierge, gym, cinema room, yoga studio, games room, co-working spaces, lounges, library and landscaped residents' gardens.
Glasswater Locks starts from £220,000, which keeps it within reach of many first-time buyers: a 5% deposit is around £11,000 and 90–95% mortgages are widely available. The homes are leasehold new-builds, so the service charge and lease terms feed the lender’s affordability check, and because completions are phased you may be buying off-plan — where a formal mortgage offer typically comes only close to completion, so confirm timings.
Work the numbers before reserving: see what you could borrow with how much can I borrow and the affordability calculator, estimate the monthly cost on the mortgage calculator, and if you’re still saving, our saving for a house deposit and can I afford to buy a house? guides are built for exactly this entry price.
Agents anticipate rental yields around 5.4% at Glasswater Locks — a third-party projection, not a guarantee. The fundamentals investors typically weigh here: two universities in walking distance (steady tenant demand), the HS2 effect on connectivity, Berkeley build quality and warranty cover, and Digbeth's regeneration trajectory.
Balance: yields depend on the price you pay and real-world rents; service charges on amenity-rich buildings reduce net returns, and we have not yet verified service charge levels here — ask the sales team for the estimate on your specific plot and factor it in before committing.
Our first home checklist and buying timeline guide cover what happens after you reserve.
Deciding between the two? Read our side-by-side Edition Birmingham vs Glasswater Locks comparison, gauge the returns in Buy-to-Let in Birmingham, or browse everything in Property Intelligence.
Ready to take the next step? The official sales and enquiry point for Glasswater Locks is St Joseph / Berkeley Group — Glasswater Locks — the right place to verify current availability, pricing and specifications directly.
Independence note: Hall's Homes UK has no commercial relationship with this sales team and receives nothing for this link. It is provided so readers can verify details and enquire directly — our analysis above is unaffected.
Glasswater Locks is a 762-home development across seven canalside blocks in Birmingham's Learning Quarter (Digbeth/Eastside), less than half a mile from the HS2 Curzon Street station site, by St Joseph — part of the Berkeley Group. It is under construction and being delivered in three stages.
Pricing starts from around £220,000 as of our August 2026 review, with Berkeley marketing the scheme as 90% sold and a limited collection remaining. Availability and prices move between releases, so confirm the current list directly.
The developer is St Joseph, the Midlands arm of the Berkeley Group — the same developer behind the completed Snow Hill Wharf scheme, which is a useful completed-vs-off-plan comparison.
The scheme is phased across three stages, with completions estimated to run to around 2028. These are developer timelines and subject to change.
Some details above are marked Estimated or Awaiting. We re-verify every profile quarterly — follow Hall's Homes UK to catch updates as we confirm them.