Birmingham's biggest city-centre regeneration: 17 hectares on the site of the former wholesale markets, with 3,079 new homes planned, a new home for the historic Bull Ring markets, a festival square and a landscaped park. Here's what's actually confirmed — and what it means if you're buying nearby.
Smithfield is the regeneration of the former Birmingham wholesale markets site — 17 hectares just south of the Bull Ring, being delivered by Lendlease in partnership with Birmingham City Council. The masterplan, which secured outline planning in 2021, includes 3,079 apartments (around 40% for rent), 82,000 sqm of office space, 44,000 sqm of retail, a purpose-built new home for the city's historic Bull Ring markets, a festival square, a landscaped park and new cultural and leisure spaces.
The project has an estimated development end value of around $3.5 billion (roughly £1.9bn build value) and is expected to create up to 8,000 jobs through development and operation.
| Detail | Information | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Site | 17 hectares — former wholesale markets, plus Indoor, Open and Rag markets land | Verified |
| Delivery partners | Lendlease with Birmingham City Council | Verified |
| Homes planned | 3,079 apartments, c. 40% for rent | Verified |
| Masterplan planning | Secured 2021 | Verified |
| First residential phase | 408 build-to-rent apartments — approved; Bell Phillips Architects with Intervention Architecture | Verified |
| Affordable housing | Delivered in later phases, not the first | Verified |
| Construction | Vertical construction commencing from 2025 | Estimated |
| Full completion | Around 2035 | Estimated |
| Homes for sale | None yet — first phase is build-to-rent | Verified |
You can't buy at Smithfield yet. The first 408 homes are build-to-rent — owned by an investor and let, not sold. If sale homes come, they'll be in later phases, likely years away. The practical significance today is different: Smithfield is a demand and value signal for the surrounding area.
The nearby angle: developments within reach of Smithfield — including Edition Birmingham at Centenary Square and Glasswater Locks in Digbeth — sit in a city centre where a £1.9bn project is adding a park, markets, workspace and thousands of residents over the next decade. That's context worth weighing in any Birmingham city-centre purchase, without treating a 2035 masterplan as a guarantee.
Keep perspective: masterplans of this scale evolve. Phases, tenure mix, timings and even partners can change over a ten-year build — our review cycle tracks exactly that.
This profile is re-reviewed quarterly. Planning your own purchase elsewhere in the city meanwhile? Start with the calculators and the full cost of buying guide.
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