Morgan-Sindall owned placemaking specialist signed development agreement with council last year
Developer Muse has submitted plans for up to 1,600 homes as part of a major redevelopment of a 1960s retail and leisure precinct in Solihull.
Plans for the 6.2ha site have been drawn up by Howells and would see the Mell Square Shopping Centre transformed into a mixed-use development near the town centre.
Full planning documents are not yet available, but according to an Environmental Impact Statement (EIA) published last year, its maximum height will be 14 storeys, with smaller elements ranging between four and nine storeys.
Of the 1,600 homes planned, up to 150 could be assisted living homes, according to the EIA.
The residential component will also include build-to-rent and affordable homes.
The scheme will also include a 425-room hotel, which “may span two separate plots”, more than 20,000 sq m for retail and 32,000 sq m for office space, as well as 19,000 sq m of public open space.
Muse, which is owned by Morgan Sindall, signed a development agreement with the council last November, after which the developer held a “community conversation” to showcase the emerging plans.
Lisa Turley, development director at Muse, said: “We have worked closely and in partnership with Solihull Council to develop an ambitious masterplan proposal.”
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“It’s an approach which has been informed by detailed consultation with the community and partners from across the town centre. We’ll continue to work closely with established businesses, tenants, and residents as the process develops to minimise disruption and shape the next steps.”
“This is an important milestone, and we look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the council, and others, to deliver.”
The EIA estimated that enabling works for phase one could begin in the third quarter of 2025, with completion of the scheme’s final phase targeted for the fourth quarter of 2035.
However, Muse now says a final planning decision is now expected in late 2025, with construction more likely to begin next year.
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