Birmingham and Berkeley St Joseph end £2.5bn Ladywood regeneration partnership

Birmingham City Council and Berkeley St Joseph have agreed to terminate their development agreement for the Ladywood regeneration scheme, a programme the council had valued at £2.5bn and Berkeley Group had described as a 20-year project.

In a joint statement published on Monday 9 November 2026, the two organisations said they had "reluctantly" agreed to end the agreement after being unable to settle on a development proposal that could be delivered through the current partnership arrangements.

They attributed the pressure on the programme's viability to increased construction and regulatory costs, together with a more challenging housing market and economic climate.

In a letter to residents signed by Paul Langford, Executive Director for Housing at Birmingham City Council, and Stephen Kirwan, Divisional Managing Director at Berkeley Group, the partners said: "Rather than continue with uncertainty and delay, both organisations believe it is better to exit the partnership in a constructive and agreed manner."

The decision

The joint statement said the decision followed seven years of work to establish a partnership and masterplan to deliver over 10,000 homes and upgrade existing social housing. Berkeley Group's own announcement in October 2025 had put the commitment at up to 12,000 new homes.

According to the letter, the council and developer had worked together over recent months to review the scheme and explore every option for making the proposals deliverable, before concluding jointly that the current proposals were no longer viable for the partnership to deliver.

The two organisations apologised to residents, saying: "We are sorry that the programme cannot continue as planned."

The council has emailed the letter to residents subscribed to its regeneration newsletter and said a printed version would be distributed to all Ladywood residents within days.

What was planned

St Joseph, part of the Berkeley Group, was formally appointed by Birmingham City Council as development partner for the Ladywood Estate in April 2025, according to Berkeley Group.

The Partnership Development Agreement required at least 70% of existing homes to be refurbished or re-provided with new homes in a single move on the estate, and committed the project to at least 20% affordable homes.

Berkeley said at the time that the regeneration was set to be a 20-year project, with a masterplan and planning application targeted for 2026 and work on site not due to start until at least 2028.

At the appointment, Cllr Sharon Thompson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, said it was the beginning of the master planning process. Stephen Kirwan, then described by Berkeley as Managing Director of St Joseph Homes, said his team was proud to be given the opportunity to work on the renewal.

In October 2025, Berkeley Group said the partnership was committed to building up to 12,000 new homes, with the investment expected to create up to 41,000 jobs and 1,000 apprenticeships. The partners said they were also exploring the location of a potential kickstart site, and Rob Perrins, Chair of Berkeley Group, described Ladywood as an opportunity to transform living standards for the community.

The council described the £2.5bn scheme as the city's most significant housing development in a generation.

What happens next

The council said it remains fully committed to the regeneration of Ladywood and intends to begin a new conversation with residents about the estate's future at the earliest opportunity.

Langford and Kirwan told residents: "Regeneration is not ending but the way in which it is taken forward will now have to change."

That process, the council said, will include considering feedback and recommendations from its scrutiny committee and giving residents a meaningful opportunity to help shape what comes next. It said delivering genuinely affordable homes remains a key priority.

The council said its immediate priority is to work with the community to identify the right route forward, and that it would continue to engage with residents, community organisations and local stakeholders as further information becomes available.