Birmingham has given the go-ahead to a huge private-rented-sector scheme designed by Leach Rhodes Walker Architects that will deliver 1,009 apartments on the edge of the city centre.

Delivered in 11 blocks – including towers of 29 and 26 storeys – the proposals cover a 2.4ha site on Bristol Road, one of the gateways to the city centre from the south. The now-cleared plot used to house a six-storey office building and car park called Monaco House.

The scheme also includes 2,218sq m of non-residential space, split between a “community hub” for residents that council planning officers said could include a gym, cinema room, function room, café and a car club and four retail units.

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