Birmingham Council drives Sports Quarter redevelopment and expands nature network

Birmingham City Council is advancing the Sports Quarter project on the 48‑acre Wheels Park site in east Birmingham. The plan includes a new stadium, dubbed The Powerhouse, for Birmingham City FC, alongside a training centre, a women’s stadium, an arena and mixed‑use housing. Council officials say the scheme will create jobs, attract investment and help establish the city as a globally recognised destination for sport, leisure and major events.

In parallel, the council is proposing 14 new nature‑conservation sites and extensions to six existing ones, including parts of Wheels Park, to protect rare grassland, woodland, scrub and canal habitats. The designations form part of the City of Nature Plan and the draft Birmingham Local Plan 2025‑2044, which also targets the delivery of 87,700 new homes, largely on brownfield land, with a focus on affordable and sustainable housing.