Beever Road is a housing development in Tipton that included 10 bungalows and 8 apartments. There was a mixture of adaptable and wheelchair-accessible units across the site.
The development was designed by UDBS and was managed on site with UDBS serving as contract administrator, architect, structural engineer, and landscape architect. SMBC’s Housing Partnership team, under Regeneration & Growth, delivered the project to support the council’s need for additional social housing.
Historically, the site housed some prefabricated postwar dwellings, which were then demolished to make way for allotments. Following this, the site became an underutilised grassed area that was prone to fly tipping and anti-social behaviour.
As with several sites in Sandwell, the ground conditions and location of existing constraints proved particularly challenging at Beever Road. For example, there were mineshafts, existing watercourses, and contaminated ground that required careful consideration as part of the design development.
The project was collaboratively developed with a very experienced project team to ensure the provision covered both the needs of residents waiting for housing and those of the local area. In addition to this, the project was designed with care for the existing setting, providing wildlife habitat areas, open swales, and ‘protected’ pedestrian footpaths to allow safe pedestrian movement around the newly formed street, with attractive planting for both visual pleasure and habitat creation. The project was built on site by J. Harper and Sons Ltd. and was funded through both the HRA budget and grant funding provided by Homes England.