Port Loop, Birmingham

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Candidate Overview

Port Loop is a new, 43-acre mixed-use neighbourhood in the Ladywood area, about one mile from the centre of Birmingham. Located on a historic industrial site, between the Birmingham Canal Old Line and the Birmingham Main Line, the Icknield Port Loop area (as it was originally known) was created in the 18thC when the Birmingham to Wolverhampton Canal was constructed. Engineering works in 1800, straightened the canal – bypassing the ‘loop’ and effectively creating the ‘island’ site that exists today.

During the Industrial Revolution, canal workshops, stables, boat-yard, repair depot, factories, saw mill, glassworks and tubeworks grew up on the site. A refuse facility followed, along with housing to the south east of the canal loop to accommodate the growing number of people working there. The original refuse facility was replaced in the 1930’s with an Art Deco building and exterior ramp, both of which still exist today, grouped along with other former industrial buildings on the southern end of the site. The decline in industry in the mid to late twentieth century saw the area become run-down, under-used and widely derelict.

Following consolidation of land ownership by Birmingham City Council, a JV partnership was established between the Council, Canal & River Trust and developers to initiate redevelopment of the site, with new homes, shops, commercial office spaces, leisure facilities and green spaces planned. Construction began in 2018, with the first residents moving in during 2019. Works were paused during the pandemic and now in 2024, almost 200 homes have been completed.

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Thumbnail illustration of Port Loop by David Rudlin AoU, Artist-in-Residence