Tower Ballroom Consultation — Reservoir Area

In July 2026, I attended the Tower Ballroom consultation run by Midland Heart and Keon Homes, held to show residents the plans for the old Tower Ballroom site in the Reservoir area. The scheme directly affects Ladywood and North Edgbaston.

Lee Dargue with Cllr Harper-Nunes at the Tower Ballroom consultation on 13 July — *Lee Dargue standing with Cllr Harper-Nunes at the 13 July consultation session.*

The Tower Ballroom consultation stood out against the approach taken by St Joseph and council officers on the Central Ladywood regeneration, which has been to delay and withhold information from the public. This was an open event, and whilst a number of questions remain, we were able to see a masterplan and ask questions of key personnel from Midland Heart and Keon Homes.

I know a number of residents in the area have key concerns about the development. In the meantime, if you have feedback, you can submit it directly to the developers via towerballroomenquiries@keonhomes.co.uk

What the Tower Ballroom consultation covered

Some of the key discussion points:

confirmation that the path around the reservoir, and the estate itself, will be protected and left open to the public;
fewer car spaces than the number of homes, however it is unclear if an assessment has been made on traffic congestion, potential emissions increase, and noise;
the front (facing the reservoir) green part of the estate and the side section will be open to the public;
all the homes will apparently be social homes, instead of the usual approach in Ladywood of building expensive luxury homes that only a few can afford.

Environmental concerns remain

The unanswered questions are mostly environmental, including the impact on the local nature reserve. regarding the environment, including impacts to the local nature reserve. There was little said on this issue. There were some discussions around using sustainable materials in the building process. However, the questions many residents had were about the existing area and the environmental protections required.

Noise and light from both the construction and final build will likely have impacts on local wildlife – and residents in the area. The overall programme is billed as “net zero”, and there was vague mention of restoring any biodiversity lost. But the law allows that restoration to happen somewhere other than where the loss occurred, and we have no detail on what is planned here. We are unclear on the plans for biodiversity in this programme.

Credit to Keon Homes and Midland Heart for hosting the Tower Ballroom consultation as an open event and taking every question put to them — though plenty remain unanswered. This engagement is in stark contrast to the now silent and invisible developer St Joseph in Central Ladywood, who no longer hold public events or meetings. If you have any feedback on this scheme, please use the email above to send your feedback – or drop me a line with your thoughts.

You can also see other consultations affecting Ladywood that are open for comment.

More info: Birmingham Live article