A former hotel and conference centre in Bournville will soon welcome local families currently trapped in inappropriate temporary accommodation into newly converted apartments.
The Beeches Hotel in Selly Oak Road closed in March 2020. After receiving planning permission in March 2024, Bournville Village Trust (BVT) have been working in partnership with homelessness prevention charity Spring Housing Association to convert the building.
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he building is being repurposed as 21 individual two and three-bedroom apartments. Each apartment will have its own facilities including a kitchen, bathroom, living space and bedrooms.
The car park will remain, providing ample parking for residents and the gardens will also be kept for residents’ use.
‘Asylum seekers’ misinformation challenged
However, since rumours of another Bournville hotel, The Old Farm, being turned into a ‘migrant hotel’ were quashed yesterday, misinformation has been posted in social media comments that the Beeches is being converted for use by asylum seekers.
Director of Communities at BVT, Arthur Tsang, has today confirmed that the apartments at The Beeches will be for families registered with Birmingham City Council’s housing waiting list, and not asylum seekers, who are housed by the Home Office, not the city council.
Mr Tsang said: “The Beeches has been re-modelled by Spring Housing Association, in partnership with Bournville Village Trust, to provide apartments for families trapped in unsuitable temporary accommodation, due to a shortage of affordable housing in the city.
“The apartments will provide general needs housing, just like many social housing tenancies across Bournville. All families moving into the Beeches will be registered with Birmingham City Council’s housing waiting list. To be able to join this list, applicants must be aged 18 or over and have the right to live and/or work in the UK.
“Asylum seekers are supported by the Home Office and are not owed a duty by Birmingham City Council for this type of housing.
“All families will be assessed by the City Council and Spring Housing Association to determine how urgently they need a home and their suitability in line with Spring Housing Association’s Allocations Policy.”
History of The Beeches
Part of the Cadbury family heritage, The Beeches was built by George Cadbury in the 1890s as a respite centre for Salvation Army officers.
It later became a holiday home for inner-city children. It was next used as a residential educational establishment for single women before being transformed again, when Cadbury’s used the site as an employee training facility.
Up until March 2020, The Beeches was a hotel and conference centre.