Stoford Puts Forward Planning Application For BBC At Typhoo Wharf

Stoford has submitted a planning application for the BBC’s new Birmingham home at the historic Typhoo Building in Digbeth.

The corporation is hoping to move from its home at The Mailbox to the new 84K SF, custom-built centre in 2025, and the Bordesley Street landmark will be one of Birmingham’s first net-zero carbon office buildings in construction, according to Stoford. 

Typhoo Wharf, as it is currently known, will house several BBC editorial teams, including The Archers, BBC Asian Network, BBC Newsbeat, BBC Radio WM and Midlands Today.

The detailed planning application comes after two public consultation events and a number of online consultation responses, and it represents the first phase of a wider masterplan for the surrounding area.

Stoford is working with The Gooch Estate, Glenn Howells Architects, Turley and several public sector partners to deliver the development and to prepare a vision for the wider area, which will be served by multiple public transport connections, including a new tram stop, HS2’s Curzon Street terminus, and the existing Birmingham coach and Moor Street railway stations.

Over the next decade, Stoford plans to deliver up to 800K SF of new residential, office and hospitality accommodation around the new BBC site. The wider scheme will see more than 10 acres of land around Typhoo Wharf and the adjoining canal basin transformed into a new mixed-use neighbourhood, including public spaces. 

Grant Associates is designing the new landscape and urban realm, which will create a new canalside quarter, and the new public square will be delivered in time for the first BBC staff to arrive in 2026.

"Typhoo Wharf is a significant opportunity, which will not only catalyse reinvigoration of the wider area, but will also help to kickstart further private and public sector investment into Digbeth’s built environment and transport connections," Stoford Director Gerard Ludlow said. "Central to our Typhoo scheme is the commitment to conserving the historic building, which dates back to 1929 but has been left empty for decades."

The building is on target to achieve a BREEAM rating of outstanding and an energy performance certificate of A.