Birmingham This Week: Road Closures, Rising Rents and a Heatwave Warning Hit the City Together

Birmingham City Council confirmed on Wednesday that the long-delayed Digbeth High Street pedestrianisation scheme will enter its most disruptive phase next Monday, closing a 400-metre stretch between Allison Street and the Custard Factory junction until at least September 12. Buses on the 35 and 50 routes face diversions through Deritend, adding up to 14 minutes to journey times during peak hours. The works, funded through a £6.2 million West Midlands Combined Authority grant announced in February, have already slipped six weeks behind the original spring timetable.

The timing could hardly be worse. West Midlands Fire Service and Birmingham City Council's emergency planning team issued a formal heat advisory on Thursday, urging residents — particularly in densely built inner-city wards like Nechells, Aston and Lozells — to keep windows closed during the day and seek shade between noon and 4pm. Temperatures reached 34°C at Birmingham Airport on Wednesday, the highest recorded at that station since July 2023. The advisory comes against a backdrop of broader European concern: France recorded more than 2,000 excess deaths during a comparable heatwave peak earlier this week, and public health officials here are determined to avoid similar outcomes.

Housing Costs and Community Pressure

Renters in Moseley and Stirchley received little relief this week. New figures published by Rightmove on Thursday show average asking rents in Birmingham's B13 postcode — which covers both neighbourhoods — hit £1,340 per month for a two-bedroom flat in June 2026, a 9.4 percent rise year-on-year. That compares with a 6.1 percent rise across England as a whole over the same period. Shelter's West Midlands office said the figures confirm a trend it flagged in its March report, which found that 41 percent of private renters in the city are now spending more than a third of their take-home pay on housing costs.

Balsall Heath-based charity Ashram Housing Association said referrals to its emergency accommodation service rose 22 percent in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year. The organisation currently has 47 households on its urgent waiting list, up from 31 in April. A council spokesperson said the authority's own Housing Revenue Account is under review, with a revised strategy expected before the full council meeting on September 8.

On the development front, planning committee approved a revised application on Tuesday for a 312-unit residential block at the former Typhoo Tea site on Bordesley Green East. Developer Elevate Property Group scaled back the original 380-unit scheme after objections from Bordesley Green ward councillors over parking provision and the height of two proposed towers. The approved plans include 62 affordable units — 20 percent of the total — which falls short of the 35 percent threshold set out in Birmingham's adopted Local Plan 2031.

What to Watch in the Coming Days

Residents near the A38 Aston Expressway should note that National Highways will begin overnight resurfacing between the Gravelly Hill interchange and the Dartmouth Circus roundabout from Sunday night, running 10pm to 6am through to July 18. Daytime traffic on the carriageway will not be affected.

The Erdington District Partnership holds its next public meeting on Thursday July 9 at Erdington Library on Orphanage Road, starting at 6:30pm. The agenda includes a progress report on the High Street Heritage Action Zone, which received a £1.8 million Historic England grant in 2024 but has seen only two of its six planned shopfront restoration projects completed so far.

Birmingham Pride takes place across Hurst Street and the Gay Village this Saturday and Sunday, with road closures coming into effect from 7am Saturday along Lower Essex Street and Bromsgrove Street. Organisers expect around 70,000 attendees across the weekend, up from 65,000 last year. West Midlands Police said an additional 120 officers will be deployed on both days.