A world-class medical and life sciences destination, fondly remembered as home of the famous BBC West Midlands Studios and Headquarters for some 50 years to 2001. This readily-accessible 27-acre location is on the doorstep of two Universities and the Queen Elizabeth super hospital which has made it a hugely attractive location for medical providers.
The heart of Edgbaston Medical Quarter
Pebble Mill
A world-class medical and life sciences destination
The Pebble Mill masterplan emerged from the accumulation of a decade of strategic planning and implementation, working in partnership with Birmingham City Council, the former Advantage West Midlands and a number of strategic partners.
The masterplan vision was formulated after the BBC moved to new premises in 2001, envisioning over 500,000 sqft of medical and life science regeneration nestled amongst preserved centuries old landscape and trees, and promoting and retaining active sporting uses alongside groundbreaking medical advancements.
The existing BBC buildings were demolished and Calthorpe Estates created new accesses from the A38 Bristol Road into the site, and essential major new service infrastructure was installed. Attractive landscaping, including a central Tranquillity Garden and peaceful brookside promenade means today the site remains a sanctuary for health and wellbeing and is a true environmental oasis.
Two new major hospital occupiers were attracted and developed within the approved masterplan, the first development, a new 172,000 sqft School of Dentistry and NHS Dental Hospital - the first of its kind in the UK for over 40 years, was developed by Birmingham and Solihull LIFT. It was opened by the late HM Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by his Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, in 2016.
Soon to follow was a 62 space Care Home by Bupa. With the University of Birmingham only one mile away, and some 600 students training at the Pebble Mill’s new School of Dentistry, Vita Student were attracted to the special setting, where they developed a 375 unit high quality Vita Student Village which opened in 2018.
MPT Circle Health acquired a 3.0-acre plot fronting Pebble Mill Road in 2011, but took time to develop their operating model, and their Private Hospital finally commenced development in the spring of 2017. The 204,000 sqf Circle Health ‘leading-edge’ orthopaedic and rehabilitation hospital opened in 2020.
Approved and still to come at Pebble Mill is one more outstanding medical opportunity at the centre of this medical campus. Calthorpe Estates secured and implemented detailed planning permission for a 10,600 sq m (114,000 sq ft) medical hub building in 2019.
At its most southerly point is the site of the ex-BBC’s Social Club fronting Pershore Road. This site is being developed for wider mixed leisure and retail use in two parts alongside the 375 bed VITA student accommodation scheme which opened in September 2019. We developed and opened a Costa Coffee drive-thru in Spring 2020, and have commenced the final development of this site with a retail hub, comprising an Asda Express convenience store as its anchor.
