Building Brum – Details, episodes & analysis

Building Brum host Conor Nolan sits down with Joanna Lee-Mills, Partner at Ward Hadaway, examining one of Birmingham’s most urgent challenges: affordable and social housing. 

Joanna brings nearly 25 years of experience in housing, planning, and development to help unpack what “affordable housing” really means for families across the city, how Section 106 agreements shape delivery on the ground, and why—despite major funding announcements—social housing supply still lags behind demand.

We examine Birmingham’s wider growth story against the backdrop of rising costs and council pressures, examining where viability, planning delays, and policy gaps hold projects back. Examining big questions around access to home ownership, the future of shared ownership, and what meaningful reform could look like. 

A big thank you to our Building Brum podcast is sponsors reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, EH Smith Architectural Solutions Brick and Fascade specialsts and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.

In this episode of the Building Brum Podcast, we’re joined by Simon Delahunty-Forrest, Birmingham City Council’s newly appointed Director of Planning and Development, to discuss his vision for the city’s future. Having played a key role in shaping Birmingham’s planning and regeneration story over the past 35 years, Simon reflects on how the city has evolved through the Big City Plan and Our Future City Plan 2045.

Looking ahead, we explore the next wave of regeneration — from Smithfield and Ladywood to Druids Heath — Simon shares how the Council aims to strengthen public-private partnerships and drive investment. Now, in his new role as Director of Planning and Development at the largest local authority in the UK, Simon is in the position to turn that vision into reality and help deliver Birmingham’s next chapter of growth.

A big thank you to our Building Brum podcast is sponsors reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles , EH Smith Architectural solutions Brick and façade specalisats and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.

Ryan Bennett, Managing Director of Solus, and James Hughes, Founding Director of Fabric Design & Build, join the Building Brum podcast to discuss their grand designs and the evolving market trends shaping the region. They delve into the rise of luxury, high-end residential projects across the Midlands, exploring the factors driving this growth. The conversation also highlights how Birmingham and the wider West Midlands are capitalising on opportunities created by London's land values.

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored by reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists, EH Smith brick and façade specialists, and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment Sunbelt Rentals are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.

Ryan Bennett Managing Director Solus 

Ryan is the Managing Director of Solus Ceramics, the UK’s largest privately owned distributor of sustainable porcelain, ceramic and terrazzo floor and wall tiles.  Solus Ceramics has been supplying a carefully curated range of products to the commercial construction sector for 30 years from their head office in Birmingham.  Solus has recently stepped into the prime residential market, offering their internationally sourced products to the builders, designers and owners of luxury property and landscapes across the UK.

Prior to joining Solus Ceramics, Ryan was part of the senior management team at Equip – the owners of the Rab and Lowe Alpine brands.  An accountant by trade, Ryan enjoyed a long career in professional services working at both KPMG and BDO where he focused on corporate finance transactions.

 James Hughes Founding Director Fabric

James is the founding Director at Fabric Design Group and is passionate and committed to delivering high-end Architecture.

James first started out in life as a carpenter before studying architecture at Birmingham City University and furthering his studies with an Msc in Construction Project Management from the University of Birmingham, and a Pg Dip and MA in Urban Design from Oxford Brookes.

James possess a unique set of skills and experience making him equally comfortable in construction, as he is design. This depth of industry understanding gave James the ability to challenge convention and create Fabrics holistic design and build service in 2017.

James has an unwavering commitment to his profession, and is driven by creating meaningful, lasting architectural legacy alongside delivering a positive customer experience to all of his clients.

Mike Lally, Project Manager, Founding Director, and Entrepreneur, joins the Building Brum podcast to discuss what it’s like running a business in Birmingham. Mike and his team at Cadence are pivotal to some of the city’s most ambitious projects, including Digbeth’s latest regeneration led by Steven Knight and Stanhope, featuring a new film studio and the iconic MasterChef set.

As the founder of Cadence—a true Birmingham startup success story—Mike shares insights on launching a business, securing projects, and building a team in the UK's first city Birmingham.

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored by reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists, EH Smith brick and façade specialists, and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment Sunbelt Rentals are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.

About Cadence and Mike Lally:

Cadence Projects are experts in Project Management, Programme Management and Contract Administration. Founded by Mike Lally, a construction professional with an in depth understanding of the construction industry, Cadence work with clients who want a delivery partner who understands how to protect their interests, who gets what they do, and takes ownership for a project’s outcome.

Today’s podcast revisits our Placemaking Through Regeneration event recently held in partnership with the CIOB.  Hosted by Howells in the heart of Digbeth our sold-out event featured some of some of the city’s leading business leaders, visionaries and construction and development champions who are helping to shape the city’s skyline. 

As the city and regions grow, so must the communities within them. On today's podcast we explore the importance of regeneration from Great Charles Street to One Centenary Way. The session will focus on what needs to happen within the built environment sector to enhance and create communities through major regeneration projects across the region.  

Event Chair: Sandi Rhys Jones OBE – Immediate Past President of The Chartered Institute of Building 

Panellists: 

Dav Bansal - Partner - Howells 

Alison Kilby – Associate Director and Midlands Workplace Advisory Lead at Arup. 

Selina Mason - Director of Masterplanning & Strategic Design - Lendlease 

Tom Wraight MCIOB - Regional Director – Careys 

All our guests today play a key role in placemaking across the city, and we will hear from Dav, Selina, Tom and Alison about the importance of placemaking in master planning and regeneration, from Smithfield to Paradise Birmingham and what needs to happen within the 

Building Brum events are made possible thanks to all of the support from the Building Brum partners: reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited, West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists, Eh Smith Architectural Solutions - Brick and Facade specialists and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK, Communications and PR Specialists Cavendish, Civil engineering and construction contractor Careys and Arup a global collective of designers, engineers and technical experts

Executive Director of SuperTech West Midlands  Hilary Smyth-Allen recently joined us on the Building Brum podcast to talk about all things technology, growth and collaboration. Supported by key organisations across the Midlands including Bruntwood SciTech, CBRE and West Midlands Growth Company. Hilary shared her insights into how SuperTech WM is fostering collaboration and innovation within the professional services tech cluster in the West Midlands, with a focus on building a vibrant ecosystem of ambitious companies. 

We explore the origins of SuperTech West Midlands, How the organization supports Birmingham and the broader Midlands region what's next for the SuperTech team.

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored by reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists, EH Smith brick and façade specialists, and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment Sunbelt Rentals are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.

Hilary Smyth-Allen Executive Director of SuperTech West Midlands

Hillary Smyth-Allen is the Executive Lead at SuperTech, whose purpose is to spotlight the strength of the West Midlands Tech Sector. With a focus on FinTech, their purpose is to promote professionals and companies in this space to ensure the UK remains a strong player in global fintech.

As a Judge Hillary brings experience as a former Director of AECOM as well as having held influential positions at GBSLEP and WMCA Skills Commission.

Seddon Director of Operations Andrea Wilson joined us on the Building Brum this summer to discuss all things preconstruction through to delivery. As Director of Operations for Seddon’s Property Services, Andrea leads the Midlands division delivering a wide range of schemes across several frameworks. We explore the importance of strong relationships within the industry and how this leads to successful projects through timely delivery by trusting your partners and mitigating delays and risks.

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists, EH Smith brick and façade specialists, and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.

Andrea Wilson Operations Director Midlands
Andrea Wilson is the Operations Director for Seddon Construction’s Property Services division, heading up the Midlands region. With 35 years of experience in the construction and engineering industry, she oversees construction and property service projects across various sectors, managing operations from planning to completion.

Following the success of the inaugural Birmingham Housing Week launched earlier this year we caught up two of the key stakeholders behind the initiative, Simon Wingate, Lovell regional partnerships director, and Cabinet member for housing and homelessness at Birmingham City Council, Councillor Jayne Francis. Birmingham City Council and Lovell have come together to champion embracing inclusive growth, with Birmingham Housing Week designed to inform, inspire and involve young people and communities to get involved in all aspects of housing.

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.


Simon Wingate Lovell Partnerships Director Midlands

Simon’s primary responsibility is to develop and nurture strategic relationships with key clients including Local Authorities, Housing Associations, Land Agents and consultants to unlock new multi-tenure housing developments.

Simon has extensive experience in acquisition of land for a variety of housing tenures including Affordable, Open Market, Build to Rent and Care. He has been extensively involved in forming partnerships to unlock stalled brownfield sites for multi-tenure housing across the Midlands regions.

Councillor Jayne Francis Harborne (Labour) Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness

Jayne Francis was first elected as a Councillor in 2016. Since 2018 she has been part of Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet – initially with a portfolio encompassing education and skills. In 2020 she became Cabinet Member for digital, culture, heritage & tourism. More recently, Jayne has been appointed Cabinet Member for housing and homelessness. This brief includes political accountability and oversight for housing management, capital investment, housing strategy and partnerships and major regeneration programmes.

Jayne’s academic background is in the area of social policy. She has a Master’s in Public Services (Birmingham) and a post-graduate qualification in research methods.

Prior to becoming Cabinet Member, Jayne spent over 20 years working in research and evaluation, largely in Birmingham. Her areas of research (qualitative & quantitative) and evaluation expertise were in housing and regeneration, health inequalities and education. Clients included local authorities, regeneration partnerships and Sure Start where she was a consultant with the DfE.

Jayne is a Director with Harborne BID and holds directorships with the Ikon Gallery and Birmingham Rep. She is also a Trustee with West Midlands Arts and is a Regional representative on the Arts Council (Midlands). Outside of work her passion is food (cooking and eating) and Jayne enjoys travel (public transport as she doesn’t drive). Jayne has one daughter and one grandchild.

This April, on the Building Brum podcast, we caught up with the organisers of the British Council for Offices (BCO) 2024 Annual conference taking place next month in Birmingham. It has been 10 years since the conference was last held in the UK’s second city and over the past decade, our city, famously known as the ‘workshop of the world’ has lived up to its name, quietly delivering a number of sizeable new developments, including 103 Colmore Row, Enterprise Wharf and Paradise Birmingham.   

We caught up with Peter Crowther – Senior Vice President of the BCO, James Hall – Director at Associated Architects and Member of the BCO Midlands Chapter Committee and Rosie Cotterill – Director at Turley and Chair of BCO Midlands NextGen Committee to discuss what makes Birmingham a strategic place for the conference to be held and how ongoing investment and development has transformed the city.  

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK. 

This spring on the Building Brum podcast we discuss housing across the UK in 2024 . Following on from the March Spring Budget and ahead of the local elections, mayoral elections and the general election, we caught up with Chartered Town Planner Daniel Wilson who specialises in delivering sustainable developments that transform places and leave a positive, lasting impact on local communities through holistic, inclusive growth. 

Joining Dan from our sponsors Cavendish is Tristan Chatfield who served as a councillor at Birmingham City Council and is now Associate Director at Cavendish specialising in Planning Communications and Public Affairs. Together they examine the 2024 spring budget and look ahead at the future of the housing sector.

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.

Daniel Wilson:
Dan is a Chartered Town Planner who specialises in delivering sustainable developments that transform places and leave a positive, lasting impact on local communities through holistic, inclusive growth. Dan is experienced in delivering strategic urban extensions, a brand-new garden village, urban regeneration schemes, student accommodation, hotels, and more. Since graduating from Cardiff University (MSc in International Planning and Development), Dan has gained over 10 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. 

Dan previously sat on both the RTPI West Midlands Regional Activities Committee and the RTPI West Midlands Ball Committee. He also served as Junior Vice-Chair  and Vice-Chair and, in 2020, was Chair of the RTPI West Midlands Young Planners Committee. That same year, Dan won the RTPI West Midlands Young Planner of the year award and, in 2021, was highly commended by the judges in the national Young Planner of the year awards. In a previous life, Dan was President of a Students’ Union and Regional Chairman of the Commonwealth Student Association (Caribbean Chapter).

Tristan Chatfield:

Tristan is a passionate advocate for sustainable economic development in Birmingham and the West Midlands. As a former cabinet member at Birmingham City Council and MPs constituency assistant Tristan enjoys unparalleled local connections. He can offer insight into both the politics of the region and its varied communities.

His current portfolio of projects includes regeneration schemes, aviation, infrastructure, retail and residential. Tristan leads our work in the West Midlands, based out of our Birmingham office.