Port Loop is a canalside regeneration project in Birmingham, England, led by Places for People and Urban Splash. It is transforming a former industrial site into a residential neighbourhood with public space and community facilities. The wider partnership includes Birmingham City Council and the Canal & River Trust. 16
By April 2025, three phases of houses had been completed and occupied, alongside a one-acre public park. A further 58 two-bedroom apartments in Mansion House—overlooking the canal—had also been completed, bringing the total number of completed homes to 163. 1 Urban Splash describes the masterplan as covering a 43-acre site and providing for 1,150 homes, alongside retail and leisure space. 10
A major community and cultural component is Tubeworks, a group of historic industrial buildings within the masterplan. Civic Square took 48,000 square feet of the 100,000-square-foot site for its Birmingham base, where it plans to run community activities, a café, workshops and a creative programme. Civic Square founder Imandeep Kaur is among the project’s key people; other named representatives include Nilam Buchannan of Places for People and Guy Ackernley of Urban Splash. 1
The project’s community activities have included open-air cinema events and supper clubs. The partners also announced the planned reopening in April 2025 of the Floating Front Room, a community café on a canal barge. 1 The source article reports these as milestones in an ongoing regeneration, rather than giving a project founding date. 1