A row of six Victorian and Edwardian houses in Edgbaston is under threat as part of plans to build a retirement village.

The Victorian Society has called on Birmingham City Council to refuse planning permission for the proposals by Birmingham architects Nicol Thomas for the  Extra Care Charitable Trust, which would see the houses on Hagley Road replaced with 240 flats.

The houses under threat include number 324, built in 1895 and the only surviving house in Birmingham by architect Ernest Barnsley. Two houses designed in the early 1900s by local architect George Henry Devall would also be demolished.

Though the homes are not listed they do lie within the Barnsley Road Conservation Area.

Tim Bridges, conservation adviser for the Victorian Society, said: “The Barnsley Road Conservation Area has been identified as at risk by English Heritage, and we have long been worried about the condition and vulnerability of several properties within the area.”

The application will be considered by Birmingham City Council’s planning committee this Thursday.