Are you building communities or just houses?': human cost of Birmingham council's plans for Druids Heath estate

"Xylia Legonas was just a few years off fully repaying her mortgage and had just finished refurbishing her house after a fire when someone knocked on her door in 2023 and asked if she was aware of the Druids Heath regeneration project. The first thing I thought: Don't tell me you're going to knock my house down', she recalled. He basically said yes and I thought: What am I going to do? Where am I going to go?'"

"After years of discussions, councillors have now approved planning permission to knock down most of Druids Heath, a postwar housing estate on the southern edge of Birmingham, to create higher density housing. In total, 1,800 homes will be demolished to make way for 3,500 new ones, 400 (11%) of which will be designated as affordable, according to the planning documents 800 fewer than there are now."

"This was the main point of contention at the planning committee meeting in which dozens of Druids Heath residents crammed into the room and adjoining corridor to voice their anger shouts of these are our homes and it's not enough could be heard throughout. In the end, the committee was split and the application was narrowly approved by a majority of just one vote."

"The council insists it is committed to ensuring there will eventually be 1,785 affordable homes created through a partnership agreement with the developer and Homes England, and that the 400 already approved will be for social rent, although the planning documents do not specifically state this. The scheme will not go ahead without those remaining affordable homes being delivered, Nicky Brennan, the cabinet member for housing and homelessness, said."

Residents of Druids Heath face demolition of 1,800 homes to make way for 3,500 new dwellings, with only 400 (11%) currently designated as affordable. The council and developer, with Homes England, have a partnership commitment to deliver 1,785 affordable homes overall, but planning documents do not yet make those guarantees legally binding. Dozens of residents attended the planning committee to protest, citing fears of displacement, loss of long-standing homes, and insufficient affordable provision. The planning application was narrowly approved by a one-vote majority. Residents worry that outline permission without enforceable affordable-housing commitments could allow promises to be reneged under financial pressure.

Read at www.theguardian.com