Resident reflections from a St Joseph Berkeley Group workshop

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By reading this blog, you should be aware that the views and opinions expressed are those of a local resident who attended a workshop with St Joseph Berkeley Group and Birmingham City Council. They do not necessarily reflect the views of any official body, local authority, developer, or other stakeholders involved in the Ladywood regeneration project.

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I attended a regeneration workshop earlier.

BCC (Birmingham City Council) and St Joseph (Berkeley Homes) were there. They said it was about listening to residents and what they want for the area. But I’m so fed up of 2 years of radio silence that I asked questions instead.

First I asked them, was the last workshops in 2023 a waste of time because that were also meant to have been drawing up the Masterplan (the paperwork they gave out stated that these workshops were the first workshops in regards to the Masterplan).

When I pushed them about the other workshop I attended I was told these are the first workshops where St Joseph are represented. I’m sure they were represented at the last one I went to.

It was basically BS! Lip service and an utter waste of time.

Still trying to pull the wool over our eyes with all the “I don’t know” claims.

They don’t know how many homes will be saved from the bulldozers.

They don’t know the amount of affordable homes for sale they are building,

They don’t know if people who own or are leaseholders who want to stay in the regeneration zone, will they be able to stay inside the zone until their new homes are built, BCC said there is only going to be one move for all and they also can’t say where that category of new homes will be built.

They don’t know timelines for buying people out or when CPO’s will come into force.

They don’t know how many new homes are being built, what type of homes or where they are going to start.

They said they haven’t split the zone into phases.

They didn’t know that St Joseph were going to be the ones who were going to become the partners until they signed up in April this year.

Said everything I asked about was misinformation and denied BCC had put any information at all out there.

I showed both the BCC and St Joseph reps the Ladywood Cabinet Report and annexes and said that’s where I’ve got my information from, they both went red, the St Joseph rep said he hadn’t seen it before and both said even now nothing is yet set in stone.

I finished with, I’ve come along today and you’re telling me the only thing you know, is where the RED LINE is going to be!

What an utter waste of time, it’s all lip service.

ps. I told the BCC rep that someone from the council phone and told me that I didn’t have to say anything about the plans if I wanted to put my home up for sale.

His reply; if anyone wants to move before things get underway they should just sell up and as there isn’t any expression of interest against any of the land yet, you aren’t doing anything illegal by not mentioning what’s planned for the area. How low down in the gutter BCC are.

They were also talking about building on the canal basin land, they didn’t even know that the land belongs to Rivers and Waterways, the BCC rep thought the council owned it, when I pointed out who’s land it was and that they might not want anything built there he said said they would put a CPO on it.

They are doing work on the blocks where I live, I asked, why would that be if they are all being demolished in a couple of years time, is it because they won’t be demolishing them but build them higher and turning it into a gated community, they both looked rather sheepish and neither answered…