“What regeneration priorities should the policy focus on?” – suggestions for the ongoing Local plan consultation

The Local Plan, which sets out the city’s priorities, objectives, and long-term vision, is currently open for consultation until 4 December. The full link to the consultation is: https://consult.birmingham.gov.uk/kpse/event/2889040D-72A3-4F9E-8CAB-7F26AE856C34

The Local Plan includes a section on the regeneration of Ladywood. Here are some suggested thoughts for Question 15, regarding Ladywood: “What regeneration priorities should the policy focus on?”

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Any regeneration policy for Ladywood must begin with what residents themselves have consistently articulated, as reported in both the August Understanding Ladywood document and the Community Charter.

The Understanding Ladywood report states that residents highly value the opportunity to remain in the neighbourhood and that affordability is a non-negotiable priority.

The Charter also sets out residents’ key demands and priorities:

• “For all residents who want to remain in the area to be able to do so.”
• “A mix of tenure types that includes social housing.”
• “Retention of faith spaces but with consideration to the changing needs of a diverse community.”
• “Regeneration that considers the changing needs of the community, such as housing for older people.”
• “Inclusive regeneration that ensures residents with disabilities have full access to their neighbourhood/community.”

These principles align directly with the Birmingham Local Plan’s Vision and Objectives—particularly Objective 4: A city of growth for all and Objective 6: A city of thriving neighbourhoods—both of which commit to delivering mixed, balanced communities and significantly increasing high-quality, affordable homes across a range of sizes, types, and tenures.

However, these commitments are not yet clearly or robustly embedded in the proposed Ladywood regeneration approach.

First, the provision of affordable and social housing remains subject to viability. A key message from the Summer 2024 Preferred Options Consultation was that “affordable housing needs are not being met and that significant shortfalls across the city continue to exist”, and that further work on viability evidence is required. If regeneration is to honour the city’s own stated objectives—growth for all and thriving neighbourhoods—it must prioritise secure, genuinely affordable housing provision.

Second, areas such as disability access, provision for older people, and the retention of community assets are not structurally secured within the plan.

Third, the Housing Regeneration Areas offer a theoretical capacity of 9,276 homes, but with 3,500 already approved for Druids Heath, only 5,776 remain—yet Ladywood is expected to deliver 7,000 homes within the plan period, plus a further 3,000 beyond it. There is concern that the proposed housing provision for Ladywood exceeds the land capacity identified for the area.

Fourth, the Local Plan’s reference to the Community-Led Housing Policy (12.20)—with a target of 5% community-led homes by 2031—signals the Council’s intention to diversify housing provision. Yet this ambition is not reflected at all in the Ladywood proposals, despite Ladywood being one of the city’s largest and most consequential regeneration schemes. If the Council is serious about community-led development as part of its regeneration policy, Ladywood must be a flagship site for such approaches, not an exception.

Therefore, the regeneration priorities must be:

1. Guaranteed right to remain for all existing residents, across all tenures.
2. A binding commitment to social and affordable housing, not contingent on viability.
3. Retention and adaptation of community assets—faith spaces, cultural venues, facilities for older people, and services supporting a diverse population.
4. Inclusive design standards ensuring disabled residents can live, move, and participate fully.
5. Integration of community-led housing, in line with the Local Plan’s own policy and targets.
6. Transparent reconciliation of housing capacity figures, ensuring Ladywood’s targets are realistic, evidence-based.
7. A regeneration approach grounded in residents’ priorities, not solely driven by developer viability models.