Category: Consultation failure
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Residents express dismay at MP Shabana Mahmood’s latest statement on the Ladywood regeneration and its disregard for residents’ well-being.
On December 6, MP Shabana Mahmood published the results of her survey on the Ladywood regeneration. The findings are unequivocal: The regeneration has severely impacted the mental health of residents in the Ladywood regeneration area. The looming threat of demolition has prevented residents from investing in their homes, carrying out renovations, retiring or making plans…
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Questions for the council: Community charter – another survey
BCC invited further feedback on the draft of the Community Charter. While the newsletter sent on August 28 referred to the survey, council officers in contact with Ladywood Unite have failed to mention the survey in their communications. This omission is a serious shortcoming. The survey will close on December 2. You can fill the…
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Questions for the council: consultations and the community charter
BCC invited more feedback on the draft of the Community Charter. The newsletter that was sent on August 28 read: “The charter has been developed in collaboration with the community after extensive consultation. We held a series of workshops in October and November 2023. After these workshops took place, we ran an online survey in…
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Questions for the council: optimism bias and financial risks
The regeneration of Perry Barr cost the council £325 million, in addition to £171 million in government grants. At the beginning of August, the council agreed to sell 755 homes to a private developer. However, the amount received won’t be enough to cover the entire cost of the project, with the council still expected to…
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Questions for the council: what happened to democracy?
The regeneration has been consistently characterised by a democratic deficit since its very early stages in 2019 and 2020, when residents witnessed a general breakdown of democratic representation and BCC’s failure to fulfil its duty consult ahead of the bidding process In June 2019, Ladywood councillors issued a first leaflet pledging their commitment to help…
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Questions for the council: let us talk about the “community engagement”
In its recent responses to Ladywood Unite queries, BCC stated: “Within, the proposals St Joseph put forward, they committed to appoint a Community Engagement specialist and this is still a commitment that that St Joseph intend to honour” This is something that is reflected in what the 2023 Full Business Case (Appendix 2: B5) stated:…
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Ladywood Unite & Birmingham City Council Meeting 7.3.24
These are the views of Ladywood Unite (LU) representatives who attended the meeting on 7 March 2024. We have been told we will receive BCC’s own minutes.
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Questions for the council: Placation or Partnership?
In an article published in 1969 titled “The Ladder of Participation,” Sherry Arnstein made distinctions between the different ways citizens are involved in decision-making and policies. At the bottom, there was manipulation and therapy, mostly consisting of placing people on “rubber stamp advisory committees” that give the illusion of participation. Then, there are informing and…
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Door knocking 18 Feb 2024
If you feel inspired to write to the council, please do. A Ladywood resident shared this template with us today for inspiration – but the more personal your letter is, the better.
Ladywood Unite 