Plans for safe centre for vulnerable children in Birmingham
Plans for an “essential” safe centre to provide accommodation for highly vulnerable children have taken a crucial step forward.
Birmingham Children’s Trust is seeking permission to demolish three buildings at 18 Gravelly Hill North, Erdington to make way for a children’s home for those in need across the region.
The scheme, named the West Midlands Safe Centre, would provide 20 bedrooms for boys and girls aged from 10 to 17-years-old, as well as healthcare, educational and sports facilities.
In particular, it would provide support for children who are likely to have suffered trauma; have unmet emotional needs or experienced instability in their lives.
A planning document described the proposed children’s homes as ‘bespoke, fit-for-purpose and modern’.
“The building will provide specialist and tailored residential care for highly vulnerable children in a safe environment,” it said.
“The West Midlands Safe Centre will provide welfare placements; whereby local authorities can place children to keep them safe.”
Explaining the reasoning for the plans, those behind the project said there was a “severely limited number” of such facilities across the country.
“On average, there are 60 children nationally waiting for a secure bed at any one time to keep them safe,” they continued.
“For Birmingham and the West Midlands, there is no such facility nearby, hence children must be sent at a high cost to Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Children’s Trust elsewhere.”
They added: “This essential development will aid the much-needed demand for this service for children in need in Birmingham and across the West Midlands.
“It will save the high cost of getting their support elsewhere.”
A council officer’s report concluded that the proposed redevelopment of the site would “not only provide a safe, high-quality living, leisure, and education facility but would also enhance the quality and character of the area”.
“The proposed development would not result in any significant impact upon neighbour amenity, landscape features, highway safety or infrastructure,” they said.
A planning document said the beds would all be for welfare, adding it’s possible the beds might be used for young people in the justice system.
“This would depend on use and vacancies, as the primary need is for additional welfare secure beds,” it said.
The site is currently occupied by a three-storey villa and a complex of buildings, including a chapel, which was used by Birmingham Children’s Services youth offending team until it was closed in September 2023 and fully vacated in January 2024.
The council officer wrote that the loss of a ‘non-designated heritage asset’ has to be “weighed against the benefits of the scheme”.
“The scheme would enhance an untidy and underused site bringing it back into a much needed and viable long-term use,” they said.
“It is my opinion that significant weight should be attributed to the public and economic benefits of the proposed scheme.”
The plans were recommended for approval and will be considered by Birmingham’s planning committee this Thursday, December 18.
