Urgent works at West Midlands council building approved ‘to ensure the safety of children and families’

Lifford House in Stirchley, which is owned by Birmingham City Council, is in need of repairs due to the roof leaking for many years.

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With the council acting as landlord, the building is one of two main locations which provide children’s social care by Birmingham Children’s Trust.

In particular it offers safeguarding services and space to meet with families, as well as accommodation for around 1,200 staff on an “agile” basis.

But concerns have been mounting over the roof, which has been ‘patch repaired’ over time.

“The leaks are now getting worse,” a council report recently said.

“A condition review of the roof has recommended that the temporary repairs are no longer viable and more expensive than implementing a permanent fix.

“The leaks are now getting into the building electrics and structure and are putting safety at risk, as well as potentially compromising the viability of keeping the building open with an impact on the services to children and families.”

The report continued: “The building was refurbished recently, and delaying repairs longer will not only jeopardise the investment made to date (circa £3m) but also increase likely future repair costs as the condition deteriorates.

“The project is therefore looking to replace some areas of the roof at Lifford House.”

Coun Sharon Thompson, deputy leader at the Labour-run council, said at a cabinet meeting today, March 17, that it was important to take “decisive, immediate action”.

Leader of the opposition, Coun Robert Alden, said the situation raised a number of questions and suggested there needed to be a “wider review to prevent us having this continual problem”.

Coun Thompson said it was another example of why the council was bringing in a new asset strategy, which aims to reduce maintenance costs.

Cabinet members at Tuesday’s meeting ultimately agreed to a funding allocation of £0.8m to deliver the works.