'It’s quite appalling' - Councillors react as regeneration for forgotten Birmingham neighbourhood hit by setback

It was revealed this month council plans to transform the Druids Heath estate face a delay following a legal challenge launched by a number of residents.

This follows tensions over the project, with concerns being raised over its potential impact on the community, the levels of demolition and fears existing residents will be priced out of the area.

The council has said it will re-provide new homes for existing tenants while the regeneration will bring thousands of new homes, new infrastructure, transport links and much more.

The Druids Heath plans were narrowly approved last October at a heated council planning meeting which saw angry outbursts from the public gallery.

A legal challenge was then threatened by residents towards the end of last year, calling on the council to overturn the decision to grant outline planning permission for the scheme.

In particular, Central England Law Centre (CELC) has argued that the council failed to disclose the full Financial Viability Assessment when plans were approved.

This assessment was used to justify why the planning application only details around 11 percent affordable housing (400 out of 3,500 homes), despite the council saying it would deliver 51 per cent.

The Labour-run council has now confirmed this week that it has requested the court quash the original planning decision following the challenge.

If this happens, the regeneration scheme will have to be brought back to the planning committee again for a decision.

“It is unacceptable that we’re in this position,” Coun Philip Davis said at a meeting this week.

“Surely it’s the duty of [council] officers to make sure reports to this committee are future-proofed against legal action and other risks.

“It’s really concerning we’ve been placed in this position on a highly contentious application when we need to move this on for the benefit of residents.”

He continued: “It’s concerning that on a technical matter, the [decision] can be overturned and we’re back where we started. What else is there to say?”

A similarly frustrated Coun Martin Brooks said: “It’s quite appalling that the city council has actually failed to provide the information necessary.

“In some ways I welcome the fact that the planning application will come back but I think we’re going to be far more rigorous in looking at how it affects the residents who live there.”

Pointing to the fact it’s a council scheme, Coun Gareth Moore added: “It’s embarrassing we can’t get our own house in order.”

Coun Lee Marsham, chair of the planning committee, said: “I agree you should never ideally be in a position where an application comes back for a technical.”

Addressing Coun Brook’s remarks, he continued: “I think there was a very rigorous debate so I don’t have any issues with the committee and how we examined [the plans].”

‘We regret the delays’

Amid concerns over the scheme, the council has repeatedly insisted that it is committed to making just over half of the future homes “affordable”.

On the legal challenge, a council spokesperson said this week: “Should the planning application be quashed, the basis of the challenge will be addressed by making the Financial Viability Assessment for the scheme public.

“We know the community is keen to see regeneration plans move forward, and we regret the delays that this challenge causes, particularly the demolition of cleared tower blocks, which cannot be achieved without planning consent.”

They continued that the Financial Viability Assessment contained commercially sensitive information that could not be released while the council were in a procurement process to identify their preferred partner.

The council spokesperson said this meant that it was not available to the planning committee when they made their original decision.

“The legal challenge sought to gain eight concessions from Birmingham City Council,” they went on to say. “Only one was accepted.

“For over two years, the council has worked with the community to create a plan for the regeneration of Druids Heath, holding discussions with more than 1,000 residents, of which 68 per cent support the scheme.

“The council’s commitment to delivery remains. The council will progress the scheme through the planning process as soon as feasibly possible dependent on the court’s decision, honouring its commitments to residents.”

They added: “The outcome of the legal challenge makes no change to the affordable housing proposed.

“Birmingham City Council and Lovell remain committed to delivering 51 per cent affordable housing on this scheme and will re-provide new homes for existing tenants.”

October’s planning meeting also heard that the levels of demolition were necessary as “most homes in Druids Heath require millions of pounds in investment to bring them up to only minimum standards”.