10 Birmingham Covid-19 memorial community gardens to be set up across the city

Birmingham City Council announced plans to erect Covid-19 memorial community gardens across the city to remember loved ones lost in the pandemic in March last year.

Today (January 27) the authority has unveiled the location of each garden. It said that there is one in each constituency as the virus has affected all parts of Birmingham.

As of January 24 of this year, a total of 3,220 deaths had been recorded in Birmingham with COVID-19 on the death certificate.

The first garden will be constructed in Erdington, in honour of Jack Dromey MP who held one of his last meetings with council representatives about the memorial the day before his sudden death earlier this month.

Here are the locations for each of the gardens:

• Edgbaston – Grove Park
• Erdington – Land off Park Lane, Castle Vale
• Hall Green – Highbury Park
• Hodge Hill – Ward End Park
• Ladywood – Phillips Street Park
• Northfield – Barcheston Recreation Ground
• Perry Barr – George’s Park
• Selly Oak – Dawberry Fields
• Sutton Coldfield – Rectory Park
• Yardley – Stechford Recreation Ground

What will the Covid-19 community memorial gardens look like?

Designs are being drawn up by the council’s award-winning Chelsea Flower Show team.

The central feature will be a pebble bed that will give communities the opportunity to write the names of someone lost in the pandemic on one of the stones.

The concept also includes colourful plant species, like forget-me-not, and trees which will be spaced at two-metre intervals – a nod to the social distancing guidance people were asked to follow at the onset of the pandemic.

The council said that local communities will also be able to tailor the memorials in their area by working with the council to select shrub and plant types.

Benches will also be featured and are intended to provide people with somewhere to reflect and discuss their memories in a setting local to them.

When will the work on the Covid-19 community memorial gardens take place?

Work to establish the memorials will be taking place over the coming months and the city council will maintain the sites as part of the ongoing maintenance of the city’s parks and open spaces, with volunteer support also welcomed where capacity and interest exists.

There is also work ongoing regarding a suitable city memorial, and details will be announced once finalised.

What have council leaders said about the Covid-19 community memorial gardens plans in their own words?

Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “It is really important to remember and pay tribute to those we have lost in the city as a result of the pandemic. Every person that has been lost to COVID-19 was dearly loved by their family, friends and colleagues.

“We are grateful for the input we have received from residents and councillors on where the memorials should be located in their areas and hope they provide a focal point for people to remember and reflect.

“The tributes that were paid from across the political divide following the death of Jack show how well respected and regarded he was by the people of Erdington – and given that one of the last meetings he ever had was in support of residents who had suggested a location for a memorial in their area means that it is a fitting tribute to ensure work on the first of these gardens starts in his constituency.”

Cllr John O’Shea, Cabinet Member for Street Scene and Parks at Birmingham City Council, added: “One of the key things to come out of the pandemic is the valuable contribution our parks and open spaces had to play for the people of Birmingham.

“They provided a location for exercise and meeting – and the use of parks rose significantly when much of society was locked down to control the spread of the virus.

“These gardens will help signify the role parks have played during these times as well as giving people a way in which to remember those we have lost and everything that has happened during these tragic times.

“I thank those that have helped us develop this idea from residents to Councillors and MPs, as well as our Parks staff who have once again stepped up and provided us with a design that I know will be warmly welcomed by residents and park users.”

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