Anger on one year anniversary of 'vital' Birmingham centre's closure

This week marks one year since Birmingham Council’s deeply controversial closure of a “vital” day centre.

The row over Harborne Day Centre became a vivid symbol of the council’s financial crisis and how even the city’s most vulnerable residents were being impacted by the fallout.

The building used to be a lifeline for many families and provided  much-needed care and support.

It was one of four centres closed last year after Birmingham City Council declared itself effectively bankrupt and made an unprecedented wave of cuts to services.

James Cross, a campaigner who’s standing in the upcoming local elections as an independent, said this week that the decision to close Harborne “stripped vital, local support from some of the most vulnerable people in our community”.

“I still remember the final day with the remaining citizens and their carers: emotional, unfair, but full of dignity and strength,” he said.

“Harborne deserves services that strengthen our community, not cuts that weaken it.

“The closure has left little to no council-run adult day care provision across the south of the city.

“Let’s be clear: this closure – along with three other adult day care centres – was the direct result of serious financial failings at Birmingham City Council.”

Mr Cross, whose family member attended Harborne before being moved to another centre, said earlier this year that the closure spurred him to get involved in politics and stand as an independent.

All 101 council seats across Birmingham will be up for grabs in May’s critical election, which will decide which party or coalition runs the council during the next four years at least.

Birmingham Labour faces a battle to keep control of the council amid opposition from parties such as Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Reform UK, as well as an array of independents.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) earlier this year, Mr Cross argued that residents had lost faith in the main political parties.

“I’ve always been interested in politics but I’ve never been involved in any political party or that type of thing,” he said. “But obviously I’ve seen the level of cuts being made across the city and I know how damaging they are.

“I’ve seen the importance of adult day services and how much they’re needed – they’ve gone from nine down to five day centres now.

“You learn people don’t like vulnerable people being targeted, which is exactly what we think happened [with the day centre].”

“I think now is the perfect time for independents really because I think national politics is in the gutter,” Mr Cross continued. “I think we need fresh people in the council.

“We’re very used to having the same people with the same policies, the same agenda.

“I do think now it’s time to shake it up a bit and have different voices with different thoughts, ideas and suggestions – rather than the same people over and over again.

“We’ll have to wait and see what happens in May but I can’t see any political party having an overall majority.”

Former Labour councillor Martin Brooks, who quit the party amid frustration over cuts, added: [The closure] affects the users, carers and families.

“But the people in Harborne have a social conscious and were angry to see this kind of facility taken off the most vulnerable.”

The closure of Harborne Day Centre sparked furious outbursts and protests over the past couple of years as the shockwaves of the council’s financial woes were felt across the city.

“Highly-vulnerable people and their carers are going to suffer immensely,” James’ mother Jean wrote in an open letter.

“This is an unacceptable and ill thought-out decision by Birmingham City Council.

“This closure will have a detrimental impact for my brother, causing distress and unnecessary change to his daily routine as he would find new surroundings very hard to cope with.”

‘You sometimes have to take tough decisions’

It was Birmingham specific issues such as the equal pay and Oracle debacles that contributed to the council’s ‘bankruptcy’.

The resulting blame game also saw Labour councillors point the finger at funding cuts during the previous Conservative government.

On the closure of the adult day centres in particular, Labour councillor Rob Pocock, who is overseeing the council’s transformation, said in 2024: “We need to save on costs and the remaining centres need to be fully utilised.

“Citizens using our centres have said they want to have a wider variety of activities outside the day centres and this is what we are also developing, as part of a more modern 21st century service”.

He said at the time that anyone wanting to use a council day centre would still be able to and that no staff were being made redundant.

Asked about the local elections in May, Labour council leader John Cotton recently insisted that there could be “great days ahead” for the city despite recent turbulence.

“I’m having lots of conversations on doorsteps in my own patch and across the city,” he told the LDRS.

“And I think people do understand that we’ve had to do some difficult things to turn the council around and they understand that if you’re in power, you sometimes have to take tough decisions.

“You take those decisions because you know it’s the right thing to do for the long-term stability of the council.”

“We’re now able to look to the future and look at how we collaborate with a Labour Mayor and Labour government that’s committed to turning around the legacy of austerity,” he added.

A full list of candidates standing in Harborne is set to be published in April and will be covered in full by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.