Sharks, parties and ‘huge relief’ – inside Ladywood celebrations

After months of uncertainty and fear, many residents in Ladywood are suddenly experiencing something else entirely – relief and celebration.

This is because a deeply controversial project to regenerate the area, which sparked distress over the prospect of homes being demolished, has collapsed.

The joy is palpable among locals like Laura and George, who excitedly tell me while dressed as sharks that “Christmas has come early” and that parties have been organised within the community.

After our chat outside Ladywood Methodist Church, two residents in a passing car take a moment to rejoice in the news with my interviewees and discuss their optimism for the future.

“[I’m] so excited and delighted,” Laura Kudrna told me. “It’s a huge relief, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest.

“It’s been the hard work of the entire community and I’m just so proud of all the residents and stakeholders who have stood up to such an awful project and helped ensure its end.”

The regeneration scheme had cast a shadow over many locals’ lives for years.

Previously described as the city’s most significant housing development in a generation, the city council insisted the project would have provided thousands of new homes, improved council housing, jobs and community benefits.

But deeply concerned Ladywood residents also spoke out about their mental turmoil amid distress over plans to demolish homes, lingering uncertainty and frustration over delays.

Reacting to the news this particular scheme is now no more, Laura said: “The community that I’m part of has stood up and effectively won – and that’s enormous.

“That means so much for me, that it’s possible for people to come together and make a difference for something that affects everybody.

“It’s just wonderful and I can go to sleep at night knowing that something terrible isn’t about to happen to me and my neighbours in the future.

“[I’m] over the moon,” resident George Smith also told me in Ladywood this week. “The power of people’s voices should never be underestimated, people have really fought over the past three and a half years.

“The community has really stuck together, we’ve got the most fantastic community in Ladywood. We’re very proud of everybody’s efforts.”

He said fear over his home being demolished was previously the first thing on his mind when he woke up in the morning.

“Me and my neighbours couldn’t do home improvements,” George continued. “We would have been in limbo now for three and a half years, it’s been a truly worrying and concerning time for everybody in the neighbourhood.”

Laura went on to tell me that energy could now be directed towards “something good” rather than “stopping something bad from happening”.

[The neighbourhood forum] is an organisation that can help create an alternative plan for Ladywood,” she said. “So many people still suffer with damp, mould and disrepair, we don’t have community spaces – now we can start to do that.

“[We can start] to build social homes and make improvements to the area rather than stopping something that was going to harm so many people.”

“It’s about bringing homes up to the minimum decent standard,” George added.

‘We want to work with the council’

The leadership at Birmingham City Council – now a coalition of Lib Dems, Greens and various independents – said this week that Ladywood will not be ‘abandoned” and that the council’s commitment to the area “remains unchanged”.

But what do Laura and George want from Birmingham City Council when it comes to the future of their neighbourhood?

“We want to have community development,” she said. “We don’t want a mega development, we don’t want a large developer.

“Work with us as a forum to have buildings built on smaller plots of land that contain real social and affordable housing.”

“We want to work with the council and our councillors,” George said. “We want to make improvements but people have got to come first.

“People have got to be the priority and that’s something that’s been lacking over the past years.”

In a statement issued on Monday, Birmingham Council said it had mutually agreed with developer Berkeley St Joseph their intention to “part ways” and exit their development agreement for the scheme.

“This difficult decision comes after seven years of work to establish a partnership and masterplan to deliver over 10,000 much needed homes, upgraded existing social housing and unlocked a range of benefits for the local community and wider city,” a council spokesperson said.

They continued that “increased construction and regulatory costs and a more challenging housing market and economic climate” had placed significant pressure on the viability of the programme.

“Rather than continue with uncertainty and delay, both organisations believe it is better to exit the partnership in a constructive and agreed manner,” the spokesperson said.

They went on to say that the council intends to begin a “new conservation” with residents at the earliest opportunity about the future of the estate.

“We appreciate that this news will be deeply disappointing for many local people who have committed their time and energy to the regeneration of Ladywood,” they said.

Paul Langford, executive director for housing at the council, said that delivering genuinely affordable homes remains a “key priority” and added the authority will “continue to engage” with residents.

“The council is committed to keeping you informed as further information becomes available and to being open and transparent about the challenges and opportunities ahead,” he said.