Regeneration promises spark fears in Birmingham estates

Local TV

Two major regeneration schemes in Druids Heath and Ladywood promise new homes and facilities, but questions over transparency, disruption and displacement are putting the council under pressure.

Transcript

00:00A stite regeneration is meant to bring renewal.

00:07In Druidsheath and Lidywood, the council says it will deliver thousands of new homes,

00:11fresh infrastructure and green spice.

00:14But the question is not whether changes are coming,

00:16it's how much say the people living here will have in it.

00:20In Druidsheath, the city has chosen a preferred developer,

00:23but won't reveal the name, sought in procurement rules.

00:27Councillors argue this leaves residents in the dark,

00:30about who holds the keys to their community's future.

00:33The council insists details will follow in January

00:35and stresses the scheme has been shiped through years of engagement.

00:40For many families, the concern is simple,

00:42but one guarantees they can afford to stay.

00:46Lidywood faces similar fears.

00:48The 20-year scheme aims to transform the stite with new homes,

00:51reap provision of all council housing and improved facilities.

00:56Yet residents remain wary.

00:57Bulldozers and building work could dominate the area for years,

01:01and campioners fear disruption will outwine benefits.

01:05Councillors admit perceptions need to shift that official progress will mean little,

01:10unless locals believe it.

01:12Both projects are framed as answers to Birmingham's housing shortage,

01:16where lung whiting lists and overcrowding are common.

01:19The promise is better homes, cipher streets,

01:22and new jobs in construction and beyond.

01:24The risk is that regeneration becomes displacement,

01:28shiny new neighbourhoods at the expense of the communities they replace.

01:32What happens next will shive not just bricks and mortar,

01:35but the balance between investment and trust

01:38in some of Birmingham's most pressured estates.

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