News Desk

Druids Heath Regeneration: Consultation Reopens

Consultation Reopens, But Good Luck Finding the Paperwork

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but Birmingham City Council wants you to have your say on the £1 billion Druids Heath masterplan. That is, if you can actually find it.
 
The official 20-year regeneration consultation is back from Monday, 7 September until Wednesday, 7 October 2026. If you get a feeling of déjà vu, don't worry. This fresh round of public engagement comes after the High Court quashed the council’s previous planning approval from October 2025. It turns out that hiding parts of the paperwork from the public isn't a brilliant foundation for a legal consultation, forcing a complete restart to show they are "doing things properly" this time.
 
The massive project—run by the council alongside developer Lovell—promises to build up to 3,500 new energy-efficient homes over the next two decades, reshaping the estate with new green spaces and a revamped high street. Following intense community pushback, the council has generously bumped up the direct social housing target from a meager 11.4% to 20%.
 
They have also re-promised that all existing council tenants will get alternative housing, while private homeowners will get shared equity models to help them stay. But as anyone living on the estate knows, balancing the promise of shiny new streets against the fear of long-term residents being priced out of their own community takes more than a few fancy brochures.
 

⚠️ A Masterclass in Council IT Infrastructure

While the council has spent plenty of time promoting the consultation's launch, actually reviewing the technical details is a different story.
 
Under Article 40 of the Town and Country Planning Order 2015, local authorities are legally required to make these blueprints and impact assessments easily accessible for public inspection. But this is Birmingham City Council, where digital transparency always comes with a twist.
 
You might have heard that the infamous £144 million Oracle IT disaster (now rebranded as the Brindley programme) finally struggled across the finish line on August 18. But don't get your hopes up—that only fixes internal council HR and accounting.
 
The public-facing Planning Online portal is a completely separate beast. It is still running on the aging Northgate system, a platform seemingly held together by digital string. The system is legendary for database timeouts and dropped sessions. Try to copy a link to share a document or a blueprint with your neighbor, and the URL will reliably self-destruct.
 
As a result, tracking down the crucial new Financial Viability Assessment—the exact document omitted last time that caused the High Court to throw the plans out—has become a game of digital hide-and-seek. Community advocates have rightly pointed out that it’s quite hard to scrutinize a multi-million-pound plan when an antiquated IT system effectively locks the public out of the files.
 

How to Play Hide-and-Seek with the Council

Since the council website is behaving exactly as we all expected, local organizers are advising residents to bypass the broken web links entirely and go old-school by cluttering up the council’s inboxes.
 
To look at the real blueprints or lodge your official thoughts, you can use these direct routes:
 
  • Demand the files directly: Email the housing team at TalkDruidsHeath@birmingham.gov.uk or the planning department at planning.comments@birmingham.gov.uk. Make sure to quote outline planning application reference 2025/01204/PA and politely ask them to send over the files since the portal won't.
     
  • Make your voice heard: Send your official objections, support, or feedback straight to planning.comments@birmingham.gov.uk before the final deadline on Wednesday, 7 October 2026.
     
  • Talk to a human: If you prefer talking to a person who can't crash or time out, there is a free, in-person public drop-in event on Tuesday, 15 September 2026, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Regeneration Room on Idmiston Croft, with independent support provided by Planning Aid England and Loconomy.
     

 

12:09, 08 Sep 2026 by Peni Whelan
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Rough Sleeper Accommodation Programme 2021-2022

birmingham.cmis.uk.com

To seek retrospective approval to bid to Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Rough Sleepers Accommodation Programme, for £680,191 revenue for the provision of support to 40 units of move-on accommodation.

On 27 July 2021, Cabinet  

  1. Retrospectively approved the submission of a bid from the Council via WMCA for Rough Sleepers Accommodation Programme revenue of £680,200;

     

  2. Approved the route to deliver 40 units of accommodation into the programme; The money will be used to invest in 40 new units made up of 1-bedroom, self-contained flats allowing rough sleepers to stay for up to 2 to 3 years with a move-on plan.

     

  3. Noted that delivery of support will be via a support provider granted or contracted to a value of no more than £680,200;

     

  4. Delegated authority to the Managing Director, City Housing (or their delegate) in conjunction with the Assistant Director of Development and Commercial (or their delegate), the Chief Finance Officer (or their delegate) and the City Solicitor (or their delegate) to spend the funds, via the approval of the procurement strategy and contract award; if a procurement is the preferred commissioning route;

     

  5. Authorised the City Solicitor to negotiate and execute any documents to give effect to the above decisions.

     

THE DEADLINE FOR CALL IN IS 1600 HOURS ON MONDAY 2 AUGUST 2021.

14:42, 31 Jul 2021 by Peni Whelan

Covid Update

www.birminghamandsolihullcovidvaccine.nhs.uk

COVID have fallen for the seventh day in a row in the UK.

There are still over 300,000 adults who have yet to receive their first dose of vaccine.

Across Birmingham, the number of cases  decreased by 2,932 compared with last week

3,747 cases this week

6,679 last week 

All wards in Birmingham reported new cases this week.

These are the wards with the highest case rates (cases per 100,000 population) this week:

  • Frankley Great Park (617)
  • Sutton Mere Green (599)
  • Shard End (593)
  • Oscott (521)
  • Gravelly Hill (518)
  • Highter's Heath (488)
  • Sutton Trinity (475)
  • Kingstanding (466)
  • Longbridge & West Heath (462)
  • Bournville (437)

Total cases fell in all age groups this week, 

  • 0 – 19 age group (-49%),
  • 20 – 39 age group (-45%),
  • 40 - 59 age group (-39%). 

They also decreased in all ethnic groups,

  • Mixed group (-48%)
  • White group (-47%)

Testing rates per 100k also fell from 8,114 to 6,284.

 

Walk-in appointments

Walk-in appointments are taking place at mass vaccination centres across Birmingham and Solihull.

These appointments are for a first doses and those eligible to receive a second dose (following Government guidance, there must be a gap of 8-12 weeks between appointments).

Everybody must always wear a face covering and follow social distancing guidelines when attending the sites. 

If you would prefer to book ahead of time, please call 119 or visit the NHS website.

Walk ins are at 

Millennium Point
Curzon St, Birmingham B4 7XG
Tue 27 Jul - Sat 31 July, 08:00am to 6:00pm

Aston Villa Football Club
Trinity Road, Birmingham, B6 6HE
Tue 27 Jul - Sat 31 July, 10:00am to 3:00pm

The Fort Shopping Park
20 Fort Pkwy, Birmingham B24 9FP
Fri 30 Jul - Sat 31 Jul, 9:30am to 6:30pm

 

mobile vaccination team to provide walk-in facilities at 

Newtown Shopping Centre on

Friday 30th and Saturday 31st July.

 

 

St George’s Academy in Newtown

to coincide with Friday Prayers at the Huda Mosque.

Engagement team Solutions 4 Health and community leaders will also be out and about in the area to encourage more people to get a vaccination.

Before you go please check this webpage on the day you plan to attend as dates/times are subject to change.

 

 

14:10, 31 Jul 2021 by Peni Whelan