Angst and joy as tenants move into flats at Perry Barr

FAMILIES SETTLE AT GAMES VILLAGE

- JANE HAYNES News Reporter

IT is the housing estate that almost never was, cost a fortune and created a storm - but Perry Barr Games Village has finally welcomed its first tenants.

The £500 million complex, off the A34 Walsall Road, was intended to be the athletes’ village for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, but the plan was abandoned amid Covid, building delays and soaring costs.

It was due to open last year, and the council was expected to make money from the 1000-home project.

But only the first phase of the scheme has been finished so far, and the council has ended up with a £150 million deficit which, with interest, will have to be repaid at a cost of an estimated £8 million a year for 40 years.

It's not the promising start of a ‘golden decade’ the city hoped for.

But for young mum Nadira, 21, and her little girl it is ideal. “It's the best place I’ve lived since she was born,” she says.