Ladywood regeneration is on with £2bn deal signed

AGREEMENT ENDS TWO YEARS OF UNCERTAINTY OVER 'ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION' PROJECT

- JANE HAYNES News Reporter

A FORMAL deal has finally been signed between Birmingham City Council and developer St Joseph Homes to regenerate the massive Ladywood estate in a £2 billion scheme.

Hailed as a transformative scheme for the neglected estate, the council and developer, part of the Berkeley Group, have signed a legally-binding partnership agreement, two years later than expected.

But work will not begin on the project until at least 2028 and will take up to 20 years to complete.

The deal comes with a pledge to minimise disruption for tenants and homeowners and ensure one in five of the new-build homes are 'affordable'. Both partners say they will only now begin the work of designing the new-look estate, in collaboration with existing residents and the community.

The scheme, announced in 2023, has been heavily criticised by locals anxious about the impact on their futures.

The intention to bulldoze most of the existing properties inside a designated area triggered an angry outpouring from affected families.

Some feared the anxiety would 'kill off' older residents, while there was fury over the council's refusal to share the initial plans submitted by St Joseph's to land the 'preferred partner' status.