‘The soul’s been ripped out of it’: Birmingham community housing scheme on brink over costs dispute

Prospective residents outside the Stirchley Cooperative Development, intended as ‘a national model for democratically managed housing’. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Prospective residents outside the Stirchley Cooperative Development, intended as ‘a national model for democratically managed housing’. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian ‘The soul’s been ripped out of it’: Birmingham community housing scheme on brink over costs dispute Row over ‘landmark’ development in Stirchley has left people homeless and put businesses at risk, say locals A housing development in Birmingham , touted as a model for community-owned housing in the UK, is at “serious risk of collapse” due to a dispute over construction costs. The Stirchley Cooperative Development (SCD), which was founded by local residents and businesses in Birmingham in 2016, was meant to provide 39 affordable and landlord-free homes owned and run by the people who live and work there by 2024. Prospective residents described it as a “landmark community housing project” that was “intended to be a national model for community-owned, democratically managed housing”. It was hoped the development would give residents and business owners greater control over their home and work environments, in the face of rising rents and house prices in Stirchley, an increasingly sought-after area in the south-west of Birmingham. However, a dispute with GreenSquareAccord (GSA), the housing association that owns the land on which the development is built, has put the project under threat. Residents said problems emerged when GSA took on construction responsibilities for the site in 2024, after the former contractor went bust, leading to a series of delays and increasing costs. The original plan was for GSA to sell the land to the residents – who negotiated its purchase – when the project was completed. But in March, GSA said it would no longer pass on ownership of the development to the community due to a “£1.16m shortfall”. View image in fullscreen The delayed development in south-west Birmingham remains empty and fenced off. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian John Holmes, an 80-year-old retired lecturer, is one of several prospective residents affected by the change. He wanted to be involved in the development due to his work in the youth sector and his belief in communal living. But with the project in limbo, he says he is now homeless and relying on friends and family for places to stay. “We’re still waiting, with no certainty that it’s going to go ahead at the moment,” he said. “We were trying to make a difference and develop something for ourselves.” In a statement to the Guardian, a GSA spokesperson said the projected costs of the development “rose due to interest costs, inflationary pressures and challenges during construction” and that it is committed to “reaching the right outcome” with the Stirchley residents and business owners who had hoped to move in. Sean Farmelo,