Birmingham Live readers have expressed their shock over the controversy surrounding the Perry Barr scheme. Initially touted as a lucrative project that would provide accommodation for world-class athletes before transforming into affordable housing for local families, a damning report has revealed the truth about the Games Village project.
The £500 million development, which was promoted as a significant Commonwealth Games legacy, is now projected to result in a loss of around £150 million for taxpayers. The internal report suggests that the scheme was ‘over valued’ from its inception and the council has faced difficulties in finding buyers.
As a result, Birmingham taxpayers are expected to shoulder the cost, estimated at £8 million annually for the next 40 years. One opposition councillor has described this as the price of ‘arrogance and incompetence’.
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Today, the village remains deserted, with hundreds of flats unoccupied and a children’s play area unused, more than two years after the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games. The village was never utilised as an athletes’ village due to delays caused by the Covid pandemic, with athletes instead accommodated in university campuses.
Despite this, Council deputy leader Coun Sharon Thompson has defended the project, stating “The Perry Barr residential scheme will still deliver much-needed homes for the north-west of the city, with high-quality homes for rent and sale. Crucially, many of these new homes will be affordable homes.”
Commenter Paul-sg says: “There was nothing wrong with the games themselves, it was the (typically) poor planning of the infrastructure that was the problem. Still, it’s nice that there will be some affordable homes, but a pity the rest will be unaffordable!”
Tomexh points out: “The construction element surpassed the original budget which was supposed to be for the whole scheme. To recoup the cost of this part of the scheme, apartments would need to sell at well over £400.000 each with the agents keeping their fees rock bottom, a total travesty.”
Chosen in 1957 thinks: “The commonwealth games should never have gone ahead. The politicians from all parties were well aware that this was a massive gamble for the city and its financial wellbeing. After the games had finished we were informed by council officials that we were on the cusp of a ‘golden decade’ of progress and growth. The athletes’ village accommodation and the stadium itself should have immediately been sold off to private enterprises to stop this huge financial burden for the angry and frustrated ratepayers.”
Therealwaysbeanengland agrees: “All part of the great legacy of the commonwealth games which was clearly a load of PR nonsense.”
CLM82 feels: “Absolutely, this isn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last time this happens. When you’re spending someone else’s money there is no accountability.”
Wintermute writes: “It’s worth noting that the senior managers involved making these decisions have now all moved on to other roles in other organisations. The people being held accountable for cleaning up the mess are not the people who made it, indeed some are the people who tried to warn of the problems and were side-lined.”
Redsnappa sighs: “Birmingham City Council have not learned from this debacle. Just as badly conceived as Perry Bar are the plans to regenerate Ladywood, this will run massively over budget and it will be the council tax payers who end up paying for the Ladywood regeneration.”
Ma1 says: “Totally appalled by how we as people of Birmingham have to foot the tax payers bill for this. The property should have been rented out, it’s not rocket science is it?”
Mikecoolruler points out: “This is yet another ‘legacy’ of the Commonwealth Games—the same games many of us were unhappy about.”
Dunn feels: “All big projects lose money to start with, look at the channel tunnel, if people didn’t gamble we’d be living in huts.”
Mikecoolruler replies: “Even ‘huts’ would be more welcomed than sleeping on the streets. The whole commonwealth regeneration legacy was a failure from the offset.”
Macin Digbeth thinks: “It is a scandal that there are so many homeless being holed up in awful temporary accommodation whilst so many properties stand empty.”
HerrBrummie adds: “230,000 for a 2 bed flat? Is that affordable housing in Birmingham?”
What do you think the future is for the Perry Barr homes project? Will it eventually live up to its promise? Have your say in our comments section.