Thank you to everyone who joined us at Oddingley Hall last month for our Save Birmingham and Social Economy Drive event, marking two years since Birmingham City Council declared effective bankruptcy. A room full of community groups, partners, and residents came together to take stock and to look ahead to the future for Birmingham’s community places.
We are grateful to all our panel members, and contributors, including colleagues from Northfield Community Partnership, who were such good hosts, Witton Lodge Community Association, Malachi Community Trust, Kings Heath Community Centre Community Benefit Society, and Highfield Hall. Their honesty, experience and resilience set the tone for an afternoon grounded in practical advice and collective ambition.
Across the day, a clear story emerged: despite the uncertainty created by the council’s financial crisis, Birmingham’s communities have not stood still.
· Over the past two years, 223 community places have been nominated on the Save Birmingham website, and 28 have been added to the Asset of Community Value register.
· We have worked with community groups to explore options, including Community Asset Transfer (CAT).
· Groups have attended training sessions on ACVs, CATs, Business Planning, Preparing for a CAT Interview, and Valuing Worth.
· We’ve supported organisations to submit Expressions of Interest for youth centres.
· We’ve responded to the city-wide library consultation.
· Six community centres have been identified for CAT since 2023, with three completing and more progressing.
Our panel members, all with varied experience of the CAT process, shared candid reflections on what it has taken to get this far, from negotiating the complexities, to sustaining the volunteer energy and community leadership needed to keep buildings open and services running. Their stories highlighted both the scale of local passion and resilience and the ongoing challenges.
Linda Hines from Witton Lodge, whose main office in Perry Common has been home to the Community Association since 2010, and was the city's first asset transfer, described having no staff for 18 years, relying on volunteers. They now have 44 employees and took on a former park-keepers cottage in 2022, transforming it into Witton Lakes Eco Hub. Linda disputes the term ‘third sector’- describing their work as ‘community sector’, driven by the people who live and work in the neighbourhood.
Robina Iqbal, founder of Highfield Hall Community Centre in Hall Green championed the ‘people power’ and authenticity that comes from residents and users, describing how having a base, and the flexibility of independence, allows them to create a safe space for dialogue and communication, creating a stronger, more connected Hall Green.
Gordon Lee from Malachi Community Trust encouraged organisations to “hang on to the essence of what you are”, telling the audience and panel “your organisation’s independence is what makes you special”. For Malachi, who offer therapeutic interventions, taking on a building was a natural thing to want to do to strengthen the experience for their community of young people and families.
Northfield Community Partnership’s Becky Debenham, who took on Oddingley Hall in September after a successful CAT, was inspired by the longevity and stories of other organisations, saying: “Keeping community at the heart of everything we do and making that difference is why we all do it.” She explained that the length of the CAT process, with the constant back and forth, can have a massive impact on capacity and existing service delivery. Help from organisations like Birmingham Community Matters and Save Birmingham and a supportive network of partners really made a difference.
Matt Powell from Kings Heath Community Centre, currently raising funds to take on the space, described what convinced them that their building was worth saving: “Imagine it with the doors unlocked, the café operating, and the ability to book a room online, there’s a community hub, and none of those things are true at the moment. If we do things entrepreneurially, creatively, and independently, we’ll have a centre in the heart of our community.”
The discussion was positive but didn’t shy away from the challenges. Panellists described CATS as ‘tortuous’, ‘frustrating’, ‘not for the faint-hearted’, and ‘make or break’, pointing out the language used in meetings and communications can be highly technical and the process confusing. But, there are opportunities to learn, and the ‘Valuing Worth’ process in particular - a measure of the social impact of a community organisation that can be offset against market rent - can be a powerful exercise and acknowledgment of the social benefits an organisation provides. CAT ultimately offers a positive and sustainable solution.
The afternoon ended with a forward look at where the campaign goes next. Following the recent publication of our letter to the leader criticising opaque and inconsistent processes, we will continue to hold the council to account and push for compliance in the Joint Statement of Intent, agreed in 2023. We will continue to support neighbourhoods who face losing their spaces. We will create and strengthen a wider CAT network across the city. With new national attention on community ownership, and further uncertainty ahead for local youth centres, libraries, parks, and wellbeing hubs, Save Birmingham will remain focused on ensuring that communities aren’t shut out of decisions about the places that matter to them.
Thank you again to everyone who attended, contributed, or shared their experiences. The last two years have shown that community ownership in Birmingham is not a dream. It is happening now, building momentum, and shaping a fairer future for the city. As an audience member pointed out: “Taking on a building might be a risk. But there’s a risk in doing nothing! Once the doors are closed, it’s almost impossible to get them re-opened.”
