Council U-turn on youth centre after legal threat

CITY planners have allowed a developer to scale back on a pledge to build a £5.9 million youth and community centre in a U-turn following the threat of legal action.

Birmingham City Council’s planning committee previously decided Keir Ventures Ltd and Rubery Owen Holdings should honour a promise to build a community centre for the YMCA alongside 110 homes on the former Hardy Spicer playing fields in Walmley.

The company had asked instead to ditch the YMCA scheme and offer the council £3.5 million towards a smaller centre, saying the profit margin with a larger centre was not large enough to justify them building the houses.

A majority of residents had also called for the committee to back down as they want the homes, and scaled-down centre, built quickly.

Planning committee members had initially voted to reject the company’s request saying that the firm would make enough money on the development to cover the costs and had a moral duty to stand by its deal with the YMCA.

But the planning committee was told an expert legal advice confirmed the company would appeal to the government and likely win, landing the council with a six-figure legal bill.

The planning committee reversed its decision by ten votes to one and accepted the scaled-down centre.

Cllr Maureen Cornish (Cons, Sutton Four Oaks) said that the council ran the risk either not getting the development built or losing a legal appeal.

“We desperately need this development completed,” she said.