A vital local housing and business project is under threat. After ten years of dedicated effort to create affordable, community-led housing, Stirchley Co-operative Development is facing an unfair financial demand that could jeopardise its future.
What is at stake
GreenSquareAccord (GSA), the housing association managing the construction project, is attempting to pass over £2 million in cost overruns onto the local community group.
| Issue | Impact |
|---|---|
| Financial Burden | The project provides 39 affordable homes and purpose-built spaces for local businesses that were to be owned and run by the people who live and work in the area. SCD represents 10% of all social rent housing built in Birmingham between 2020 and 2025. |
| Risk to Local Businesses | Local co-operative businesses Artefact Projects, Birmingham Bike Foundry and Loaf Bakery and Cookery School are now facing the threat of insolvency. |
| Risk to Residents | The stability and future homes of local residents are being put at risk. Some residents are currently experiencing homelessness. |
| Risk to Local Democracy | SCD risks losing control of the scheme, with the potential for GSA to become the sole landlord, undermining years of voluntary work and community-led democratic management. |
Project Timeline
A history of the Stirchley Co-operative Development project, from its inception to the current bond offer.
Project Conception & Formation
Project conceived by local residents and worker co-operatives; SCD founded as a non-profit co-operative society.
Planning Permission Secured
SCD secured planning permission for the Pershore Road site.
Construction Begins
Construction commenced on site with contractor Tricas Construction Ltd.
Contractor Insolvency
Tricas Construction entered administration; GSA’s in-house team took over construction responsibilities.
Registered Provider Status
SCD attained non-profit Registered Provider (RP) status with the Regulator of Social Housing.
Ownership Dispute
GSA leadership informed SCD of its intention to retain ownership of the building, initiating a dispute over the project’s future.
Bond Offer Launch
SCD launched a community bond offer seeking £1–2m to secure the project’s viability.
Take Action Now
This project was intended to be a national model for affordable, community-owned housing. By threatening to take over control of the building, GSA will deprive Stirchley of its locally owned assets.
Write to the Housing Ministers
Steve Reed – Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
- Fill out this enquiry form
- 020 7219 7297
Matthew Pennycook – Minister of State for Housing and Planning
- Fill out this enquiry form
- 020 7219 6280
Write to your local MP
Al Carns – Birmingham Selly Oak MP
Please contact Al Carns, the MP for Birmingham Selly Oak if you live in the constituency, to raise concerns about the actions of GreenSquareAccord.
If you live elsewhere, you can also write to your local MP, especially if they live in Birmingham, though they may not already be familiar with the Stirchley Co-operative Development.
Contact the West Midlands Mayor
Contact Richard Parker, West Midlands Mayor, and ask for the West Midlands Combined Authority to support SCD financially. While Birmingham City Council has supported the project, the WMCA have yet to support us with more than words.
Template letters
Here are template letters to help write to the above politicians to encourage them to advocate for SCD. Please add your own voice and personal perspective if possible.
Subject
Urgent concern: GreenSquareAccord and the Stirchley Co-operative Development
Content
Dear [Al Carns MP / Steve Reed MP / Matthew Pennycook MP / Mayor Richard Parker / whomever it may concern],
I am writing to you as a [constituent / concerned citizen] to urge you to take immediate action to protect Stirchley Co-operative Development (SCD) from the conduct of GreenSquareAccord (GSA), which threatens to destroy a landmark community housing project a decade in the making.
What is at stake? SCD was established in 2016 by local residents and worker co-operatives to tackle the housing affordability crisis in Stirchley, and provide many services and a community hub.
After nearly ten years of community effort and investment, the project is within months of delivering 39 genuinely affordable homes and three commercial spaces for the co-operative businesses Birmingham Bike Foundry, Artefact Projects, and Loaf Bakery — businesses that are cornerstones of the local community. This project is intended to be a national model for community-owned, democratically managed housing.
When the original building contractor went into administration in 2024, GSA stepped in to complete the build, but crucially, without issuing a formal contract. This left SCD with no mechanism to challenge costs or deadlines.
Construction delays followed, and GSA has now attempted to pass over £2 million in cost overruns onto SCD, raising the project price from £10.68m to £12.94m, significantly above the building’s valuation. When SCD, with the support of Birmingham City Council and community investors worked hard to meet a revised offer, GSA moved the goalposts again, adding a further £369,000 to the price.
On 12 March 2026, GSA informed SCD that it intends to retain ownership of the near-completed building unless its ever increasing financial demands are met. It should be noted that SCD members have contributed over 10,000 volunteer hours to the project and to the value of the building.
The consequences are severe: three local businesses face insolvency; residents who planned to call this building home face housing insecurity; and the democratic community-ownership model that SCD represents risks being erased entirely.
Why does this demand your attention? GSA is a regulated social housing provider, and the Regulator of Social Housing placed GreenSquareAccord on its “gradings under review” list as recently as May 2026, citing potential serious failings in governance and financial viability.
GSA’s own construction arm has faced significant difficulties, including placing its modular timber-frame factory into voluntary liquidation. It is deeply troubling that costs arising from these internal failings appear to have been passed onto a small community group.
The spirit of community-led housing, which government policy actively encourages, is being undermined by the conduct of a housing association that is itself under regulatory scrutiny.
What am I asking you to do?
[For the MP, Al Carns]
Please raise this matter directly with GSA and with Ministers at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. I ask you to use your position to urge GSA to honour its original agreement with SCD and to call for an independent review of how these cost overruns arose and were passed on.
[For Housing Ministers (Steve Reed / Matthew Pennycook)]
I urge you to direct the Regulator of Social Housing to examine GSA’s conduct in this case as part of its ongoing review. I also ask that you consider what protections exist — or should exist — for community-led registered providers when larger housing associations act as development partners without formal contracts. SCD should not be punished for GSA’s internal failures.
[For West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker / other WMCA email addresses]
I ask the West Midlands Combined Authority to explore urgent financial support for SCD to bridge the gap that GSA’s conduct has created. The WMCA has championed community-led housing; this is a moment to show that commitment in action. SCD represents exactly the kind of locally owned, democratically accountable, genuinely affordable housing that our region needs. Please act now before it is too late.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address / email]
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