Reclaim Lee Bank

Lee Bank is part of the Birmingham Convention Centre Quarter. While the International Convention Centre, The National Indoor Arena and the Brindley Place development have had £100,000’s spent on them, Lee Bank has seen little change over the last few years. Three bids for Estate Action money plus endless meetings have resulted in little gain for the residents. The number of people attending meetings had fallen and the council seemed to have forgotten about the area altogether. Following one such meeting recently a few residents got together and decided to do something positive and ‘Reclaim Lee Bank’ was formed. Firstly a huge poster was put up on a billboard on the main road nearby, reading ‘WELCOME TO LEE BANK BIRMINGHAM’S SLUM QUARTER’. The following day an invasion of the local neighbourhood office took place and then another, this time of the main housing offices. A rooftop protest at the home of a local Tory leader topped it all off, with events being well covered by all the local press. In the last few weeks, work that had been left undone for months has now been completed and three families that had been living in appalling conditions have since been rehoused. Several councillors have approached the group and meetings are taking place that are now about how the groups aims can be achieved rather than just the same old waffle that was the order of the day, before the actions. For the first time in years the residents are feeling optimistic about what they can achieve. The campaign is continuing. The contact address is: Reclaim Lee Bank, PO Box 5818, Birmingham, B15 2BA.