History

Our Story

When Birmingham City Council proposed building 84 houses on Short Heath Playing Fields, the Short Heath Fields Trust didn’t yet exist, just a determination to protect the space and speak up for the community.

Early on, we connected with Ed King from Erdington Local, a newly launched community newspaper. During a site visit, where a nearby brownfield location was suggested as a more suitable option for housing, a chance meeting brought together Steve Hughes and Estelle Murphy both campaigners for Short Heath Playing Fields. From that moment, things moved quickly.

Within days, we joined forces and organised a public meeting, inviting local residents to share their views. The response was strong, and the community’s voice became the foundation of everything that followed. With support from the late Jack Dromey MP, we presented those ideas to Birmingham City Council.

Even through the challenges of Covid, the campaign continued. We formally established the Short Heath Fields Trust (SHFT), became the Friends group for Short Heath Playing Fields and Bleak Hill Park as part of BOSF, we formed the Short Heath Wombles, we have built a Covid Memorial in Bleak Hill Park and began hosting free community events for children, starting with our now annual Halloween Pumpkin Hunt. Today, we run four free events each year.

Thanks to the strength of the campaign and the recognised value of the site’s unique wildlife and rare acid grassland, the plans to build housing were successfully stopped.

We now hold a licence for the playing fields and are working towards securing a 25-year lease. Our vision is to restore the fields as a space for sport, alongside our growing programme of community events and as a green space for families to enjoy.

Looking Ahead

While we’ve achieved a great deal, there is still work to do. Ongoing challenges include raising funds for maintenance, grass cutting, and continuing to deliver free events for the community. If you wish to donate you can do so by clicking on the button at the bottom of this page.

Birmingham City Council has committed to restricting any future sale of the land to sports use and to working with us to secure a long-term future for the fields.

Our journey continues—and with community support, so does our vision.