Garretts Green

This summary reflects the Atlas' current understanding of the ward based on the evidence analysed so far.

Overview

Sources:ONSAI-assistedCivic Atlas

Summary

Based on the organisations currently reviewed by the Civic Atlas, Garretts Green appears to have a small but unusually interconnected set of neighbourhood-facing venues. St Thomas Church and Community Project and Oasis Community Hub Blakenhale provide broad, low-threshold support, while arts, youth activity and sight-loss support add more specialised routes into community life. The strongest opportunity may be not creating another general hub, but strengthening connections between the services already gathering different groups of residents.

Context

The available evidence identifies six organisations with some relationship to Garretts Green, although the strength of that relationship varies. Four have direct, high-confidence evidence of recurring activity in the ward: St Thomas Community Project, Oasis Community Hub Blakenhale, Arts In The Yard and Focus Birmingham. FITCAP has medium-confidence evidence of a weekly activity at Oasis Blakenhale. Birmingham International Airport Community Trust Fund identifies Garretts Green as a priority grant area, but this is evidence of eligibility rather than evidence that it is currently funding activity in the ward. Garretts Green's recorded employment-deprivation score was 22.5% in 2019; this indicates an employment-related pressure within the ward, but the available evidence does not provide a comparator or more recent measure.

See observations

Profile

Political power: Labour Party

IMD: 22.5%

Civic organisations (6)

The Atlas has evidence of 6 organisations operating here.

Show results • 6 of 6 organisations

Discoveries involving organisations in this ward

The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving organisations in this ward yet.

Observations

Sources:Civic AtlasAI-assisted

  • St Thomas may be a connective point between general community support and specialist disability support

    The evidence directly shows St Thomas Community Project providing family, youth, food-bank, information and signposting activity from its Garretts Green premises. It also shows Focus Birmingham running a weekly social hub at St Thomas Church throughout 2026. This suggests that the venue may function as more than a service location: it may be a practical point of connection between residents seeking everyday support and people affected by sight loss. No formal partnership between the two organisations is evidenced, so this should be treated as a co-location opportunity rather than an established collaboration.

    Why it matters

    People with sight loss or profound disabilities can become isolated from wider community activity, while generalist community organisations may not always have specialist accessibility knowledge. A stronger relationship between these two offers could make support easier to find and help each organisation learn from the other's reach and expertise.

    Show evidence

    • Charity Commission Register of Charities, St Thomas Community Project:
      St Thomas states that it mainly operates in Garretts Green and provides stay-and-play, children's and youth clubs, an after-school club, a Place of Welcome, food-bank access, information, support, signposting and family activities.

    • Focus Birmingham — Events:
      Focus Birmingham lists a Garretts Green Social Hub at St Thomas Church, running weekly from January to December 2026.

    • St Thomas Church and Community Project official website:
      The website identifies St Thomas' Church and Community Project in Garretts Green and advertises recurring activities at the venue.

  • Garretts Green's visible civic offer is concentrated in a few accessible, multi-purpose neighbourhood settings

    The evidence directly shows broad community activity concentrated at St Thomas and Oasis Community Hub Blakenhale: both include family-oriented activity, youth provision and practical support. Arts In The Yard adds a free weekly arts-and-crafts club, while FITCAP lists a weekly bootcamp at Oasis Blakenhale. This may indicate that a small number of familiar venues carry a large share of the ward's visible community infrastructure, rather than services being spread across many specialist sites.

    Why it matters

    Concentration can be a strength: shared venues can reduce the effort required for residents to encounter help, activities and new relationships. It can also create fragility if demand, venue capacity or organisational funding changes. It would be worth exploring whether these settings coordinate timetables, referrals and use of space, or whether residents must still navigate them separately.

    Show evidence

    • Oasis Academy Blakenhale Junior — Community Hub page:
      The hub lists recurring Stay and Play, food club, neurodiversity support, madrasa, ESOL adult education and fitness sessions, alongside services delivered by Fox Hollies Children's Centre.

    • Birmingham City Council — Oasis Community Hub Blakenhale directory entry:
      The council lists regular Stay and Play, food club, gardening and craft club, neurodiversity support, adult education, kids club and youth club at the Garretts Green hub.

    • St Thomas Community Project — Charity Commission Register:
      The charity lists children's, youth and family activity alongside a Place of Welcome, food-bank access, support and signposting.

    • Arts In The Yard — Current Projects:
      Arts In The Yard states that it launched Garretts Green Arts and Crafts Club, providing free weekly sessions supported by the Yardley Neighbourhood Network Scheme.

    • FITCAP — Weekly Activities:
      FITCAP lists a weekly group bootcamp and boxercise session at Oasis Blakenhale.

  • There are signs of a broad pathway from early-years support to youth development, but less visible evidence of what happens after youth provision

    Oasis and St Thomas both offer stay-and-play or family activity, and both provide children’s and youth-facing activity. FITCAP brings mentoring, training, qualifications, sport, detached youth work and life-skills activity across east Birmingham and north Solihull, with medium-confidence evidence of a Garretts Green session. The available evidence therefore suggests complementary routes for children and young people rather than a single-provider model. However, there is little direct ward-level evidence here of progression into employment, adult learning beyond ESOL, or longer-term support for young adults.

    Why it matters

    Garretts Green's 2019 employment-deprivation score of 22.5% makes the possible transition from youth activity into skills, confidence and work-related opportunities particularly worth examining. FITCAP may hold part of that bridge through training and qualifications, while the hubs may hold trusted relationships with families. The important question is whether those assets are connected in practice.

    Show evidence

    • Oasis Academy Blakenhale Junior — Community Hub page:
      The hub provides recurring Stay and Play, ESOL adult education, kids club and youth club activity.

    • Charity Commission Register of Charities, St Thomas Community Project:
      St Thomas lists stay-and-play, children's clubs, youth clubs, an after-school club and family activities in Garretts Green.

    • FITCAP — Charity Commission activity description and objects:
      FITCAP provides youth services including training, qualifications, mentoring, sport, outreach, holiday clubs and life-skills workshops, with objects that include advancing education and relieving unemployment.

    • FITCAP — Weekly Activities:
      FITCAP lists a weekly bootcamp and boxercise session at Oasis Blakenhale.

    • IMD: Employment - score (%), Garretts Green, 2019:
      Garretts Green has a recorded employment-deprivation score of 22.5%.

  • Airport-impact funding may be an underused bridge between local needs and locally rooted activity

    The Birmingham International Airport Community Trust Fund identifies Garrett's Green and Tile Cross as a tier-one priority area for grants. At the same time, the ward has several small, venue-based organisations delivering activities aligned with the fund's stated interests in community development, environment, recreation, education and training. This creates a plausible funding and relationship opportunity, especially for projects that link community wellbeing, youth activity, green space, skills or environmental improvement. However, the evidence does not show that any of the currently reviewed Garretts Green organisations have received a grant.

    Why it matters

    The Trust is not a direct service provider, but it may be able to strengthen locally trusted organisations that already have access to residents. A shared understanding of its criteria could help turn an airport-related area-of-benefit designation into visible local value rather than simply an eligibility category.

    Show evidence

    • Birmingham Airport Community Trust Fund: Criteria & Guidelines, November 2023:
      Garrett's Green and Tile Cross are listed as a tier-one Area of Benefit for grant awards.

    • Charity Commission Register of Charities, The Birmingham International Airport Community Trust Fund:
      The Trust makes grants to organisations and supports environmental improvement, recreation, education and training, and economic or community development in areas affected by airport operations.

    • Arts In The Yard — Current Projects:
      Arts In The Yard provides free weekly arts-and-crafts activity in Garretts Green.

    • Charity Commission Register of Charities, St Thomas Community Project:
      St Thomas provides activities, practical support and community facilities for Garretts Green residents.

    Remaining uncertainties

  • The organisations currently reviewed by the Civic Atlas do not represent a complete account of civic life in Garretts Green. The available evidence is strongest for recurring activity at a small number of venues and may overlook informal groups, faith communities, resident-led networks, schools, health services and unregistered organisations.
  • There is no participant, referral or catchment data showing who uses St Thomas, Oasis Blakenhale, the Focus social hub, Arts In The Yard activity or FITCAP sessions. It is therefore unclear whether these offers reach the same residents, complementary groups or people from neighbouring wards.
  • The evidence does not establish whether St Thomas, Oasis, Focus, Arts In The Yard and FITCAP coordinate activity, share referrals or have formal partnerships beyond the venue relationships described.
  • The airport Trust's tier-one designation is evidence of grant eligibility, not evidence of current investment in Garretts Green.
  • The employment-deprivation measure is from 2019 and, without comparative or more recent evidence, should not be used to make claims about the ward's current relative position or the scale of need.

    Additional evidence needed

  • Current timetables, attendance data and participant catchment information from the main Garretts Green venues, including St Thomas Church and Community Project and Oasis Community Hub Blakenhale.
  • Evidence of referral routes, shared outreach, room-sharing arrangements and formal or informal partnerships between the organisations operating in the ward.
  • A current map of youth, employment, skills, advice, disability and mental-health provision in Garretts Green, including provision delivered by schools, public services, faith groups and informal resident networks.
  • A current list of Birmingham Airport Community Trust Fund awards and applicant projects in Garretts Green or Tile Cross, with dates, amounts and funded activity.
  • More recent local indicators on employment, income and resident priorities, alongside qualitative evidence from residents about which support is easy or difficult to access.