Stirchley

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, Stirchley appears to have a small but unusually varied set of civic anchors: a community facility, a voluntary-sector support body, faith-based activity, school-community organising, inclusive play and recreation, and organisations connecting local residents to regional networks. The strongest pattern is not a single shared service system, but several locally rooted spaces that could become more connected.

Context

The available evidence identifies 11 organisations associated with Stirchley, but it should not be read as a complete picture of civic life in the ward. Several organisations have direct evidence of recurring activity at Stirchley venues; others have only an administrative address, a storage location, or lower-confidence evidence of activity. The ward's 2019 employment-deprivation score is recorded as 12.4%, but no comparator is provided, so the evidence does not support a judgement about whether this is relatively high or low.

See observations

Profile

Political power: Green Party

IMD: 12.4%

Civic organisations (11)

The Atlas has evidence of 11 organisations operating here.

Show results • 11 of 11 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

  • Stirchley’s civic infrastructure is concentrated in a handful of practical community spaces

    The evidence directly shows recurring activity at Pineapple House, Stirchley Baths, Grace Church’s premises, Cotteridge Primary School and, for some activity, Silverstone Court. These are not simply organisational addresses: they appear to function as places where people meet, receive support, build relationships or organise activity. This suggests that Stirchley’s civic capacity may depend substantially on a relatively small network of accessible venues rather than on a dispersed set of specialist services.

    Why it matters

    Places with multiple usable community spaces can support more than the programmes currently offered there. There may be an opportunity to make these venues more visible to one another, share learning about room use and referrals, or identify unmet times and groups that could use existing space.

    Show evidence

    • The Dads Lane Community Association / Pineapple House, Activities page:
      Pineapple House hosts regular provision including a Warm Welcome drop-in, gardening, bike maintenance, older-people’s groups, storytime, crafts and community meals.

    • Birmingham Community Matters website: Home:
      Birmingham Community Matters lists its address as Stirchley Baths and supports small community and voluntary groups through peer support, surgeries, workshops and networking.

    • Cotteridge Primary School — Parent Teacher Association webpage:
      The PTA organises fundraising events and social activities for the Cotteridge Primary School community.

    • Birmingham Jewish Community Care official website — Events page:
      BJCC lists a recurring monthly lunch club at Silverstone Court in Stirchley, with transport available where necessary.

  • There are several routes into connection for people at risk of isolation, but they appear to serve different populations without an evidenced bridge between them

    The available evidence shows distinct forms of support for older residents, disabled and neurodivergent younger adults, refugees and people seeking asylum, and people attending general community activities. BJCC combines a lunch club with transport and wider care support; Dads Lane offers regular social, practical and wellbeing activity; Parks for Play runs an inclusive Stirchley disco; and Stories of Hope and Home creates mutual support and belonging through shared storytelling. These offers are complementary, but no current evidence identifies referral pathways, joint activity or shared outreach between them.

    Why it matters

    This may be a strength in waiting: Stirchley has organisations addressing belonging through different methods rather than one generic model. It would be worth exploring whether people who are isolated, newly arrived, disabled, older or otherwise excluded can find these opportunities easily, and whether organisations know enough about one another to make appropriate introductions.

    Show evidence

    • Birmingham Jewish Community Care official website — Events page:
      BJCC holds a monthly lunch club in Stirchley and makes transport available where necessary.

    • The Dads Lane Community Association / Pineapple House, Activities page:
      The association lists regular activities including groups for older people, a Warm Welcome drop-in, crafts, gardening and community meals.

    • Parks for Play, Younger Adults:
      Parks for Play describes Sparkle as a monthly inclusive disco for disabled and neurodivergent young adults at a Stirchley venue.

    • Stories of Hope and Home official website:
      The organisation runs regular sessions for people with lived experience of seeking asylum, using storytelling and creative activity to build community, belonging and self-worth.

  • Stirchley may be a local base for organisations whose influence extends beyond the ward

    Some of the ward’s organisations use Stirchley as a base, venue or resource point while working across wider Birmingham or the West Midlands. Birmingham Community Matters supports community groups across several neighbourhoods; Birmingham Jewish Community Care serves the Birmingham and West Midlands Jewish community while holding a Stirchley lunch club; Stories of Hope and Home works across Birmingham and the West Midlands and has sustained public performance activity at Birmingham REP; and Birmingham Schools Connection stores a schools resource kit at Stirchley Community Church. Stirchley therefore appears to contribute to wider civic networks, not only to host neighbourhood-focused activity.

    Why it matters

    This creates a possible two-way opportunity. Ward-based groups may be able to access wider expertise, partners and audiences through these organisations, while regional organisations may benefit from deeper relationships with Stirchley’s locally rooted venues and communities.

    Show evidence

    • Birmingham Community Matters website: Selly Oak Neighbourhood Network Scheme:
      BCM supports community groups across Stirchley and a wider set of Selly Oak constituency neighbourhoods through online and face-to-face sessions.

    • Birmingham Jewish Community Care official website — Events page:
      BJCC provides a recurring lunch club in Stirchley while describing support for the Jewish community in Birmingham and the Midlands.

    • Stories of Hope and Home official website and Birmingham REP Home & Horizons Festival 2025 programme:
      The organisation works with people building new homes in Birmingham and the West Midlands and has presented participant-created work at Birmingham REP over several years.

    • Birmingham Schools Connection website — Training:
      Its Prayer Spaces resource kit is stored at Stirchley Community Church for churches to borrow for work in local schools.

  • Recreation is present in the ward’s civic story, but one potentially important asset is unusually opaque

    The evidence shows active inclusive play and leisure provision linked to Stirchley through Parks for Play, alongside a long-standing trust whose stated purpose is to provide recreational facilities in Stirchley, particularly a cricket ground. However, the Friends Hall, Gooch Street, Recreation Ground Trust reported income of only £46 for 2024, and the available evidence does not identify the ground, its condition, its users or whether it remains actively available. This contrast is notable: one strand of recreation is visibly programmed, while another potentially significant local asset is barely visible.

    Why it matters

    If the trust still controls, maintains or influences a usable recreation site, it could represent an overlooked local resource for physical activity, youth provision, community events or partnerships. If it no longer does so, understanding why may reveal a gap in stewardship or access to outdoor recreation.

    Show evidence

    • Parks for Play, Our Services:
      Parks for Play lists a recurring monthly Equal Vibes disco for adults aged 19+ at a Stirchley venue.

    • Supplied organisation record, Charity Number 246233:
      The Friends Hall, Gooch Street, Recreation Ground Trust states that it provides recreational facilities in Stirchley, particularly a cricket ground.

    • Charity Commission register search result for Charity Number 246233:
      The trust remains registered and reported income of £46 for the year ended 31 December 2024.

    Remaining uncertainties

  • The evidence is not sufficient to describe Stirchley’s full civic landscape, including informal groups, resident-led networks, unregistered organisations, public-sector provision and organisations not currently represented in the available records.
  • Several apparent Stirchley connections are administrative or logistical rather than confirmed service delivery: Pargeter and Wand Trust has an administrative connection through BCOP, Birmingham Schools Connection has a resource-storage point, and Stories of Hope and Home has a registered address but no confirmed regular local session venue.
  • The available evidence does not identify current referral routes, shared projects or formal partnerships between the organisations delivering complementary forms of social connection and inclusion.
  • There is a data-quality tension between the detailed operational-geography records provided and the coverage field, which records zero organisations reviewed; this makes it difficult to interpret the completeness of the reviewed picture.
  • No evidence establishes the current location, condition, governance arrangements or public availability of the cricket ground associated with the Friends Hall, Gooch Street, Recreation Ground Trust.

    Additional evidence needed

  • A current map or inventory of community venues, regular activities and informal groups in Stirchley, including who uses each space and when capacity is available.
  • Information from local organisations on referral practice, shared participants, partnership working and unmet demand, particularly for people experiencing isolation, disability, migration-related exclusion or financial hardship.
  • Confirmation from Stories of Hope and Home, Birmingham Schools Connection and Pargeter and Wand Trust about whether their Stirchley addresses or bases are used for regular public-facing delivery.
  • A current report or direct confirmation from the Friends Hall, Gooch Street, Recreation Ground Trust identifying the cricket ground, its current use, and any user organisations or management partners.
  • A clearer statement of which organisations and operational geographies have been reviewed, so that readers can distinguish a developing evidence base from a representative ward-wide picture.