I was a first-time buyer who popped the champagne when I moved into my dream £230,000 home: The next day I learned it has been lined up for demolition

A first-time buyer who moved into her £230,000 dream home was told the next day it could be demolished.

Dr Fabiola Creed said she had to fight back the tears after discovering her home- in the Ladywood area of Birmingham- is in line to be demolished in a £2.2 billion redevelopment.

Hours after popping champagne to celebrate the move Fabiola received a letter from her local MP that said her home, on Lighthorne Avenue, was inside a regeneration zone facing the bulldozer.

Fabiola, an academic researcher, said the bolt from the blue was devastating and the news has blighted her life.

The Ladywood project, first revealed last year, is being finalised between Birmingham Council and Berkeley Homes St Joseph. It intends to flatten most of the area and put up a new series of towers and apartments.

Fabiola Creed (pictured) received a letter that said her home was inside a regeneration zone facing the bulldozer one day after moving in

Lighthorne Avenue (pictured) in Ladywood where Fabiola Creed lives with her husband

Fabiola said she was attracted to the property due to its proximity to the town centre and the large garden

Fabiola said: It shattered everything. I wake up with a sense of dread every morning, and its always in the back of my mind because

I cannot plan ahead. I thought buying a house would give me certainty and roots; this is a nightmare.

Fabiola, who recently married, said she had saved for most of her life to be in a position to put down a deposit on a home of her own.

She continued: I started saving when I was just 14 years old, doing a part-time job. I started saving £50 a month, then as I got older and started earning it was £100, then £200, so really for 16 years I have been saving up for my first home.

Owning a home meant the world to me because I never had a safe home growing up.

When I found this dream fixer-upper I was delighted. I was sold by the sellers stories that the house was a wonderful place to have and raise children.

Fabiola said she was attracted to the property due to its proximity to the town centre and the large garden.

She added: Its located close to the city centre, and to work, has three bedrooms and a garden, and is in need of quite a bit of work that means we can gradually put our mark on the place - these were all big pluses for us. 

But news that the local neighbourhood was in line for redevelopment had completely passed her by. 

No hints were flagged by her estate agent or the seller, nor did any information emerge from legal checks.

The first day we moved in, my mum helped us, and we were so excited. On our wedding day we had been given two expensive bottles of champagne, one to toast the first home, and one for our first child, and it all felt perfect. 

The next morning everything changed.

Landing on the mat was a leaflet from local MP Shabana Mahmood asking for her views on the Ladywood regeneration plans. 

Further investigations by Fabiola revealed the house was inside the developments red zone, and earmarked for possible demolition.

We were devastated. Do we renovate as planned? Do we wait to have children? These were the questions we were asking ourselves.

Fabiola received a leaflet from MP Shabana Mahmood, explaining her home was earmarked to be demolished as part of the council plans for the area

The three-bed house in Lighthorne Avenue, Ladywood, was listed for £230,000

The deal for the Ladywood Project has not been signed off, and there have yet to be any planning applications submitted, so it remains a speculative project, despite all parties involved saying it is only a matter of time before the agreement is signed.

In response to our inquiries, Wentworth and Rose estate agents, who sold the property, said: We regret to learn of Ms. Fabiolas concerns regarding her recent property purchase, particularly in light of the proposed regeneration plans for Ladywood. 

At this stage, we understand that the regeneration initiative remains in the proposal phase and has not yet been formally approved.

We undertake significant efforts to ensure that any material information provided by sellers, which could impact prospective buyers, is appropriately disclosed during the listing process. 

In this instance, it is unfortunate that the buyers appointed representatives did not flag this proposal as part of their due diligence review. 

We extend our best wishes to Ms. Fabiola as she works towards a satisfactory outcome with her representatives.

Negotiations between the council and Berkeley Homes are ongoing. 

Affected residents whose homes will be earmarked to go will be offered settlement terms and, ultimately, could be subject to a compulsory purchase order.

Fabiola said she had been saving up for most of her life to buy the three-bedroom property

Fabiola claims she was not informed about the prospective redevelopment before moving in

Fabiola said: Please dont gentrify this area. They should focus on improving what is already there. 

Add luxury flats if necessary by building on neglected or abandoned areas of the neighbourhood; create more affordable homes too. But dont pull down decent homes.

The Ladywood Unite campaign group, which is lobbying on behalf of affected residents, says Fabiola is not the only new buyer impacted, with other stories emerging of people moving in unaware of the proposals. 

On the flip side, existing residents who want to sell fear the area is already blighted because of the scheme, despite it not yet being formalised.

Paul Langford, Birmingham City Councils strategic director of city housing, said negotiations were ongoing with Berkeley Homes St Joseph to secure the best deal for the city, including ensuring the project included more affordable and social housing. 

The agreement will be signed once those negotiations conclude.

Individual conversations with the hundreds of households affected can then properly begin, he said, adding the redevelopment would run in phases over the next 20 years. 

These are peoples homes and lives and we are absolutely committed to ensuring that if they are impacted they have a full range of options available to them to get the best alternative home for them. 

We understand that everyone will have a different need, and want a different outcome, and we need to have those individual conversations.