204-474: Nechells ( / ˈ n iː tʃ ə l z / ) is a district ward in central Birmingham , England , whose population in 2011 was 33,957. It is also a ward within the formal district of Ladywood . Nechells local government ward includes areas, for example parts of Birmingham city centre, which are not part of the historic district of Nechells as such, now often referred to in policy documents as "North Nechells, Bloomsbury and Duddeston". Early recorded versions of
408-510: A Eurostat measure of the functional city-region approximated to local government districts, had a population of 2,357,100 in 2004. In addition to Birmingham itself, the LUZ ( West Midlands conurbation ) includes the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley , Sandwell , Solihull and Walsall , along with the districts of Lichfield , Tamworth , North Warwickshire and Bromsgrove . Beyond this is
612-704: A Housing Action Trust in North Hull . After further research, he recommended this to Dick Knowles, then leader of Birmingham City Council, for Castle Vale. He produced a presentation to the council in Autumn 1991 to convince the council of the potential of the scheme. The following day, the council approached the Department for the Environment, the predecessor to the Department for Communities and Local Government , on how to approach
816-472: A Lord Mayoralty was conferred on Birmingham by Letters Patent on 3 June 1896. Birmingham's ten parliamentary constituencies are represented in the House of Commons as of 2024 by one Conservative , one independent and eight Labour MPs . Originally part of Warwickshire , Birmingham expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, absorbing parts of Worcestershire to the south and Staffordshire to
1020-542: A conurbation with the borough of Solihull to the south east, and with the city of Wolverhampton and the industrial towns of the Black Country to the north west, which form the West Midlands Built-up Area covering 59,972 ha (600 km ; 232 sq mi). Surrounding this is Birmingham's metropolitan area – the area to which it is closely economically tied through commuting – which includes
1224-410: A Section 114 notice to say that it could not meet its financial commitments. Effectively this meant the council was bankrupt. A major contributing factor is a £1.1b sum that has been paid out since 2010, for equal pay claims. There is still a bill for £760m, increasing by £14m a month. There are also problems with a new IT system that was projected to cost £19m but is now closer to £100m. In addition there
1428-499: A bath when the police arrived at his vicarage on Stanley Road. Austin Street itself, situated between Aston Church Road and Trevor Street at right angles to Nechells Park Road, no longer exists, having been built over by new housing. Early evidence of industrial, or rather small-scale craft activity in Nechells is given on Tomlinson's 1758 map which shows a slitting mill used as a stage in
1632-565: A bid for £450,000 to the Government's Crime Reduction Programme which led to the installation of 29 new CCTV cameras. ValeWatch also allowed the HAT to tackle the source of crime in the estate and, in 1998, evicted the ringleaders of the Green Box Gang, which was small, notorious gang consisting mainly of teenage troublemakers. These were the first evictees from the estate. In Autumn 2000, CVHAT sought
1836-491: A broader range of specialist, higher-skilled and more lucrative activities. By the time of the English Civil War Birmingham's booming economy, its expanding population, and its resulting high levels of social mobility and cultural pluralism , had seen it develop new social structures very different from those of more established areas. Relationships were built around pragmatic commercial linkages rather than
2040-458: A bungalow development aimed at disabled people on Howes Croft which was completed in 1999. Later on, Axis were also involved in the design of a low-energy courtyard development with 21 bungalows on Tangmere Drive and Drem Croft, and also with the design of 22 rented family homes on Bond Drive in 2000. Their final work in Castle Vale was related to the construction of 42 houses and flats in phase 2 of
2244-562: A century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years. The principal governing institutions of medieval Birmingham – including the Guild of the Holy Cross and the lordship of the de Birmingham family – collapsed between 1536 and 1547, leaving
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#17328554535412448-512: A change at Castle Bromwich Aerodrome and it was requisitioned by the War Office for use by the Royal Flying Corps and flying schools in 1915. No. 5 Flying School was established at the aerodrome in the same year. Pilots were accommodated in tents and huts located around the site and on 1 September 1915, 19 Squadron was established at the aerodrome. In the interwar years , the aerodrome had
2652-614: A charity established in 2015 with the aim of "offering a range of services and activities that will support, help, inspire, nurture and empower Nechells residents". Based on Oliver Street, Nechells POD also houses Bloomsbury Library since library services were transferred from the original library Building. Sports facilities are provided at the Heartlands High Community Leisure Centre and the Nechells Community Sports Centre. The Villa Tavern pub at
2856-587: A clergyman was called. He had fired an unloaded air pistol from the window of his house in Austin Street. According to the Birmingham Post , several hundred people had watched the police try to arrest the man who had effectively laid siege to the street. Rev. Evans eventually persuaded the man to give himself up and accompanied the unemployed man as he surrendered to the police. Rev. Evans, who served in Nechells from 1952 to 1964, told reporters that had been taking
3060-411: A complex with primary schools and the demolition of the towers would necessitate the demolition of the schools, which the HAT and Birmingham City Council wanted to avoid. To regenerate the shopping area in the centre of the estate, Associated Architects and Gillespies were appointed to produce a masterplan for the site to include new shopping facilities and other community facilities. Preparations for
3264-410: A concrete wall collapsed at the plant of Hawkeswood Metal Recycling on Trevor Street. Following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court in 2022, two directors of the firm that ran the plant were convicted of health and safety offences which lead to the men's deaths. In 2023 the two men were each sentenced to nine months imprisonment at Birmingham Crown Court. A distribution warehouse for FairShare Midlands
3468-534: A considerable urban heat island effect. During the coldest night recorded, 14 January 1982, the temperature fell to −20.8 °C (−5.4 °F) at Birmingham Airport, but just −14.3 °C (6.3 °F) at Edgbaston, near the city centre. Birmingham is a snowy city relative to other large UK conurbations, due to its inland location and comparatively high elevation. Between 1961 and 1990 Birmingham Airport averaged 13.0 days of snow lying annually, compared to 5.33 at London Heathrow . Snow showers often pass through
3672-506: A constantly diversifying range of products, in a highly entrepreneurial economy of small, often self-owned workshops. This led to exceptional levels of inventiveness: between 1760 and 1850 – the core years of the Industrial Revolution – Birmingham residents registered over three times as many patents as those of any other British town or city. The demand for capital to feed rapid economic expansion also saw Birmingham grow into
3876-457: A depot on Long Acre, on the site of the former Aston motive power depot . The privately owned St Clements Nursing Home at the junction of Nechells Park Road and Stanley Road was built on land formerly occupied by St. Clement's Vicarage . A notable feature of the commercial life of present-day Nechells is the headquarters of the Wing Yip Chinese food and restaurant business which occupies
4080-521: A dual military and civilian function. In these early days, it was the busiest airport in the area due to its passenger, post and railway air business. A large tract of land adjacent to the airfield was marked out for the British Industries Fair (BIF) in 1920, which was advertised nationally. In 1937, more hangars and a Squadron Headquarters were built for the Royal Air Force and in 1939, it
4284-502: A final attempt to convince the council, he proposed a 'garden city' layout for the Castle Bromwich Airfield site in 1963. This too was rejected and, as a result, Fidler resigned from his position. He was quickly succeeded by J. R. Sheridan-Shedden, the deputy City Architect who held the position temporarily. Upon taking the position, he designed a revised masterplan for the Castle Bromwich Airfield estate. The new masterplan used
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#17328554535414488-402: A handful of widely-spread homesteads . In the 1950s and 60s the name was adopted for the re-developed area of Ashted, Duddeston and Vauxhall to the south-west of Nechells itself. Nechells became a densely populated area during the 19th century, with mass development of houses and factories taking place. Mass immigration occurred from Ireland . In 1868 it was described thus: Developments in
4692-576: A haven for Nonconformists from the 1660s. By 1700 Birmingham's population had increased fifteen-fold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the cultural phenomenon now known as the Midlands Enlightenment . The town developed into a notable centre of literary , musical , artistic and theatrical activity; and its leading citizens – particularly
4896-450: A hermitage, a bake house and farm buildings were built for them, although St Mary's Chapel was demolished in the 15th century after it fell into disrepair. Under the ownership of Leicester Abbey, the Arden family became tenants, despite having owned the land previously. In 1356–7, Sir John de Arderne briefly gained ownership of the property but the abbey regained it in 1360. Donations were made by
5100-411: A long aviation history being associated with the area. Castle Bromwich Aerodrome was established on the site and operated from 1914 to 1960, being a major airfield in both World Wars and also having industrial importance as the testing facility for locally manufactured aeroplanes and the location for the British Industries Fair . Despite being steeped in aviation history, Castle Vale became infamous from
5304-449: A long time. The economic downturns of the 1970s and 1980s saw the local manufacturing industry hit hard and unemployment on Castle Vale soared. By the late 1980s, unemployment on the estate stood at around 28% – around four times the national average at the time. West Midlands Police struggled to operate on the estate due to recurring incidents and also incidents where officers were attacked by youths. The lack of law enforcement led to
5508-612: A major financial centre with extensive international connections. Lloyds Bank was founded in the town in 1765, and Ketley's Building Society , the world's first building society , in 1775. By 1800 the West Midlands had more banking offices per head than any other region in Britain, including London. Innovation in 18th-century Birmingham often took the form of incremental series of small-scale improvements to existing products or processes, but also included major developments that lay at
5712-473: A major construction programme was needed to deal with problem. By 1950, Birmingham City Council had been constructing municipal housing to accommodate the rising population of Birmingham and to accommodate those who had been displaced by the slum clearances in the inner-city areas of the city, similar to the process which had started some 30 years earlier when the first council houses were built. Municipal house construction developed into high-rise construction in
5916-504: A population density of 3,400 people per km. The broad ethnic breakdown of the population is: Asian 13.5%; White 15%; Black 65%; Mixed 3.5%; and others 3%. The largest ethnic groups are: White British (12%); Pakistani (9%); African (60%) mainly Somali, Sudanese and Eritrean; Caribbean (8%) and Bangladeshi (11%). The Census also shows that Nechells has a young population with 29% of residents under 18 years old (compared with 25% in Birmingham as
6120-456: A population of 1.145 million in the city proper . Birmingham borders the Black Country to its west and, together with the city of Wolverhampton and towns including Dudley and Solihull , forms the West Midlands conurbation . The royal town of Sutton Coldfield is incorporated within the city limits to the northeast. The wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million, making it
6324-521: A record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak , two tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in Erdington and Selly Oak – with six tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider West Midlands county. More recently, a destructive T6/F3 tornado occurred in July 2005 in the south of the city, damaging homes and businesses in the area. The tornado took an almost parallel path to that of
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6528-459: A result of a partnership between Birmingham's Social Services Department, CVHAT, Walker Troup Architects, and design and build contractor Lovell Partnerships. The children's home was part of a larger housing scheme by Lovell Partnerships and designed by Walker Troup Architects which proved to be the last large-scale residential construction project for the HAT. The scheme consisted of 237 homes, of which, 211 were for rent and 26 were offered for sale in
6732-505: A shared ancestor, or a mythical tribal figurehead. Place names ending in -ingahām are characteristic of primary settlements established during the early phases of Anglo-Saxon colonisation of an area, suggesting that Birmingham was probably in existence by the early 7th century at the latest. Surrounding settlements with names ending in -tūn ('farm'), -lēah ('woodland clearing'), -worð ('enclosure') and -field ('open ground') are likely to be secondary settlements created by
6936-492: A single black box later described by an official American historian as "the most valuable cargo ever brought to our shores". The city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s. This included the construction of large tower block estates, such as Castle Vale . The Bull Ring was reconstructed and New Street station was redeveloped. In the decades following World War II, the ethnic makeup of Birmingham changed significantly, as it received waves of immigration from
7140-669: A site at Nechells Green bounded by Thimblemill Lane, Long Acre, Nechells Park Road and Railway Terrace. This site opened in 1992, was expanded considerably in 1996 and now includes a business centre serving the Chinese community and a food superstore. Also on Thimble Mill Lane, the Aston Manor Brewery started production in 1993 and produces beer, cider and perry. It is capable of producing 24,000 bottles per hour. On 7 July 2016, five workers, Almamo Jammeh, Ousman Diaby, Bangally Dikoureh, Salibo Sillah and Muhamdou Jagana lost their lives when
7344-458: A station named "Bloomsbury and Nechells " was situated slightly to the north of the present Duddeston station. Bus service to Nechells began in the 1850s. Osborne's railway timetable for January 1858 lists an omnibus service from the Town Hall to Nechells Green and Bloomsbury consisting of eight return journeys per day and operated by Lamyman and Monk. The fare was four pence . These services were
7548-601: A steam locomotive used at the site, "Nechells No.4", has been preserved and is operating on the Chasewater Railway in Staffordshire See main article: Nechells power stations The second of the two gasworks was the setting - in an "obscure suburb on the eastern side of Birmingham", according to one historian, - for the so-called Battle of Saltley Gate in February 1972, a confrontation between striking mineworkers,
7752-451: A survey in 2004 found that 39% of respondents earned between £5,000 and £10,000, with nearly a third earning less than £5,000. In 2004, the estate remained just outside the top 10% most deprived areas in England. Crime rates remained largely unaffected in Castle Vale until towards the end of the HAT's existence. Crime rates began to fall in 2001, and between 2000 and 2004, the number of crimes committed in Castle Vale reduced by 36%, although
7956-517: A swampy area which was prone to flooding and with poor quality soil for agriculture. The hall was eventually demolished although the moat still remained into the 20th century. A later house (Berwood Hall) was built outside the moat, which was eventually the site of Berwood Hall Farm. A mill stood in Berwood on Plants Brook in the 15th century. In 1789, the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal was completed to
8160-538: A tourist attraction in the early 1900s. Birmingham has a temperate maritime climate ( Cfb according to the Köppen climate classification ), like much of the British Isles, with average maximum temperatures in summer (July) being around 21.3 °C (70.3 °F); and in winter (January) around 6.7 °C (44.1 °F). Between 1971 and 2000 the warmest day of the year on average was 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) and
8364-424: A whole). The median age of Nechells residents is 25 years as opposed to 32 years in Birmingham as a whole. Only 7% of people are 65 years or older (compared with 13% in Birmingham as a whole). More than half of the children growing up in Nechells are in families defined as being in child poverty. Whilst it is notable in Birmingham for being the area with the highest rate of unemployment, crime and poverty, it has been
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8568-442: A wide variety of specialised and highly skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation; this provided an economic base for prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century. The Watt steam engine was invented in Birmingham. The resulting high level of social mobility also fostered a culture of political radicalism which, under leaders from Thomas Attwood to Joseph Chamberlain ,
8772-564: Is a projected £87m deficit for the financial year 23/24. Birmingham City Council has 101 councillors representing 77 wards as of 2018. Its headquarters are at the Council House in Victoria Square . As of 2023 , the council has a Labour Party majority and is led by John Cotton. Labour replaced the previous no overall control status at the May 2012 elections. The honour and dignity of
8976-565: Is above 60" and Bloomsbury Library of 1892 on Nechells Parkway, described as "a typical vigorous example of the red brick and terracotta school for municipal building at the end of the 19th century.". The London and North Western Railway 's line from Stechford to Aston cut across Nechells Park Road and neighbouring streets when it opened in 1880, as had the Grand Junction Railway from Liverpool and Manchester to Birmingham in order to reach its temporary terminus at Vauxhall in 1837. After
9180-499: Is home to Star City – a vast entertainment complex that houses shops, restaurants, a 22-lane bowling centre (Tenpin, formerly Megabowl), a casino, a hotel and Vue Cinema which, with thirty screens, is one of the largest multiplexes in Europe. Star City has been described as a "palace of pleasure...feeding and entertaining groups from families to young couples to children's parties". Community activities are now centred around Nechells POD,
9384-647: Is located in the centre of the West Midlands region of England on the Birmingham Plateau – an area of relatively high ground, ranging between 500 and 1,000 feet (150 and 300 metres) above sea level and crossed by Britain's main north–south watershed between the basins of the Rivers Severn and Trent . To the immediate south west of the city lie the Lickey Hills , Clent Hills and Walton Hill , which reach 1,033 feet (315 m) and have extensive views over
9588-564: Is now dominated by the service sector . The city is a major international commercial centre and an important transport, retail, events and conference hub. Its metropolitan economy is the second-largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $ 121.1bn (2014 ). Its five universities, including the University of Birmingham , make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham's major cultural institutions –
9792-486: Is often said that the three main roads on the estate were the original runways on the airfield, but this is not true. Aerial photographs from the Second World War and afterwards clearly show a triangular runway layout typical of British military airfields of that era, with none of them aligned to the modern day roads. At the end of World War II, one third of housing within Birmingham was declared unfit for habitation and
9996-501: Is particularly a large community of Asian descent, especially from Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi backgrounds, as well as Afro-Caribbeans from the Commonwealth , and a solid Chinese presence through migrants from the former colony of Hong Kong . Birmingham also has an older Irish connection, with the city having the largest population of Irish in mainland Britain and home to its only Irish quarter, Digbeth . In Birmingham, 65.9% of
10200-523: Is said to have reached a height of 50 ft (15 m), making it the first flight in Birmingham. The site's suitability was investigated and it soon became the Castle Bromwich private aerodrome . By 1911, a pilot was giving demonstration flights in a Bleriot monoplane . In the London to Manchester air race of 1914, competitors stopped at the aerodrome for refuelling. The start of World War I meant
10404-478: Is served by one Labour councillor, Lee Marsham . Nechells has adopted a Ward Support Officer. Birmingham Birmingham ( / ˈ b ɜːr m ɪ ŋ ə m / BUR -ming-əm ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England . It is the second-largest city in Britain – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom – with
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#173285545354110608-573: Is situated at the Metro Triangle on Mount Street. This warehouse distributes foodstuffs to food banks across Birmingham. In addition to the Church of God of Prophecy, mentioned above, other active places of worship include Nechells Methodist Church on Nechells Park Road and the Ebenezer Mission Hall on Cook Street. The 2021 Population Census found that 33,957 people lived in the ward with
10812-757: The Anglican Diocese of Birmingham was created in 1905. There are two other cathedrals: St Chad's , seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham and the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew . The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands is also based at Birmingham, with a cathedral under construction. The original parish church of Birmingham, St Martin in
11016-538: The Battle of Britain held at the airfield. Civilian flights returned, including the first scheduled helicopter service from London. The buildings that were used for the BIF were sold as storage units for various companies. In March 1960, the airfield was closed as a result of the impending expansion of the airport at Elmdon and in 1962, the airfield site, the BIF site and nearby farmland
11220-661: The Birmingham Political Union bringing the country to the brink of civil war during the Days of May that preceded the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832. The Union's meetings on Newhall Hill in 1831 and 1832 were the largest political assemblies Britain had ever seen. Lord Durham , who drafted the Act, wrote that "the country owed Reform to Birmingham, and its salvation from revolution". This reputation for having "shaken
11424-602: The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal , Holborn Hill and Long Acre; and a building shown as "Park Mills (Edge Tool)" is shown on Wharton Street, again adjoining the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal, which runs parallel at some points to the River Rea , both forming an eastern boundary of Nechells. Later in the 20th century Nechells was chosen as the location of two gasworks , in Windsor Street and Nechells Place, Two coal-fired power stations were situated on land now occupied by
11628-469: The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra , Birmingham Royal Ballet , Birmingham Repertory Theatre , Library of Birmingham and Barber Institute of Fine Arts – enjoy international reputations, and the city has vibrant and influential grassroots art , music , literary and culinary scenes. Birmingham was the host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games . In 2021, Birmingham was the third most visited city in
11832-514: The Commonwealth of Nations and beyond. The city's population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents. 21 people were killed and 182 were injured in a series of bomb attacks in 1974, thought to be carried out by the Provisional IRA . The bombings were the worst terror attacks in England up until the 2005 London bombings and consisted of bombs being planted in two pubs in central Birmingham. Six men were convicted , who became known later as
12036-625: The Frisch–Peierls memorandum of 1940, the same year that the cavity magnetron , the key component of radar and later of microwave ovens , was invented by John Randall and Henry Boot . Details of these two discoveries, together with an outline of the first jet engine invented by Frank Whittle in nearby Rugby , were taken to the United States by the Tizard Mission in September 1940, in
12240-466: The Midlands Enlightenment and during the Industrial Revolution , which saw advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society . By 1791, it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising
12444-578: The Radburn Layout which consisted of super-blocks of housing, schools, retail and offices around a communal open space, a concept which was created by Clarence Stein in Radburn, New Jersey in 1929. The council attempted to limit the damage caused to their reputation as a result of the scandal surrounding the resignation of Fidler by agreeing to embark on the major building project at Castle Bromwich with five new goals. These were increasing housing output at
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#173285545354112648-624: The River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn , approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city centre . The city does however have numerous canals , collectively named the Birmingham Canal Navigations . Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during
12852-575: The Second World War , further immigration occurred from parts of the Commonwealth , mostly the Caribbean and the Indian sub-continent. By the 1950s, however, many of the homes in Nechells had been reduced to "slums" and were unfit for human habitation. People were living in homes without electricity, running water, bathrooms or indoor toilets. The Gas Works caused a continuous unpleasant smell. The bulk of
13056-488: The Soho Manufactory , pioneering the combination and mechanisation under one roof of previously separate manufacturing activities through a system known as "rational manufacture". As the largest manufacturing unit in Europe, this came to symbolise the emergence of the factory system . Most significant, however, was the development in 1776 of the industrial steam engine by James Watt and Matthew Boulton. Freeing for
13260-420: The Sutton Park Line was completed in 1879 and formed the eastern boundary of the area, roughly marking the boundary of the land in the Arden/Darcy dispute. In 1900, John Dunlop opened a tyre factory on the opposite side of the Chester Road to where the Castle Vale housing estate now stands and gradually expanded over the next few decades to become one of the largest and most recognisable tyre factories in
13464-405: The Victorian era , the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England. Birmingham was granted city status in 1889 by Queen Victoria . Joseph Chamberlain , mayor of Birmingham and later an MP, and his son Neville Chamberlain , who was Lord Mayor of Birmingham and later the British Prime Minister, are two of
13668-400: The iron foundry industry. The firm moved to Tamworth in the 1990s and is now a multinational business. At the corner of Long Acre and Plume Street stood the large factory of Verity's Ltd, a manufacturer of electrical motors, fans and electrical fittings. The company went into voluntary liquidation in 1959. Flights Hallmark , a coach and corporate vehicle operator, had its head office and
13872-457: The largest outside London. Located in the West Midlands region of England, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands . It is just west of the traditional centre point of England at Meriden , and is the most inland major city in the country, and lying north of the Cotswolds and east of the Shropshire Hills . Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly
14076-450: The 112-mile (180 km) London and Birmingham Railway of 1838. Birmingham schoolteacher Rowland Hill invented the postage stamp and created the first modern universal postal system in 1839. Alexander Parkes invented the first human-made plastic in the Jewellery Quarter in 1855. By the 1820s, the country's extensive canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources and fuel for industries. During
14280-454: The 1931 tornado. Notable tornadoes have also struck the city in 1923, 1946, 1951, 1998 and 1999, most of which being of T2-T4/F1-F2 intensity. There are 571 parks within Birmingham – more than any other European city – totalling over 3,500 hectares (14 sq mi) of public open space. The city has over six million trees, and 250 miles (400 kilometres) of urban brooks and streams. Sutton Park , which covers 2,400 acres (971 ha) in
14484-405: The 1970s onwards as a large scale example of a failed postwar overspill estate , which suffered from poor construction and maintenance, social deprivation and high levels of crime. The area became the focus of a targeted regeneration initiative, led by the Castle Vale Housing Action Trust (CVHAT) from 1993 to 2005, where the estate witnessed the demolition of many of its housing stock and facilities,
14688-471: The 1980s, with many of the original residents already coming from poor economic backgrounds in slums. The Birmingham Municipal Bank opened a branch in Castle Vale Shopping Centre but the last bank closed in 1987, leading to a greater reliance on illegal loan sharks . Additionally, the unemployment rate was on average 50% higher than the city average by 1992, and in some pockets of the estate,
14892-403: The 2001, 2011, and 2021 censuses, the proportion of Christians in Birmingham decreased from 59.1% to 46.1% to 34%, while the proportion of Muslims increased from 14.3% to 21.8% to 29.9% and the proportion of people with no religious affiliation increased from 12.4% to 19.3% to 24.1%. All other religions remained proportionately similar. St Philip's Cathedral was upgraded from church status when
15096-425: The 20th century amongst some older inhabitants of the area. The name "Nechells Green" originally referred to the triangle of land at the meeting point of the present Nechells Park Road, Nechells Place, Bloomsbury Street, Rocky Lane, Charles Arthur Street and Thimble Mill Lane. On Tomlinson's 1758 map the area was indeed shown as a village green surrounded by a few lanes and fields, and a sparse population consisting of
15300-517: The Arden family to the clergy and in 1244, a donation of land resulted in two priests being sent to the manor to maintain a shrine, pray for Sir William Arden and to assist travellers through the area. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, Thomas Arden purchased the property from King Henry VIII for £272 10s. The hall fell into disrepair and when it remained as just a shell, the property
15504-536: The Birmingham Six and sentenced to life imprisonment, who were acquitted after 16 years by the Court of Appeal . The convictions are now considered one of the worst British miscarriages of justice in recent times. The true perpetrators of the attacks are yet to be arrested. Birmingham remained by far Britain's most prosperous provincial city as late as the 1970s, with household incomes exceeding even those of London and
15708-559: The Birmingham-Derby and under the Aston-Stechford railways and Aston Church Road before continuing to Saltley and a new Curzon Street station . The site of the former Metro-Cammell works has been acquired for the construction of a depot and control centre for the new line. In May 2022 a new 92 metre long bridge was installed to carry the Aston-Stechford line over the future HS2 line and existing Birmingham to Derby railway. Nechells
15912-471: The Borough was divided into 13 wards. William Scholefield became the first Mayor and William Redfern was appointed as Town Clerk. Birmingham Town Police were established the following year. Birmingham's tradition of innovation continued into the 19th century. Birmingham was the terminus for both of the world's first two long-distance railway lines: the 82-mile (132 km) Grand Junction Railway of 1837 and
16116-711: The Bull Ring , is Grade II* listed . A short distance from Five Ways the Birmingham Oratory was completed in 1910 on the site of Cardinal Newman 's original foundation. There are several Christadelphian meeting halls in the city and the Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Group has its headquarters in Hall Green . Castle Vale Castle Vale is a housing estate located between Erdington , Minworth and Castle Bromwich . Currently Castle Vale makes up
16320-589: The CVHAT and a dentist's surgery. Construction of the rest of the retail park was completed in July 2000, with the Sainsbury's supermarket store opened on 29 July 2000. The demolition of the shopping centre and Concorde Tower resulted in 11,000 tonnes of concrete rubble, which was reused in the construction phase with the surplus being given to Project Wagtail. Schal consulted the community to distinguish how to minimise disruption on
16524-471: The Castle Vale Ward of Birmingham City Council which is part of Erdington constituency (having previously been part of Hodge Hill constituency until recent times), 6 miles (9 km) northeast of Birmingham city centre in England. The area has an approximate population of 10,000 people and has a distinctly modern residential character stemming from its history as a postwar overspill estate. The area
16728-732: The Enterprise Park and two shopping centres provided new employment opportunities to hundreds of people. Merlin Venture was created to provide employment opportunities to residents in a variety of sectors. Unemployment on the estate has dropped from 26% in 1993, to 5.6% in October 2004. The Castle Vale Credit Union was approved by the Registrar of Friendly Societies in September 1998, offering saving services and cheap loans. By June 2004, it had 640 members. Despite this, there are still high levels of poverty and
16932-554: The European Regional Development Fund. The park was completed ahead of schedule and officially opened by Alex Stephenson, chairman of Advantage West Midlands, in June 2000. Following its completion, approximately 200 jobs have been created. Crime was one of the significant issues affecting the residents of the estate and various initiatives were employed by CVHAT to reduce crime rates. Despite these measures, crime rose on
17136-528: The Farnborough Road tower blocks had been demolished by the end of 2000, with Vulcan House initially being retained as accommodation for doctors and nurses while improvements took place at NHS staff homes near to Heartlands Hospital . However, Vulcan House was significantly under-occupied for this purpose, and it was finally demolished in 2002. Andover, Hercules, Ternhill and Oakington Houses were demolished afterwards. By 2004, all remaining tower blocks, with
17340-495: The HAT and plans were drawn up with various architects and contractors to develop these sites, mainly for residential purposes to house the displaced families. Significant focus was placed on the quality of design and the use of low-energy features to make the estate more sustainable. New roads were constructed on the sites of the demolished tower blocks and often took the names of them, such as Avro Way, Lysander Boulevard and Trident Boulevard. Axis Design Collective became involved in
17544-420: The HAT, a ballot date of 18 March 1993 was announced. The ballot had a resident turnout of 74%, and the results were announced on 15 April 1993 with 92% voting in favour of the HAT. Castle Vale Housing Action Trust was formally established on 30 June 1993 and Angus Kennedy was appointed as Chief executive and the first permanent board member on 23 November 1993. The Housing Action Trust, locally known as "The HAT",
17748-403: The HAT. He entered negotiations with a Community Action Team, which had been established for the estate in 1992, to determine the size and composition of the board for the HAT. They agreed on a board of twelve members, with four resident representatives, three local authority councillors, and five independent members. Following campaigning by the council to convince residents to vote in favour of
17952-459: The Nechells tram route, the first time in the UK that a trolleybus-for-tram conversion had occurred and the first in the world to use double deck covered vehicles. The West Midlands bus route 8 , the "Inner Circle", also serves the western part of the area. When the planned High Speed 2 rail line from London to Birmingham is constructed, it will skirt the south-eastern edge of Nechells, running alongside
18156-553: The Rivers Tame, Rea and Cole and their tributaries. To the north and west of the fault, between 150 and 600 feet (46 and 183 metres) higher than the surrounding area and underlying much of the city centre, lies a long ridge of harder Keuper Sandstone . The bedrock underlying Birmingham was mostly laid down during the Permian and Triassic periods. The area has evidence of glacial deposits , with prominent erratic boulders becoming
18360-469: The South East, but its economic diversity and capacity for regeneration declined in the decades that followed World War II as Central Government sought to restrict the city's growth and disperse industry and population to the stagnating areas of Wales and Northern England . These measures hindered "the natural self-regeneration of businesses in Birmingham, leaving it top-heavy with the old and infirm", and
18564-539: The Star City complex. The first power station was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1923 and a larger plant, known as Nechells "B", opened in 1954. The B station had a capacity of 224 megawatts (MW) and generated 52.869 GWh of electricity in 1980–81. A small railway network was used by both power stations for the transport of coal from the main line railway at Saltley and within the plant. The power stations closed in 1982, but
18768-576: The UK by people from foreign nations. The name Birmingham comes from the Old English Beormingahām , meaning the home or settlement of the Beormingas – a tribe or clan whose name means 'Beorma's people' and which may have formed an early unit of Anglo-Saxon administration. Beorma , after whom the tribe was named, could have been its leader at the time of the Anglo-Saxon settlement,
18972-525: The Victorian era include the opening of St Clement's Church , designed by J. A. Chatwin , his first church, in 1859 (the church was largely demolished in 1977, with only the church hall and a short section of the south aisle remaining); and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in 1872 (incorporating the former chapel of the Roman Catholic cemetery, designed by A. W. Pugin and opened in 1850). The later church
19176-542: The Wake Green football club; Bartley and Frankley reservoirs; and Handsworth cemetery with surrounding golf courses. Birmingham has many areas of wildlife that lie in both informal settings such as the Project Kingfisher and Woodgate Valley Country Park and in a selection of parks such as Lickey Hills Country Park , Pype Hayes Park & Newhall Valley, Handsworth Park , Kings Heath Park , and Cannon Hill Park ,
19380-624: The Welsh capital Cardiff , 45 miles (72 km) south-west of Nottingham , 70 miles (110 km) south of Manchester , and 75 miles (121 km) north-north-east of Bristol . Much of the area now occupied by the city was originally a northern reach of the ancient Forest of Arden and the city remains relatively densely covered by oak in a large number of districts such as Moseley , Saltley , Yardley , Stirchley and Hockley . These places, with names ending in "-ley", deriving from Old English - lēah meaning "woodland clearing", are named after
19584-499: The age of 25 and the median age being 34 years of age, below the national average of 40. Religion in Birmingham (2021) Christianity is the largest religion within Birmingham, with 34% of residents identifying as Christians in the 2021 Census . The city's religious profile is highly diverse: outside London, Birmingham has the United Kingdom's largest Muslim , Sikh and Buddhist communities; its second largest Hindu community; and its seventh largest Jewish community. Between
19788-450: The airfield at Park Lane. Completed in April 2000 to a design by David Rowbotham Ltd., the business park provided 44 small to medium business units on a 3.64-acre (14,700 m ) site. Construction commenced in February 1999 with Galliford Midlands appointed as the contractor. The project cost £3.364 million, with funding coming from Advantage West Midlands, Castle Vale HAT, Ashtenne plc and
19992-620: The area during the Bronze Age , when a substantial but short-lived influx of population occurred between 1700 BC and 1000 BC, possibly caused by conflict or immigration in the surrounding area. During the 1st-century Roman conquest of Britain , the forested country of the Birmingham Plateau formed a barrier to the advancing Roman legions, who built the large Metchley Fort in the area of modern-day Edgbaston in AD ;48, and made it
20196-445: The area had been designated as a redevelopment area in 1937, but its regeneration was put off by some 20 years due to the Second World War. The face of Nechells changed dramatically during the 1960s, with the decaying Victorian terraces being cleared and the area redeveloped with new houses and tower blocks. Some families remained in the new homes that had been built around Nechells, but there were insufficient new homes to rehouse all of
20400-455: The area's original residents, and as a result some families moved to new housing estates like Castle Vale and Chelmsley Wood . The new homes were certainly a big improvement on their predecessors, but the area still suffered from rising unemployment and crime. The development of high rise flats in Nechells had actually started in the 1950s, and it was the home of Birmingham's very first tower block - Queens Tower, on Great Francis Street - which
20604-428: The balconies with the name 'Topcliffe' etched into it. These panels shield the antennas on the roof from view. The refurbishment was completed in May 2005 at a cost of £2.7 million. Farnborough Road and the immediate area became a hive of construction activity in CVHAT's existence. A self-build scheme was pioneered here by Birmingham Co-operative Housing Services and Accord Housing Association. Starting in May 2008,
20808-472: The baths were opened 22 June 1910. Facilities provided included a large swimming bath with a spectators' gallery and suites of private baths for men and women. The baths were immediately popular among the locals. Refurbishment work to the baths was completed in May 2007 by Welconstruct. It cost £5.5 million, with funding from Advantage West Midlands , the Heritage Lottery Fund and ERDF. Nechells ward
21012-462: The borough are designated as green belt , as a portion of the wider West Midlands Green Belt. This is a strategic local government policy used to prevent urban sprawl and preserve greenfield land . Areas included are the aforementioned Sutton Park; land along the borough boundary by the Sutton Coldfield, Walmley and Minworth suburbs; Kingfisher, Sheldon, Woodgate Valley country parks; grounds by
21216-481: The centre of the estate. Associated Architects and Gillespies were appointed as master planners and an outline planning application was approved in August 2002. Associated Architects were appointed for the design of buildings on the site including an educational complex named C3, a West Midlands Police sector base, and a new retail and office block. Planning consent for these were obtained in 2003 and 2004. The first phase of
21420-446: The city average. Only 8% continued into further education, compared with 55% for the rest of Birmingham. The schools themselves had unsustainably low student numbers and they found it difficult to persuade teachers to continue working in the area, as well as employing new teachers. There were also physical problems with the estate. While the design and layout had exacerbated some of the problems such as crime, there were also issues with
21624-465: The city became increasingly dependent on the motor industry . The recession of the early 1980s saw Birmingham's economy collapse, with unprecedented levels of unemployment and outbreaks of social unrest in inner-city districts. Since the turn of the 21st century, many parts of Birmingham have been transformed, with the redevelopment of the Bullring Shopping Centre , the construction of
21828-565: The city via the Cheshire gap on north westerly airstreams, but can also come off the North Sea from north easterly airstreams. Extreme weather is rare, but the city has been known to experience tornadoes . On 14 June 1931, an extremely damaging T6/F3 tornado struck the city, carving an 11-mile damage path through Hollywood, Hall Green, Sparkbrook, Tyseley, Greet and Small Heath, causing extensive damage and killing 1 woman. On 23 November 1981, during
22032-521: The city. Birmingham is drained only by minor rivers and brooks, primarily the River Tame and its tributaries the Cole and the Rea . Birmingham is located significantly inland, and its nearest body of sea is at Liverpool Bay . It lies at the same latitude as Lowestoft , Britain's easternmost settlement; it is therefore much more proximate to the western coast of Wales, at Cardigan Bay . The City of Birmingham forms
22236-549: The coldest night typically fell to −9.0 °C (15.8 °F). Some 11.2 days each year rose to a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above and 51.6 nights reported an air frost. The highest recorded temperature recorded at the Edgbaston Campus was 37.4 °C (99.3 °F), whilst a temperature of 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) was recorded at Birmingham Airport on the city's eastern edge, both recorded on 19 July 2022 . Like most other large cities, Birmingham has
22440-410: The community and for new offices to be constructed for the community organisations. Plans for an upgrade of the medical services were already advancing when the masterplan was being produced. The plans were later adjusted during demolition and recommended the demolition of 32 of 34 tower blocks, with the remaining two being refurbished. They were saved from demolition as they were constructed as part of
22644-474: The creation of a planned market town and seigneurial borough within his demesne or manorial estate, around the site that became the Bull Ring . This established Birmingham as the primary commercial centre for the Birmingham Plateau at a time when the area's economy was expanding rapidly, with population growth nationally leading to the clearance, cultivation and settlement of previously marginal land. Within
22848-415: The creation of approximately 600 jobs. Initially, 38% of those working at the retail park were local residents, but this figure increased to 95% within five years. Sainsbury's then worked closely with the community to help support the local radio station and football team. In total, the project cost £35 million. Another shopping area identified as needing significant redevelopment was Reed Square in
23052-474: The demolition of 1,416 homes including 17 of the 34 tower blocks and 24 of the 27 maisonette blocks. Of the tower blocks proposed for demolition were the Centre 8 blocks, four tower blocks on the northern section of the estate, one tower block which stood atop the main shopping centre (also earmarked for demolition) and four more tower blocks on the southern part of the estate. Up to 1,100 homes were to be constructed on
23256-423: The demolition of properties commenced as soon as the masterplan was approved. The first phase of preparations for demolition began in June 1995 when the first four of the "Centre 8" blocks were demolished. The other four blocks in this section were demolished a year later. The four "bison wall" tower blocks - Valiant, Meteor, Hermes and Ensign Houses - were demolished in 1997, along with Albert Shaw House. The decision
23460-480: The distant forerunners of the main bus service serving Nechells in 2019, the National Express West Midlands bus route 66 from Birmingham city centre to Sutton Coldfield via Erdington . This route is itself the successor of trolleybus route 7, which ran from the city centre to Nechells from 1922 to 1940 and the motorbus route 43 which replaced it in 1940. The trolleybuses had been substituted for
23664-467: The establishment of a Housing Action Trust at Castle Vale. In December 1991, Michael Heseltine announced to Parliament that Castle Vale had become the latest candidate for Housing Action Trust status. In 1992, Richard Temple Cox, a local architect, was appointed shadow chairman for the Housing Action Trust and was given the job of persuading residents on the estate to vote in favour of establishing
23868-409: The estate as well as improving the quality of life. Residents became more house proud and so kept their houses cleaner, reducing the risk of infections. People were also more willing to visit the newly constructed Health Village on Tangmere Drive. The lack of employment opportunities had led to a high unemployment rate and a dependence on loan sharks amongst residents on the estate. The construction of
24072-459: The estate by a further 4,000 homes, which was aimed to reduce the cost of dwellings, introducing industrialised forms of construction to save labour, attracting new national contractors to work in Birmingham, and increase capacity by providing continuous work for contractors. At a time when major house-building firms were receiving large subsidies from the Government for the construction and pioneering prefabricated, system-built tower blocks , there
24276-450: The estate until near the end of the HAT's existence. Initially, crime reduction measures were fragmented and poorly implemented. The establishment of ValeWatch in June 1997, a partnership between West Midlands Police and CVHAT which organised monthly meetings where intelligence on offenders was shared, brought about a more co-ordinated approach to tackling crime. In 1998, a series of Community Safety Forums were held which were public events for
24480-539: The estate, leading to the relocation of a bus-stop, the use of vibro-piling over rapid piling and also improvements to footpaths in the general area. Carillion Craft Training were brought in to employ residents on the estate to work on the construction to help tackle the unemployment rate. The opening of the Sainsbury's supermarket in the 64,000 sq ft (5,946 m ) anchor unit and 84,000 sq ft (7,804 m ) of non-food retail units, which are fully occupied by Comet , T.K. Maxx , Argos and ScS , led to
24684-476: The estate, while others became apparent at the end of CVHAT's existence. In 1992, the Health Needs Assessment stated that the average life expectancy of Castle Vale residents was 68.3 years, compared to the national average of 75.9 years. Between 1992 and 2005, the average life expectancy in Castle Vale rose by approximately seven years. This was the result of measures to tackle drug and alcohol abuse on
24888-407: The estate. By 2002, the HAT had constructed 1,486 new properties and reinstated 2,262 displaced households in the newly constructed or refurbished properties. Although there was a major focus on improving the housing stock on the estate, CVHAT had to tackle the other facilities and a major priority was the redevelopment of Castle Vale Shopping Centre. In 1996, Sainsbury's were invited to tender for
25092-665: The estate: fourteen along Farnborough Road, and the 'Centre 8', a group of eight large tower blocks in the centre of the estate. The following is a list of the tower blocks constructed on the estate. By the end of the 1960s, Castle Vale had a population of around 20,000 people, with the first residents moving into their new homes in 1964. Many of the new residents were of Irish descent , previously living in inner-city slums such as Aston and Nechells . As well as high-rise tower blocks, Castle Vale also had 27 four-storey blocks of maisonettes, three-storey blocks of flats, over 100 bungalows and hundreds of terraced and semi-detached houses. All
25296-422: The eviction of five families who were accused of persistently breaking their tenancy conditions. This was considered to be a landmark case as it used a multi-trial approach where all five families could be tried at once, saving the HAT time and money. A further 20 families were given Notices of Seeking Possession during 2000, and the HAT collated evidence and built cases against the families. During this time, some of
25500-401: The exception of Chivenor and Topcliffe House, had been demolished along with the remaining maisonette blocks and an additional 114 bungalows. Both of the surviving tower blocks were incorporated into neighbouring schools, and were earmarked for retention from the outset, as their demolition would have resulted in the need to build replacement schools elsewhere in the local area. Demolition work
25704-459: The exchange of knowledge between pure science and the practical world of manufacturing and technology. This created a "chain reaction of innovation", forming a pivotal link between the earlier Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution that would follow. Birmingham's explosive industrial expansion started earlier than that of the textile-manufacturing towns of the North of England , and
25908-613: The fabric of privilege to its base" in 1832 led John Bright to make Birmingham the platform for his successful campaign for the Second Reform Act of 1867, which extended voting rights to the urban working class. The original Charter of Incorporation , dated 31 October 1838, was received in Birmingham on 1 November, then read in the Town Hall on 5 November with elections for the first Birmingham Town Council being held on 26 December. Sixteen Aldermen and 48 Councillors were elected and
26112-429: The families improved their behaviour while others left the estate. Those that were taken to court saw cases that involved 112 witness statements, supported by covert surveillance footage in some instances. A major problem on the estate in the past was the presence of joyriders exploiting the straight main roads that ran the length of the estate. To tackle this, the HAT employed a traffic calming scheme in April 1998. This
26316-477: The final refurbishment project by the HAT in the area. A design competition was held for a high-profile design for the building with BM3 Architecture, the architects of the Chivenor House refurbishment, winning the competition. Metal balconies and brightly coloured louvres were installed on the building to radically change the exterior. The crown of the building is surrounded by metal panels similar to those used on
26520-458: The first importance" in the development of the mechanised cotton industry . In 1741 they opened the world's first cotton mill in Birmingham's Upper Priory. In 1746 John Roebuck invented the lead chamber process , enabling the large-scale manufacture of sulphuric acid , and in 1780 James Keir developed a process for the bulk manufacture of alkali , together marking the birth of the modern chemical industry . In 1765 Matthew Boulton opened
26724-426: The first time the manufacturing capacity of human society from the limited availability of hand, water and animal power, this was arguably the pivotal moment of the entire Industrial Revolution and a key factor in the worldwide increases in productivity over the following century. Birmingham rose to national political prominence in the campaign for political reform in the early 19th century, with Thomas Attwood and
26928-824: The focus of a great deal of urban regeneration by Birmingham City Council and the former Birmingham Heartlands Development Corporation . However, a report published in 2010 by the Birmingham Public Health Information Team concluded that: Two primary schools in Nechells have acquired academy status. They are Nechells Primary E-ACT Academy (the successor to Nechells Junior and Infants school and Hutton Street Board School before that) and Nechells Church of England Academy (the successor to St Clement's Church of England Primary School which opened next to St Clement's Church in Stuart Street in 1859). Nechells Secondary Modern school, for pupils aged 11–16, which
27132-627: The focus of a network of Roman roads . Birmingham was then later established by the Beormingas around the 6th or 7th century as a small settlement in the then heavily forested Arden region in Mercia . The development of Birmingham into a significant urban and commercial centre began in 1166, when the Lord of the Manor Peter de Bermingham obtained a charter to hold a market at his castle , and followed this with
27336-420: The following month. The master planners conducted an in-depth survey and public consultations with residents and local businesses over a six-month period to establish the issues within the estate and their causes. A draft masterplan followed by a refined document were sent to Birmingham City Council for their consideration. These plans, to be carried out for up to 12 years while the HAT was in existence, were for
27540-521: The former forest. Birmingham is dominated by the Birmingham Fault, which runs diagonally through the city from the Lickey Hills in the south west, passing through Edgbaston and the Bull Ring, to Erdington and Sutton Coldfield in the north east. To the south and east of the fault the ground is largely softer Mercia Mudstone , interspersed with beds of Bunter pebbles and crossed by the valleys of
27744-488: The ground floor to ensure security of access and part of the basement was linked to the school. A crèche was also provided. The stairwells were reglazed with Reglit glazing and new windows were provided in powder-coated aluminium frames, which were of better quality than the previous window frames. The refurbishment was completed in 2006 at a cost of £3 million. The refurbishment of Topcliffe House commenced in November 2003 as
27948-531: The heart of the emergence of industrial society . In 1709 the Birmingham-trained Abraham Darby I moved to Coalbrookdale in Shropshire and built the first blast furnace to successfully smelt iron ore with coke , transforming the quality, volume and scale on which it was possible to produce cast iron . In 1732 Lewis Paul and John Wyatt invented roller spinning , the "one novel idea of
28152-512: The homes remained cold in the winter. These issues regarding the construction were not confined to just the estate, but most other estates constructed in the Bison construction system. Birmingham City Council was eventually depleted of funds for the maintenance of the blocks and lift breakdowns became common, and were further aggravated by repairers refusing to work without security enforcement. They were also reports of teenage troublemakers setting fire to
28356-474: The houses had modern features that the houses of the slums lacked such as electricity, indoor toilets and central heating. Many of the houses also had gardens to the front and rear, while most of the flats in the tower blocks had private balconies. A competition for the name of the estate was held early in the estate's development and the chosen name was Castle Vale, submitted by a local schoolgirl. When residents moved into their new homes, most were pleased with
28560-409: The improvement. However, the demolition of the slums and breaking up of entire communities had made people feel unsettled. The modern features meant that residents had to adapt, for example, residents were now paying for underfloor heating when they were used to cheaper coal fires. Many residents began to resent being moved and became unhappy. Socially, the estate failed to develop into a community and
28764-494: The industry's products. By the 1600s Birmingham formed the commercial hub of a network of forges and furnaces stretching from South Wales to Cheshire and its merchants were selling finished manufactured goods as far afield as the West Indies . These trading links gave Birmingham's metalworkers access to much wider markets, allowing them to diversify away from lower-skilled trades producing basic goods for local sale, towards
28968-455: The junction of Nechells Park Road and Holborn Hill displays the date "1897" as the year in which it was built. However, the present building dates from 1924 to 1925 and is a rebuilding of the original pub on this site by the architect Matthew J. Butcher. It is a Grade II listed building . Nechells Baths on Nechells Park Road is also Grade II listed. Plans for baths to be constructed in the Nechells ward came about in 1900 when representatives from
29172-466: The late-1970s, with violent incidents also increasing in number. The problems continued into the 1980s with the top of Concorde Tower becoming a popular vantage point for teenagers to watch joyriders speed along the straight main roads (often in stolen cars), and to watch the police chase them. Castle Vale had six pubs, (Trade Winds, Albatross, Trees, Skylark, Artful Dodger and Lancaster), but all had closed by 1996, having been associated with drug dealing for
29376-476: The later expansion of the Anglo-Saxon population, in some cases possibly on earlier British sites. There is evidence of early human activity in the Birmingham area dating back to around 8000 BC, with Stone Age artefacts suggesting seasonal settlements, overnight hunting parties and woodland activities such as tree felling. The many burnt mounds that can still be seen around the city indicate that modern humans first intensively settled and cultivated
29580-522: The latter also housing the mini zoo, Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park . The 2021 census recorded 1,144,900 people living in Birmingham, an increase of around 6.7% from 2011 when 1,073,045 were recorded. It is the 27th largest city in Europe by population within its city boundary. Birmingham's continuous urban area extends beyond the city's boundaries: the Birmingham Larger Urban Zone ,
29784-481: The length of the estate, commenced in 1963 and the first residents moved in a year later. The estate was completed in 1969. Reinforced concrete was the main material used due to its low cost and ease of use. 30% of the houses constructed were intended for private sale, an unusually high percentage, with most of the privately sold houses being around the Park Lane area of the estate. As well as residential properties, there
29988-462: The manufacture of nails situated at a point towards the northern end of what was to become Nechells Park Road. On Ordnance Survey 1:2500 maps of 1902 and 1904 there is much evidence of industry in the early 20th century: Nechells Chemical Works and Birmingham Paper Mill were located adjacent to the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal at the eastern end of Cattells Grove; a Tube Works, Stove Works and Varnish Works were situated in an area bounded by
30192-465: The members of the Lunar Society of Birmingham – became influential participants in the circulation of philosophical and scientific ideas among Europe's intellectual elite. The close relationship between Enlightenment Birmingham's leading thinkers and its major manufacturers – in men like Matthew Boulton and James Keir they were often in fact the same people – made it particularly important for
30396-546: The mid-1950s with the guidance of Alwyn Sheppard Fidler , the City Architect of Birmingham . By 1962, however, the city council was demolishing more houses than it was constructing and Fidler urged the council to adopt the French Camus system which consisted of housing at a density of approximately 50 houses per hectare and 80 people per acre. The council refused this and demanded 48 homes per hectare with 75 people per acre. In
30600-425: The most well-known political figures who have lived in Birmingham. The city established its own university in 1900. The city suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II 's " Birmingham Blitz ". The city was also the scene of two scientific discoveries that were to prove critical to the outcome of the war. Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls first described how a practical nuclear weapon could be constructed in
30804-537: The name include Echeles (about 1180), Le Echeles (1290) and Le Necheles (1322). The latter form of the name derives from "atten Eccheles", "belonging to the Eccheles ", an Old English word meaning "land added to a village or estate". The philologist Eilert Ekwall speculated that a more precise meaning could be "land added by clearing", or "land added by draining a marsh". In the Middle English period, following
31008-594: The new Library of Birmingham (the largest public library in Europe) and the regeneration of old industrial areas such as Brindleyplace , The Mailbox and the International Convention Centre , as well as the rationalisation of the Inner Ring Road . In 1998 Birmingham hosted the 24th G8 summit . The city successfully hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games . On 5 September 2023 Birmingham city council issued
31212-543: The north and west. The city absorbed Sutton Coldfield in 1974 and became a metropolitan borough in the new West Midlands county . A top-level government body, the West Midlands Combined Authority , was formed in April 2016. The WMCA holds devolved powers in transport, development planning, and economic growth. The authority is governed by a directly elected mayor , similar to the Mayor of London . Birmingham
31416-467: The north of the area which gradually encouraged an industrial presence along it. In 1881, W. W. Bagot sold 344 acres (1 km ) of land in Berwood to the Birmingham, Tame and Rea District Drainage Board , and a further 358 acres (1 km ) were sold to the Board on 29 September 1888. Home Farm was in the north west corner, near Tyburn House, and the land consisted of a large orchard, however its main function
31620-528: The north of the city, is the largest urban park in Europe and a national nature reserve . Birmingham Botanical Gardens , located close to the city centre, retains the regency landscape of its original design by J. C. Loudon in 1829, while the Winterbourne Botanic Garden in Edgbaston reflects the more informal Arts and Crafts tastes of its Edwardian origins. Several green spaces within
31824-723: The owner of the Forward Gas Engine Company of Birmingham that he was offered the position of assistant works manager at their factory near Bloomsbury Street where he made various improvements to the equipment produced by this company. Lanchester resigned from the company in 1893 and went on to produce the first all-British four-wheel petrol car. A sculpture, the Lanchester Car Monument , was built in Bloomsbury Village Green to commemorate Lanchester's work. Nearby, on Lingard Street, close to Bloomsbury Library,
32028-407: The plans of the buildings in the future. The buildings are clad in cedar cladding and Tresca panels. For water conservation, low flush toilets, aerated taps and water butts were installed. Altogether, the scheme cost £958,000, with an average unit cost of £87,000. Refurbishment projects were carried out on the remaining tower blocks and three-storey blocks of flats. The first of the refurbishments of
32232-540: The police and the West Midlands Gas Board over the picketing mineworkers' attempt to prevent the transport of coke from the gasworks. In labour history and mythology, the name "Saltley Gate" (or "Gates") has persisted, despite the locale for the incident being in Nechells. Nechells played a part in the development of the petrol-driven internal combustion motor car. At the age of twenty and with no formal qualifications, Frederick William Lanchester so impressed
32436-420: The population were aged between 15 and 64, higher than when compared to the national average of 64.1% in England and Wales. Furthermore, 20.9% of the population were aged under 15, higher than the national average of 17.4% while the population aged over 65 was 13.1%, which was lower than the national average of 18.6% respectively. Birmingham is one of the youngest cities in Europe with 40% of its population below
32640-532: The population were born outside the UK, an increase of 4.5% percentage points from 2011. Figures showed that the five largest foreign-born groups living in Birmingham were born in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Romania and Jamaica. In 2011, 57% of primary and 52% of secondary pupils were from non-White British families. As of 2021, 31.6% of school pupils in Birmingham were White , 37.7% were Asian , 12.6% were Black , 9.7% were Mixed race and 8.4% were Other. There
32844-418: The process of language change known as metanalysis , only the "n" in "atten" remained in oral usage and became assimilated to "Eccheles". So, n+Eccheles became the "Nechells" (pronunciation niːt͡ʃl̩z ) of modern usage. However, the pronunciation net͡ʃl̩z was also current, as indicated by the spelling of Tomlinson's Map of Duddeston and Netchells , published in 1758. This pronunciation was also to be heard in
33048-448: The quality of construction of the buildings. The design of the estate was based around three main roads – Farnborough Road, Tangmere Drive and Yatesbury Avenue – which were wide and straight, lending themselves to joyriders. Many pockets of the estate were hidden from view allowing muggings to take place, as well as drug dealing and drug taking. They became litter traps and fly-tipping could occur with ease. The design of individual buildings
33252-436: The redevelopment of the shopping centre, which they won. The company commenced a period of consultation with the community and produced a planning application for the construction of a retail park on the site with 700 car parking spaces. Schal, the construction management company of Carillion , were appointed as contractors for the scheme. The first phase to be constructed was an office and retail block which became occupied by
33456-537: The refurbishment of remaining properties, and the construction of new housing and facilities along with the remodelling of the estate, funded both privately and publicly. The site has historically been a wooded area with a post- Domesday manor, although its construction date is not known. In 1160, the Manor of Berwood was given to the Abbey of St. Mary de Pratis at Leicester by the Arden family. A moated house, St Mary's Chapel,
33660-602: The regeneration of the estate from 1995, being involved in the consultation of the design of new-build residential properties. They first worked on the Neighbourhood Strategy for the area surrounding Sopwith Croft between 1995 and 1996. This led to their involvement in the design of 42 rented homes in the Sopwith Croft area which were built from 1998 to 2000. During the same period, 33 infill homes and bungalows were constructed on Neville Walk and Chigwell Close, as well as
33864-496: The residents feeling intimidated and helpless on the estate. In the 1980s, the police tried an alternative approach called Community Policing where hot spots for crime were tackled with more officers. The scheme received national attention but was considered to not be drastic enough to deal with the problems on the estate. By 1992, 41% of residents said they were victims of crime and 55% said they were afraid to go out at night. The economic situation for most residents declined through
34068-419: The residents were in poor economic situations. The start of the decline of the estate began in the 1970s when crime rates started to increase. Rent payments were initially collected by the 'rent man' who went from door-to-door, but muggings meant the service was withdrawn in the mid to late-1970s and rent had to be paid at the local post office in the shopping centre. Drug dealing also started becoming prominent in
34272-413: The residents where they could express concerns that they had. These meetings were attended by approximately 200 people. Working groups, which consisted of residents, CVHAT staff and agency representatives, were set up as a result of the forums to tackle specific issues affecting the estate. One working group focussed on the use of CCTV on the estate to improve surveillance on troublespots. The HAT submitted
34476-399: The rigid paternalism and deference of feudal society , and loyalties to the traditional hierarchies of the established church and aristocracy were weak. The town's reputation for political radicalism and its strongly Parliamentarian sympathies saw it attacked by Royalist forces in the Battle of Birmingham in 1643, and it developed into a centre of Puritanism in the 1630s and as
34680-402: The scheme involved the construction of 14 mock-Tudor style homes by their future tenants. At the project's outset, those involved in the construction of the buildings were unemployed but had gained full-time jobs by the project's completion. Another construction project was Farnborough Road children's home, the first children's home in the city for 20 years. The eight-bed centre was constructed as
34884-584: The scheme is £26 million, with funding coming from the European Regional Development Fund , the Learning and Skills Council , Birmingham City Council, the Home Office and Castle Vale Community Housing Association. Further employment opportunities for the estate were provided through the construction of Enterprise Park in the east of the estate, on the site of the last remaining hangars for
35088-445: The scheme regarded implementation of infrastructural improvements for the area, such as the construction of Castle Vale High Street and a public square around St. Cuthberts Church. Bluestone plc were appointed as contractors for this phase following a competitive tender process. This phase was completed in November 2004, along with the retail and office units. The police sector base was completed in October 2004. The estimated total cost of
35292-616: The scheme to redevelop the site of Concorde Tower in 2000. In total, Axis designed 200 new properties in Castle Vale. In the Watton Green area of the estate, eleven houses were completed in February 2001 with a focus on low-energy features. Designed by PCKO Architects and built by Focus Housing Group, they broke the trend of new homes constructed entirely of brick on the estate. The shells of these buildings were constructed quickly with insulated wall panels and roof pieces, manufactured using recycled newspaper and containing no foam or resin. The internal walls are not load-bearing, allowing changes to
35496-413: The scheme which cost £22.7 million. Construction commenced in October 2002. By 2000, 1,500 properties had been demolished while 700 new homes had been constructed and a further 786 had been refurbished. In March 2000, CVHAT owned 1,587 properties while housing associations owned 610 and 1,456 were owner-occupied. In 2001, Ron Hull Demolition were appointed for the remainder of the demolition work on
35700-408: The sites released by demolition. The remaining tower blocks which included the fourteen on Farnborough Road and Concorde Tower were to be refurbished with new insulation and security features. The other low-rise residential properties were also to be refurbished in Neighbourhood Strategies. Economic proposals included the large-scale redevelopment of Castle Vale Shopping Centre to create a modern hub for
35904-417: The staircases in the tower blocks. In 1991, a large concrete panel fell from one of the tower blocks and, although nobody was injured, it was reported locally and helped spark efforts for the regeneration of the estate to begin. The state of Castle Vale became a serious concern for Birmingham City Council and in July 1991, Derek Waddington, the then director of housing for Birmingham City Council, heard about
36108-480: The town of Tamworth and the city of Lichfield in Staffordshire to the north; the city of Coventry and the towns of Nuneaton , Bedworth , Whitnash , Kenilworth , Rugby, Atherstone , Coleshill , Warwick and Leamington Spa to the east in Warwickshire and the Worcestershire towns of Redditch and Bromsgrove to the south west. As the crow flies, Birmingham lies approximately 100 miles (160 km) north-west of London , 85 miles (137 km) north-east of
36312-430: The town with an unusually high degree of social and economic freedom and initiating a period of transition and growth. The importance of the manufacture of iron goods to Birmingham's economy was recognised as early as 1538, and grew rapidly as the century progressed. Equally significant was the town's emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials and traded and marketed
36516-399: The two tower blocks commenced in 2002 with Chivenor House. A subtle refurbishment was planned with the entire exterior being covered in an insulated render and painted a cream colour. The ground floor and basement were refurbished providing communal facilities for the local residents including a hairdressing salon, communal lounge, communal kitchen and television room. A concierge was located on
36720-462: The unemployment rate was 40%. This was one of the highest levels in the country, which was in the depths of a major recession at the time, and unemployment had even continued to plague Castle Vale following the previous recession in the early 1980s after which the national unemployment level had halved within three years. Educational attainment also suffered with 12% of Castle Vale Secondary School leavers received 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE, half
36924-416: The ward pressured the council into providing public baths for the ward. However, the Birmingham Baths Committee were already committed to other projects in the city and were unable to immediately attend the matter. In 1903, a site at the corner of Nechells Park Road and Aston Church Road was acquired and in 1908, approval was given for the construction of baths on the site. Construction commenced that year and
37128-817: The wider metropolitan area with a population numbering 3,558,916 in 2019 according to Eurostat. Around 305,688 or 26.7% of the population in 2021 were foreign-born , making it a city with one of the largest migrant populations in Europe . According to figures from the 2021 census, 48.7% of the population was White (42.9% White British , 1.5% White Irish , 4.0% Other White , 0.2% Roma , 0.1% Irish Traveller ), 31% were Asian (17.0% Pakistani , 5.8% Indian , 4.2% Bangladeshi , 1.1% Chinese , 2.9% Other Asian ), 10.9% were Black (5.8% African , 3.9% Caribbean , 1.2% Other Black ), 4.8% of Mixed race (2.2% White and Black Caribbean, 0.4% White and Black African, 1.1% White and Asian, 1.1% Other Mixed), 1.7% Arab and 4.6% of Other ethnic heritage. The 2021 census showed 26.7% of
37332-463: The world. The name of St. Mary was revived in Berwood upon the construction of the Church of St. Mary to serve people housed in nearby Nissen huts . It was dedicated on 17 December 1923 but was destroyed by fire in 1926, only to be rebuilt soon after and fall into disuse. The area was a flat plain when it became the Berwood Playing Fields. In 1909, local mechanic Louis Maxfield assembled a flying machine in Berwood Playing Fields. The plane took off and
37536-425: Was also a shopping centre in the eastern part of the estate, five schools, two churches and a swimming pool. There were some clear links to the aviation heritage of the site within the names of the roads, with the three main roads running the length of the estate being constructed on the runways of the airfield, and the 34 tower blocks that contained 2,000 flats. There were two major concentrations of tower blocks within
37740-456: Was also of concern, with a wide range of issues such as the ease of access for arsonists to the rubbish chutes of the maisonettes, which posed a safety hazard to residents. Issues regarding the construction of the buildings were noticed early into the estate's life. In the early 1970s, many homes were starting to experience damp and others were flooded as a result of leaking roofs. In the maisonettes, heating bills were between £300–500 quarterly and
37944-401: Was completed in 1954 and is still standing today. However, many of the tower blocks in the Nechells area were demolished in the 1990s to make way for new low rise private and rented housing. On 8 July 1961, the then vicar of St. Clement's, the Rev. Elwyn Evans, was called upon by police to assist them in negotiating with a man who had barricaded himself in his house and refused to come out until
38148-407: Was conducted by demolition contractors who competed for the various contracts offered by the HAT. The complexity of these contracts led to confusion sometimes between the contractors and the HAT. In one case, between the HAT and Demolition Services Ltd., where Demolition Services Ltd. had been contracted to demolish two 13-storey tower blocks and remove asbestos from the insulation panels, legal advice
38352-400: Was confiscated by the Crown and given to Edward Darcy after the previous owner, Edward Arden, was convicted of treason and hanged. The son of Edward Arden started studying law and commenced several court cases to regain control of the land from Edward Darcy. When Darcy learned of a case to regain half of the land, he deforested it and moved the valuable timber to his land in Minworth , leaving
38556-408: Was designed by Pugin's son, E. W. Pugin ; the former Presbyterian chapel of 1888–9 on Long Acre, "a rare survivor of [the prolific Birmingham architects] Crouch & Butler's early chapel work".; a board school situated in Hutton (later Eliot) Street in 1879; the building of almshouses adjacent to St. Clement's church to accommodate "31 inmates, widows, single women, and married couples - whose age
38760-402: Was done by installing speed bumps, mini- roundabouts and narrowing road lanes. An issue for residents was securing their property from thieves and so the HAT provided burglar alarms and car steering locks. In February 1999, 59 Home Wardens were introduced to the estate to help protect property and forge links between residents and community groups. As they had no law enforcement powers, funding
38964-418: Was driven by different factors. Instead of the economies of scale of a low-paid, unskilled workforce producing a single bulk commodity such as cotton or wool in large, mechanised units of production, Birmingham's industrial development was built on the adaptability and creativity of a highly paid workforce with a strong division of labour , practising a broad variety of skilled specialist trades and producing
39168-410: Was extended further to become a fighter station, a base for other units and a dispatch site for aeroplanes built at Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory on the other side of the Chester Road. At its peak, the airfield would be used for testing 300 Supermarine Spitfires per month for World War II . Various units used the airfield following the war and there was an annual display to mark the anniversary of
39372-415: Was given a 12-year objective to regenerate the estate using both publicly and privately funded means. On 31 March 1994, 3,746 homes housing approximately 11,000 people in an area covering approximately 2.5 km (1 sq mi) was transferred to the HAT from Birmingham City Council. In April 1994, Hunt Thompson Associates were appointed by the HAT as master planners and work on the plan commenced in
39576-470: Was incorporated into the existing Eliot Street Junior and Infants site after the passing of the Education Act 1944 , and with additional buildings on the adjoining Crompton Road, was closed and its buildings demolished in the 1980s. Nechells is currently served by Heartlands Academy , the successor to Heartlands High School and Duddeston Manor School before that. Nechells is served by Duddeston railway station and Aston railway station . From 1856 to 1869,
39780-411: Was major competition between companies who offered various construction systems. Concrete Ltd. had developed a system called the Bison Wall Frame system which was offered to the council who then accepted it and commissioned Bryants as the contractor. Construction of the layout designed by J. R. Sheridan-Shedden, which consisted of housing for 5,000 housing units along two spines of housing running along
39984-433: Was originally known as Berwood, from the Saxon 'Bearu' meaning 'the woods'. Historically being a boggy and wooded area, the area remained undeveloped for most of its history until the deforestation practices of Edward Darcy in the 17th century and the construction of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal in the 18th century. In the 20th century, the land became the site for the first aeroplane take-off in Birmingham which led to
40188-569: Was provided for two extra police officers for three years. A centre was also set up for dealing with any reports of racial harassment on the estate. The regeneration of the estate has led to noticeable successes and all the key objectives were met. While the physical changes to the profile of Castle Vale were the most noticeable, there were significant improvements to the overall health, economic situation, social lives and educational attainment of estate residents, as well as reductions in crime rates. Some improvements were progressive with regeneration of
40392-410: Was provided in a process known as 'decanting'. On the day of moving, the HAT provided removal services for them and also gave them £800 on the day to cover any costs and for the inconvenience. Properties that were used for decanting were usually temporarily refurbished prior to residents moving in and were located on the estate itself. The demolition of these properties opened up vast tracts of land for
40596-399: Was situated another branch of the motor vehicle industry. David Haydon Ltd manufactured bodies for fire engines until the closure of the firm in the 1960s. Foundry Services Ltd, later FOSECO, moved into premises on Long Acre in 1933. The company had been created by two German Jewish refugees, Eric Weiss and Kossi Strauss, and specialized in the manufacture of fluxes and compounds used in
40800-415: Was sold for construction of the overspill estate which started in 1964. The last hangars were demolished in 1992 for an industrial site. There are some strong symbolic links to these times in the shape of the Sentinel sculpture, a stained glass church window, and the names of tower blocks and streets on the estate. Remnants of the airfield also exist such as a row of ex-RAF housing along Church Road. It
41004-424: Was sought by the contractor after they discovered further asbestos in the finishes to the ceilings, walls and floors. Demolition Services Ltd. wanted an additional payment of £300,000 but the HAT argued that the removal of these features were part of the contract. Nonetheless, the HAT were forced to make the additional payment in court. For some residents who had been moved out of their homes, temporary accommodation
41208-428: Was then made to demolish Concorde Tower as well as the 14 Farnborough Road tower blocks, which had originally been earmarked for refurbishment. During the clearance process, security were employed to guard the site constantly to protect remaining residents and to prevent looting. All 27 of the maisonette blocks were eventually demolished, including the three which were initially earmarked for refurbishment. All but one of
41412-492: Was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz . The damage done to the city's infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive urban regeneration in subsequent decades. Birmingham's economy
41616-423: Was to spread sewage brought from the City of Birmingham over the rest of the land. In 1898, filter beds were constructed as the volume of sewage was becoming too much with the rest of the land becoming farmland or swamp, surrounded by forest. In 1842, the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway was completed to the southeast of Castle Vale with a railway station serving the area on the line. Another railway branch,
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