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Nechells

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Nechells
The grade II listed public baths, opened June 22, 1910, on Nechells Park Road.
Population27,969 (2001 Population Census)
• Density25.8 per ha
OS grid referenceSP095895
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBIRMINGHAM
Postcode districtB7
Dialling code0121
PoliceWest Midlands
FireWest Midlands
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
West Midlands

Nechells is an area in inner-city Birmingham, England, with a population of 27,969 (as of 2001). It is also a ward within the formal district of Ladywood. Nechells includes parts of the city centre. It is adjacent to Saltley.

History

The Nineteenth Century

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:

...a hamlet in the parish of Aston and borough of Birmingham, county Warwick. It is united with Duddeston, and forms a populous suburb of Birmingham. Here are extensive workshops for building railway carriages, also a lunatic asylum. The living (i.e. the position of vicar of the parish) is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Worcester, value £59. The church is dedicated to St. Clement.[1]

Developments in the Victorian era include the opening of the aforementioned St Clement's Church, designed by J.A. Chatwin, in 1859[2] , a board school situated in Hutton (later Eliot) Street in 1879[3] and the building of almshouses adjacent to St. Clement's church to accommodate "31 inmates, widows, single women, and married couples - whose age is above 60"[4].

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.[5], as had the Grand Junction Railway from Liverpool and Manchester to Birmingham in order to reach its temporary terminus at Vauxhall in 1837.[6][7]

The Twentieth Century and Later

After World War II, 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 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 insufficient new homes to rehouse all of 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 - which 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.[1]

Demographics

The 2001 Population Census found that 27,969 people lived in the ward with a population density of 3,015 people per km² compared with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. 62.6% (17,142) of the ward's population consists of ethnic minorities compared with 29.6% for Birmingham.

Whilst it is notable in Birmingham for being the area with the highest rate of unemployment, crime and poverty, it has been the focus of a great deal of urban regeneration by Birmingham City Council and the former Birmingham Heartlands Development Corporation.

Ethnicity
  • White - 10,284 (37.42%)
  • Black - 2,644 (9.65%)
  • Asian - 12,700 (46.38%)
  • Chinese or Other - 539 (1.97%)
  • Mixed Race - 1,018 (4.60%)

Transport

There are three railway stations located within the ward. The largest is Moor Street station in Birmingham city centre. The other two are Duddeston railway station and Adderley Park railway station. From 1856-1869, a station named "Bloomsbury and Nechells " was situated slightly to the north of the present Duddeston station [8].

The main bus routes serving Nechells are the 66 and 66A from Birmingham city centre to Sutton Coldfield via Erdington.These routes are the successors of trolleybus route 7, which ran from the city centre to Nechells from 1922-1940 and the motorbus route 43 which replaced it in 1940. [9]. The 8 "Inner Circle" route also serves the western part of the area.

Places of interest

The ward includes the local landmarks of Millennium Point and Aston University. Nechells is also home to Star City - a vast entertainment complex that houses shops, restaurants, a 22-lane bowling centre (Tenpin, formerly Megabowl), a casino and Vue Cinema which, with thirty screens, is one of the largest multiplexes in Europe.

The ward is served by the grand Bloomsbury Library on Nechells Parkway. It is also served by Nechells Play Centre and the Nechells Green Community Centre. Sports facilities are provided at the Heartlands High Community Leisure Centre and the Nechells Community Sports Centre.

Nechells Baths on Nechells Park Road is a Grade II listed building. Plans for baths to be constructed in the Nechells ward came about in 1900 when representatives from 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 the baths were opened June 22, 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.[10]

Politics

The ward is served by three Labour councillors; Tahir Ali, Rashid Chauhdry and Yvonne Mosquito.[11]

Nechells has adopted a Ward Support Officer with the current holder of the title being Maz Dad.

References

  1. ^ The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland. London: James S. Virtue, 1868.
  2. ^ Dent, Old and New Birmingham. Birmingham: Houghton and Hammond 1880, P. 578
  3. ^ Victoria History of the County of Warwick, Vol. VII. London: Oxford University Press, 1964
  4. ^ Dent, Old and New Birmingham. Birmingham: Houghton and Hammond 1880
  5. ^ Clinker, C.R. Railways of the West Midlands: A Chronology. London: Stephenson Locomotive Society. 1954
  6. ^ Clinker, C.R. Railways of the West Midlands: A Chronology. London: Stephenson Locomotive Society. 1954
  7. ^ Victoria History of the County of Warwick, Vol. VII. London: Oxford University Press, 1964
  8. ^ Quick, M. Passenger Railway Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology. Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2009
  9. ^ Keeley, M., Russell, M. and Gray, P. Birmingham City Transport. Glossop: The Transport Publishing Company, 1977
  10. ^ "Makeover is complete for Nechells Baths". Birmingham Post. 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  11. ^ "Councillors' Advice Bureaux - Nechells Ward". Birmingham City Council. Archived from the original on 2008-05-10. Retrieved 2008-05-30.

Further reading

  • Chinn, Carl The Streets of Brum, vols 1-4. Studley: Brewin Books 2003-2007
  • Pevsner, N. and Wedgwood, A. The Buildings of England - Warwickshire. London: Penguin 1966.
  • Twist, Maria Saltley, Duddeston and Nechells. Stroud: Tempus 2001
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