Castle Vale is a housing estate located near
ErdingtonErdington is a suburb northeast of Birmingham city centre, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The formal council constituency the smaller ward of Erdington, and the wards of Tyburn , Stockland Green and Kingstanding, although most of both...
, northeast of
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
city centre, in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. 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 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 CanalThe Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between Birmingham and the south east of England, by way of the Coventry Canal and the Oxford Canal.-History:...
in the 18th century. In the 20th century, the land became the site for the first airplane take-off in Birmingham which led to a long aviation history being associated with the area.
Castle Bromwich AerodromeCastle Bromwich Aerodrome was an early airfield, situated to the north of Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands of England. The site now falls within the City of Birmingham.-History:...
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 airplanes and the location for the
British Industries FairThe British Industries Fair was an important exhibition centre in Birmingham, England.The large complex of buildings were built in 1920 and were situated between Castle Bromwich Aerodrome and the railway line. For two weeks every year it was the most visited attraction in the country...
. Despite being steeped in aviation history, Castle Vale became infamous from the 1970s onwards as a large scale example of a failed postwar
overspill estateAn overspill estate is a housing estate planned and built for the rehousing of people from decaying inner city areas usually as part of the process of slum clearance....
, 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, 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. It is now hailed as an example of a successful community-led regeneration scheme.
Origins
The site has historically been a wooded area with a post-
DomesdayThe Domesday Book is the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William I of England, or William the Conqueror...
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
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England. It is the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
by the Arden family. A
moatA moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
ed house, St Mary's Chapel, 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 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 MonasteriesThe Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, denotes the administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, nunneries and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their income, disposed...
in 1536, Thomas Arden purchased the property from
King Henry VIIIHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lord of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII.Henry VIII was a significant figure in the history of the English monarchy...
for £272 10s. The hall fell into disrepair and when it remained as just a shell, the property 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
MinworthMinworth is a village on the outskirts of Birmingham in the West Midlands area of England. It is located near Walmley, Thimble End and Signal Hayes and is directly connected to the Tyburn area....
, leaving 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 BrookPlants Brook is a stream in Erdington and Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England.-Course of the stream:...
in the 15th century.
In 1789, the
Birmingham and Fazeley CanalThe Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between Birmingham and the south east of England, by way of the Coventry Canal and the Oxford Canal.-History:...
was completed to the north of the area which gradually encouraged an industrial presence along it. In 1881, W. W. Bagot sold of land in Berwood to the Birmingham Tame & Rea Drainage Board, and a further 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 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 RailwayThe Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway was a British railway company. From Birmingham it connected at Derby with the North Midland Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
was completed to the southeast of Castle Vale with a
railway stationCastle Bromwich railway station was a railway station in Birmingham opened by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway in 1842.It was on the line into Birmingham Lawley Street from Water Orton....
serving the area on the line. Another railway branch, the
Sutton Park Line|}The Sutton Park Line is a freight-only railway line running from Walsall to Castle Bromwich and Water Orton in the West Midlands, England. It is an important and strategic route, as it enables most freight trains to avoid congestion at Birmingham New Street station...
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 DunlopJohn Dunlop may refer to:*John Boyd Dunlop , Scottish/Irish inventor, inventor of the pneumatic tyre and founder of the Dunlop rubber company*John Colin Dunlop , Scottish historian*John L...
opened a
tyre factoryFort Dunlop , is the common name of the original tyre factory and head office of Dunlop Rubber in the Erdington district of Birmingham, England. It was established in 1917 and by 1954, the entire factory area employed 10,000 workers...
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 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 hutThe Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during the World War II by the Commonwealth and U.S...
s. It was dedicated on 17 December 1923 but was destroyed by fire in 1926, only to be rebuilt soon after and fall into disuse.
Castle Bromwich Aerodrome
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 is said to have reached a height of , making it the first flight in Birmingham. The site's suitability was investigated and it soon became the
Castle Bromwich private aerodromeCastle Bromwich Aerodrome was an early airfield, situated to the north of Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands of England. The site now falls within the City of Birmingham.-History:...
. By 1911, a pilot was giving demonstration flights in a
Bleriot monoplaneBlériot Aéronautique was a French aircraft manufacturer founded by Louis Blériot. It also made a few cyclecars from 1921 to 1922.After Louis Blériot became famous for being the first to fly over the English Channel in 1909, he established an aircraft manufacturing company. This company really took...
. In the
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
to
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
air race of 1914, competitors stopped at the aerodrome for refuelling.
The start of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
meant a change at Castle Bromwich Aerodrome and it was requisitioned by the War Office for use by the
Royal Flying CorpsThe Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery cooperation and photographic reconnaissance...
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 yearsThe interwar period is understood, within recent Western culture, to be the period between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second World War. This is also called the period between the wars or interbellum....
, the aerodrome had 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 FairThe British Industries Fair was an important exhibition centre in Birmingham, England.The large complex of buildings were built in 1920 and were situated between Castle Bromwich Aerodrome and the railway line. For two weeks every year it was the most visited attraction in the country...
(BIF) in 1920, which was advertised nationally. In 1937, more hangars and a Squadron Headquarters were built for the
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
and in 1939, it 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 SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries through the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used into the 1950s both as a front line fighter and in secondary roles...
s per month for
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Various units used the airfield following the war and there was an annual display to mark the anniversary of the
Battle of BritainThe Battle of Britain is the name given to the air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940. The objective of the campaign was to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force , especially Fighter Command...
held at the airfield. Civilian flights returned, including the first scheduled helicopter service from
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. 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
BIFThe British Industries Fair was an important exhibition centre in Birmingham, England.The large complex of buildings were built in 1920 and were situated between Castle Bromwich Aerodrome and the railway line. For two weeks every year it was the most visited attraction in the country...
site and nearby farmland 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
SentinelSentinel is a 16m high sculpture by Tim Tolkien, installed upon a traffic island at the intersection of the Chester Road and the A47 Fort Parkway at the entrance to the Castle Vale estate in Birmingham, England....
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, and the three main roads on the estate were the original runways on airfield.
Planning
At the end of World War II, one third of housing within Birmingham was declared unfit for habitation and a major construction programme was needed to deal with problem. Since the early 1950s, 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. Municipal house construction developed into high-rise construction in the mid-1950s with the guidance of
Alwyn Sheppard FidlerAlwyn Gwilyn Sheppard Fidler CBE was a Welsh architect and town planner who was chief architect for the new town of Crawley from 1947 to 1952 and City Architect of Birmingham from 1952 to 1964....
, the
City Architect of BirminghamThe City Architect of Birmingham was a high-ranking position within the Public Works department of Birmingham City Council and provided the holder with a lot of power in the planning decisions of Birmingham, especially in the post-war period in which Birmingham underwent enormous regeneration...
. 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 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 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 SteinClarence Samuel Stein, , was an American urban planner, architect, and writer, a major proponent of the "Garden City" movement in the United States.- Biography :...
in
Radburn, New JerseyRadburn is an unincorporated new town located within Fair Lawn, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.Radburn was founded in 1929 as "a town for the motor age"...
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 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.
Construction
At a time when major house-building firms were receiving large subsidies from the Government for the construction and pioneering prefabricated, system-built
tower blockA Tower block, Apartment tower, or Apartment block, Block of flats, is a multi-unit high-rise Apartment building. In some areas they may be referred to as "MDU" standing for "Multi Dwelling Unit". Apartment blocks have technical and economic advantages in areas with high population density...
s, there 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 the length of the estate, commenced in 1963. The estate was completed in 1968. 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 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 the estate: fourteen along Farnborough Road, and the 'Centre 8', a group of 8 large tower blocks in the centre of the estate. The following is a list of the tower blocks constructed on the estate.
| Name |
Location |
Number of flats |
Number of floors |
Additional notes |
References |
| Abingdon Tower |
Yatesbury Avenue |
92 |
16 |
One of the 'Centre 8' tower blocks. |
|
| Albert Shaw House |
Longcroft Close |
92 |
16 |
|
|
| Andover House |
Padgate Close |
|
13 |
|
|
| Argosy House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Auster House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Avro House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Bovingdon Tower |
Yatesbury Avenue |
92 |
16 |
One of the 'Centre 8' tower blocks. |
|
| Chivenor House |
Drem Croft |
|
12 |
Built on top of Chivenor Primary School. |
|
| Comet House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Concorde Tower |
Hawker Drive |
116 |
20 |
The tallest tower on the estate. Built alongside Castle Vale Shopping Centre. |
|
| Cosford Tower |
Yatesbury Avenue |
92 |
16 |
One of the 'Centre 8' tower blocks. |
|
| Cranwell Tower |
Yatesbury Avenue |
92 |
16 |
One of the 'Centre 8' tower blocks. |
|
| Ensign House |
Donibristle Croft |
|
13 |
|
|
| Hampden House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Hawker House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Hercules House |
|
|
12 |
|
|
| Hermes House |
Innsworth Drive |
|
13 |
|
|
| Javelin House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Kemble Tower |
Yatesbury Avenue |
92 |
16 |
One of the 'Centre 8' tower blocks. |
|
| Kestrel House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Lyneham Tower |
Yatesbury Avenue |
92 |
16 |
One of the 'Centre 8' tower blocks. |
|
| Lysander House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Meteor House |
Filton Croft |
|
13 |
|
|
| Northolt Tower |
Yatesbury Avenue |
92 |
16 |
One of the 'Centre 8' tower blocks. |
|
| Oakington House |
Watton Green |
|
13 |
|
|
| Pioneer House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Shawbury Tower |
Yatesbury Avenue |
92 |
16 |
One of the 'Centre 8' tower blocks. |
|
| Ternhill House |
|
|
13 |
|
|
| Topcliffe House |
Hawkinge Drive |
|
12 |
Built on top of Topcliffe Primary School. |
|
| Trident House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Valiant House |
Manby Road |
|
13 |
|
|
| Vanguard House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Viscount House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
| Vulcan House |
Farnborough Road |
|
12 |
|
|
By the end of the 1960s, Castle Vale had a population of around 20,000 people, with the first residents moving in to their new homes in 1964. Most of the new residents were of Irish and Afro-Caribbean descent, previously living in inner-city slums such as
AstonAston is an Inner-City area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham City Centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
and
NechellsNechells is an area in inner-city Birmingham, England, with a population of 27,969 . It is also a ward within the formal district of Ladywood. Nechells includes parts of the city centre. It is adjacent to Saltley.-History:...
. 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 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, whilst 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.
Decline
When residents moved into their new homes, most were pleased with the improvement. However, the demolition of the slums and breaking up of entire communities had made people feel unsettled in their new homes. 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 resented being moved and were unhappy within their new homes.
Socially, the estate failed to develop into a community and 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 pay was initially collected from 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 collected from the local post office in the shopping centre. Drug dealing also started becoming prominent in the late-1970s along 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.
West Midlands PoliceWest Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...
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 the residents feeling intimidated and helpless on the estate. In the 1980s, the police tried an alternative approach called Community Policing where hotspots 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 the 1980s, with many of the original residents already coming from poor economic backgrounds in slums. The
Birmingham Municipal BankThe Birmingham Municipal Bank was a savings bank in the city of Birmingham, England. It was created as the Birmingham Corporation Savings Bank by a 1916 Act of Parliament, to raise money to aid World War I...
opened a branch in Castle Vale Shopping Centre and banks provided a vital source of money for Castle Vale residents. However, the last bank closed in 1987, leading to a greater reliance on illegal
loan sharkA loan shark is a person or body that offers unsecured loans at high interest rates to individuals, often backed by blackmail or threats of violence....
s. Additionally, the unemployment rate was on average 50% higher than the city average by 1992, and in some pockets of the estate, the unemployment rate was 40%.
Educational attainment also suffered with 12% of Castle Vale Secondary School leavers received 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE, half 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.
As well as this, there were also physical problems with the estate. Whilst the design and layout had exacerbated some of the problems such as crime, there were also issues with 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 was also of concern, with a wide range of issues such as the ease access for arsonists to the rubbish shutes 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 the homes remained cold in the winter. These issues regarding the construction were no 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. 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.
Establishing the Housing Action Trust
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 a
Housing Action TrustHousing Action Trusts are non-departmental public bodies, which were set up to redevelop some of the poorest council housing estates in Britain's inner-city suburbs.Six Housing Action Trusts were established under the Housing Act of 1988...
in North
HullKingston upon Hull , almost invariably referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located 25 miles from the North Sea on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary...
. 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 Environment, Food and Rural AffairsThe Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
, on how to approach the establishment of a Housing Action Trust at Castle Vale. In December 1991,
Michael HeseltineMichael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group....
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 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 the HAT, a ballot date of March 18 1993 was announced. The ballot had a resident turnout of 74%, and the results were announced on April 15 1993 with 92% voting in favour of the HAT. Castle Vale Housing Action Trust was formally established on June 30 1993 and Angus Kennedy was appointed as Chief Executive and the first permanent board member on November 23 1993. The Housing Action Trust, locally known as "The HAT", was given a 12 year objective to regenerate the estate using both publicly and privately funded means. On March 31 1994, 3,746 homes housing approximately 11,000 people in an area covering approximately was transferred to the HAT from Birmingham City Council.
Masterplanning
In April 1994, Hunt Thompson Associates were appointed by the HAT as masterplanners and work on the plan commenced in the following month. The masterplanners 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 were for 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 and five additional tower blocks which had been identified as being in such a poor state that renovation was not possible. 1,100 homes were to be constructed on 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 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 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 Architectsthumb|right|Associated Architects' Offices at [[The Mailbox]], Birminghamthumb|right|RIBA Award Winner 2009, David Wilson Library|thumb|right|RIBA Award Winner 2008, King's School Library|thumb|right|RIBA Sustainability Award Winner 2005, Cobtun House, Worcester|...
and Gillespies were appointed to produce a masterplan for the site to include new shopping facilities and other community facilities.
Environmental and housing schemes
Preparations for the demolition of properties commenced as soon as the masterplan was approved. The first phase of preparations for demolition began in 1995 with the Centre 8 blocks and then Valiant, Meteor, Hermes and Ensign Houses soon after. By 1997, 1,016 properties were ready for demolition, including the Centre 8 blocks and all the 16-storey tower blocks. During the clearance process, security were employed to guard the site constantly to protect remaining residents and to prevent looting. By 1999, the majority of the maisonette blocks had been demolished, as had Albert Shaw House and eight of the fourteen Farnborough Road blocks. The remaining six were demolished in 2000. As demolition commenced on the estate, the masterplan was further adjusted. One of the changes to the masterplan was the demolition of Concorde Tower in 2000 as it was determined that refurbishment would be too costly. By 2001, all remaining tower blocks, with the exception of Chivenor and Topcliffe House, had been demolished along with the remaining maisonette blocks and an additional 114 bungalows.
Demolition work 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 louvers 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 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, 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 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 the scheme which cost £22.7 million. Construction commenced in October 2002.
By 2000, 1,500 properties had been demolished whilst 700 new homes had been constructed and a further 786 had been refurbished. In March 2000, CVHAT owned 1,587 properties whilst 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 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.
Commercial and employment schemes
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 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 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 July 29, 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 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 anchor unit and of non-food retail units, which are fully occupied by Comet,
T.K. MaxxT.K. Maxx is the only 'off-price' retailer in Europe with stores throughout the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Germany. The company is part of the TJX Companies which also owns other 'off-price' retail chains such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the United States...
,
ArgosArgos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland with over 700 stores. Argos is unique amongst major retailers in the U.K. because its primary means of displaying goods to customers is via a catalogue...
and
SCSSCS is an abbreviation for* School Community System, an online web application for schools, parents, students and doctors* Second City Style, an online fashion magazine and blog dedicated to women's fashion, style & beauty based out of Chicago, IL...
, led to 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 the centre of the estate. Associated Architects and Gillespies were appointed as masterplanners 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 PoliceWest Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...
sector base, and a new retail and office block. Planning consent for these were obtained in 2003 and 2004. The first phase of 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 the scheme is £26 million, with funding coming from the
European Regional Development FundEuropean Regional Development Fund is a fund allocated by the European Union.-Scope:As part of its task to promote regional development, the ERDF contributes towards financing the following measures:...
, the
Learning and Skills CouncilThe Learning and Skills Council is a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Department of Children, Schools and families in England. Until June 2007, it was sponsored by to the former Department for Education and Skills)...
, Birmingham City Council, the
Home OfficeThe Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security and order. As such it is responsible for the police, United Kingdom Borders Agency and MI5. It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs, counter-terrorism...
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 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 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 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 reduction
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 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 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
CCTVClosed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors.It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly transmitted, though it may employ point to point wireless links...
on the estate to improve surveillance on troublespots. The HAT submitted 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 comprising mainly of teenage troublemakers. These were the first evictees from the estate. In Autumn 2000, CVHAT sought 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 the families improved their behaviour whilst 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 was done by installing speed bumps, mini-
roundaboutA roundabout is one of several types of circular road junctions or intersections at which traffic is slowed down and enters a one-way stream around a central island. Technically these junctions sometimes are called modern roundabouts, in order to emphasize the distinction from older circular...
s and narrowing road lanes. An issue for residents was securing their property from thieves and so the HAT provided
burglar alarmBurglar , fire, and safety alarms are electronic alarms designed to alert the user to a specific danger. Sensors are connected to a control unit via low-voltage wiring or a narrowband RF signal which is used to interact with a response device...
s 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 was provided for two extra police officers for three years. A centre was also set up for dealing with any reports of racial harrassment on the estate.
Results
The regeneration of the estate has led to noticeable successes and all the key objectives were met. Whilst 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 the estate, whilst 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 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 banks on the estate and 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 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 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 the fear of crime still remained high amongst residents. West Midlands Police has launched a series of initiatives aimed at tackling specific causes of crime on the estate. They are also assisted by five Neighbourhood Wardens, who have no powers for arrest or enforcement but act as intermediaries between the police and community.
Castle Vale Housing Action Trust was dissolved on March 31 2005, and all its assets were passed on to
English PartnershipsEnglish Partnerships was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by Regional Development Agencies on a regional level...
. It was succeeded by numerous organisations to maintain the work of the HAT. During the HAT's lifetime, it demolished 2,275 homes, refurbished 1,333 homes and constructed 1,464 homes. 1,461 jobs were created and 3,415 training places were created. It received £197.5 million of Government funding and £102.7 million of private funding and additional leverage. It had won awards from the Government and Birmingham Civic Society.
Education
To serve the needs of the community in the 1960s, five schools were constructed on the estate; four primary schools and one secondary school. These schools continue to operate, despite past instances of poor student numbers.
Primary schools
Chivenor Junior and Infant School is a co-educational primary school constructed during the 1960s. As Birmingham City Council was not willing to demolish the primary school during the regeneration of the estate in the 1990s, the Chivenor House tower block constructed above the primary school was saved from demolition and refurbished. Upon the last OFSTED inspection of the school in February 2007, there were approximately 330 pupils and the headteacher was S. Holloway. The pupil population of the school was found to be mostly
British WhiteThe British White is a naturally polled British cattle breed, white with black or red points, used mainly for beef. It has a confirmed history dating back to the 17th century, and may be derived from similar cattle kept in parks for many centuries before that.-Characteristics:The British White has...
with one fifth of pupils being of an ethnic minority. Those requiring free school meals was "exceptionally high".
Pegasus Primary School is a co-educational primary school constructed during the 1960s, and is located on Turnhouse Drive in the northeast of the estate. Upon the last OFSTED inspection of the school in November 2007, there were 181 pupils on roll and the headteacher was Robert Lee. It was inspected on October 4 2006 and was given a Notice to Improve. Between these two inspections, there was significant staff turnover and the 2007 inspection found that sufficient steps had been taken to improve the school and that an additional Notice to Improve was not needed. The primary school's pupil population is mostly British White and an "above average" proportion are entitled to free school meals, as is the proportion of pupils identified as having learning difficulties or disabilities.
St Gerard's RC Junior and Infant School is a
voluntary aidedA voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school.- History :...
co-educational primary school with Roman Catholic denomination, constructed during the 1960s along with the rest of the housing estate. It is located on Yatesbury Avenue in the north of the estate, adjacent to St Gerard's Church. The school has a nursery which, in 2008, for the first time, accepted children in the early stages of learning English. The school accepts pupil from the local area and diocese. Upon the last OFSTED inspection of the school in May 2008, there were approximately 220 pupils on roll and the headteacher was David Hird. One quarter of children were from ethnic minorities with the rest being British White. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities was below average, however the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals was above average.
Topcliffe Primary School is a co-educational primary school constructed along with the rest of the estate during the 1960s. It is located on Hawkinge Drive in the northwest of the estate. Like Chivenor Junior and Infant School, the primary school was constructed on the side of a tower block named Topcliffe House, and during the regeneration of the estate in the 1990s, Birmingham City Council were unwilling to demolish the primary school and so retained the tower block and refurbished it. Upon the last OFSTED inspection of the school in June 2007, there were approximately 250 pupils and the headteacher was Chris Robinson, although Ian Lowe now holds this position with Chris Robinson holding the Deputy Headteacher position. The school has provision for children with special educational needs as a result of the fact that the attainment of pupils when they enter the school at the age of 4 is below average. For pupils who have speech and language difficulties, there is specialist provision in two classes.
Castle Vale Secondary School
Castle Vale Secondary School opened in newly-constructed, purpose-built premises in 1967, although the buildings were completed and officially opened in 1969. At it's peak in the early 1970s, it had 1,100 students, but this declined to 362 students by 1993 as truancy became widespread problem on the estate. Half of the building was empty and this space was occupied by the Castle Vale Housing Action Trust. As the HAT neared the end of its life, the school needed to reoccupy this space as demand started to increase again. The school's reputation was completely changed during the HAT's existence and the school now has waiting lists for prospective students.
The school now has approximately 870 students, aged 11-16, of which 25% live outside of the estate. It has specialist Performance Arts College status, which it obtained in 2002, and became an extended school in 2006.
C3
C3 is an educational complex in the centre of estate that was constructed to a design by
Associated Architectsthumb|right|Associated Architects' Offices at [[The Mailbox]], Birminghamthumb|right|RIBA Award Winner 2009, David Wilson Library|thumb|right|RIBA Award Winner 2008, King's School Library|thumb|right|RIBA Sustainability Award Winner 2005, Cobtun House, Worcester|...
in 2006 and consists of Castle Vale Library and a community campus originally constructed for Josiah Mason College. When Josiah Mason College was merged into Sutton Coldfield College, it became a campus to Sutton Coldfield College. The college is now merging with Matthew Boulton College and will become the property of
Birmingham Metropolitan CollegeBirmingham Metropolitan College is a further and higher education college with eight campuses distributed within Birmingham, England. The college was created in August 2009 as a result of the amalgamation of Matthew Boulton College and Sutton Coldfield College...
.
Shopping
The retail facilities are concentrated in two areas on the estate: Castle Vale Retail Park and Reed Square. Castle Vale Retail Park is constructed on the site of Castle Vale Shopping Centre and features large units for major chains. In contrast to this, Reed Square, another modern shopping area, features small retail units fronting onto High Street.
Castle Vale Retail Park was built by Sainsbury's who occupy the largest retail unit in the complex. They also operate a
petrol stationA gas station, fueling station, filling station, service station, petrol station, garage, gasbar, petrol pump or petrol bunk is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are petrol A gas station, fueling station, filling station, service station,...
near the retail park's entrance at the Chester Road. A separate unit was constructed to the east of the retail park at a later date and is now occupied by
BathstoreBathstore.com Ltd., trading as Bathstore is a specialist bathroom retailer and is the largest in the United Kingdom. Bathstore was originally started in the early 1990s by Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer, with the idea to bring quality design led bathrooms into a wider retail arena...
. Smaller retail units are provided in a building next to the Sainsbury's supermarket, with the
Post OfficePost Office Ltd is a retail post office company in the United Kingdom that provides a wide range of products including postage stamps and banking to the public through its nationwide network of post office branches.-Structure:Post Office Ltd...
as one of the tenants. There is a public square to the rear of the Bathstore unit with a sculpture in its centre called
New Birth.
Reed Square is in the centre of the estate and was masterplanned by Gillespies and Associated Architects who later produced more detailed designs for Castle Vale Library and Castle Vale Police Station within the masterplan. The site covers and is generally surrounded by housing with some office and educational premises to the southwest. The site previously accommodated shopping facilities which were underused and so the HAT decided to construct a High Street through the centre of the site to make it a community hub.
Parkland
The provision of green space for the community was a major priority for the HAT and the demolition of the Centre 8 tower blocks allowed for the creation of a new park. The result was Castle Vale Centre Park on Tangmere Drive. It is a landscaped area with a play area and formal bedding areas. It was completed in 2003 and became the first new public park in the city for a decade. It was designed by Fira and Birmingham City Council's Landscape Practice Group. A lighting scheme was devised by DW Windsor Lighting. In 2006, the park won the Civic Trust's Green Flag Award.
Project Wagtail was the brainchild of resident Jez Lilley who received a £15,000 grant from Birmingham City Council in 1988 to help transform an area of wasteland to the south of the estate into a nature reserve. He campaigned to schools and businesses and around 500 people helped plant trees and shrubs in the area. Lilley also established a gardening club and was given an office at The Fort Shopping Centre, outside of the estate. The office became a drop-in centre for unwanted pets and a bird of prey centre was set up, housing fourteen birds. Lilley also envisaged a footpath to encircle the estate and this idea was presented to Richard Temple Cox in 1994, who later offered Lilley a job as Community Development Officer with an environmental remit. Project Wagtail became his priority and it was funded over the next two years by the HAT, Groundwork Birmingham and Birmingham City Council. The end result was a network of footpaths around the perimeter of and bisecting the estate. This provided opportunities for the installation of public art and also provided pedestrian access to amenities. As part of the project, incidental open spaces were created, for example at Thomas Walk in the centre of the Watton Green area of the estate and Innsworth Green in Manby East and West. Innsworth Green is more landscaped than that at Thomas Walk.
Public art
As part of the area's regeneration, an arts initiative was established which has led to the installation of five pieces of public art within the area. The Community Arts Strategy was established in 1997 with
Tim TolkienTim Tolkien is a British sculptor who has designed several monumental sculptures, including the award-winning Sentinel.His other claim to fame is as the great-nephew of J. R. R. Tolkien, the famous author of the fantasy book The Lord of the Rings...
appointed as Artist in Residence who commissioned five pieces of public art in the area by 1999. One of the most recognisable pieces to be created as a result of the initiative is the
SentinelSentinel is a 16m high sculpture by Tim Tolkien, installed upon a traffic island at the intersection of the Chester Road and the A47 Fort Parkway at the entrance to the Castle Vale estate in Birmingham, England....
sculpture by Tim Tolkien. It was erected on the
A452The A452 is a road in England, which runs from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire to Brownhills in Staffordshire. It is the major link to the M6 motorway for both Leamington and Warwick in addition to serving as Leamington's link to the M40 motorway and to Coventry....
roundaboutA roundabout is one of several types of circular road junctions or intersections at which traffic is slowed down and enters a one-way stream around a central island. Technically these junctions sometimes are called modern roundabouts, in order to emphasize the distinction from older circular...
located between the estate and the Jaguar factory in 2000. The roundabout was subsequently renamed "Spitfire Island". It celebrates the area's connection with the
Supermarine SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries through the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used into the 1950s both as a front line fighter and in secondary roles...
fighter plane.
Another large metal sculpture that was designed for Castle Vale is the
Knight of the Vale sculpture, overlooking the roundabout at Farnborough Road and Tangmere Drive. The piece was the result of a competition held by Castle Vale Housing Action Trust in conjunction with Sainsbury's for a large scale art feature at the estate's entrance. John McKenna won the competition with 74% of the vote for his proposal of a knight on horseback. The piece was entirely created at his studio in
WorcestershireWorcestershire or ; abbreviated Worcs) is a historic and administrative county located in the West Midlands region of central England. In 1974 it was merged with the county of Herefordshire to form the single administrative county of Hereford and Worcester; which was divided in 1998,...
and was unveiled in October 2002. The sculpture is placed on a plinth and made entirely out of stainless steel, measuring in height.
Tolkien also worked with youth and community groups in Castle Vale to produce eleven "Dream Seats" which were artistically designed benches that were installed around the estate.
Project Wagtail led to the creation of a further three pieces of public art. A sculpture named
Trees was erected by Jo Naden in 2002 following a study of plants with pupils at the local schools. At one of the highest points on Park Lane, Angelo Bordonari's
Memories of Castle Vale stands in the form of three stones. It was created with the help of the older generations on the estate who gave their stories of their memories of the estate. Also on Park Lane is a floral mural by
Paul HillPaul Hill is the name of:*Paul Jennings Hill , American anti-abortion activist executed for murder*Paul Hill , one of the Guildford Four...
named
Inset. Installed in 2002 with the help of St. Gerards Primary School pupils, it charts the history of the estate.
Public services
To sustain the needs of the community, there are various services available to them for recreational purposes. Some services were constructed along with the rest of the estate during the 1960s whilst others were added as part of the regeneration of the estate.
There is a neighbourhood office located on High Street which is operated by Birmingham City Council. It is open three days a week and provides advice and deals with enquiries from local residents. Other Birmingham City Council-operated facilities include Castle Vale Community Leisure Centre on Farnborough Road which hosts badminton courts, gymnasiums, a school hall with stage and grass pitches for football. Also included in the complex is the Castle Pool & Adventure Playland which features a swimming pool and a play area for children. One of the newest and most-recognisable facilities to be built in the area is Castle Vale Library, part of the C3 complex, located on High Street. Completed in December 2005 and opened on 6 March 2006, it was designed by Birmingham-based
Associated Architectsthumb|right|Associated Architects' Offices at [[The Mailbox]], Birminghamthumb|right|RIBA Award Winner 2009, David Wilson Library|thumb|right|RIBA Award Winner 2008, King's School Library|thumb|right|RIBA Sustainability Award Winner 2005, Cobtun House, Worcester|...
at a cost of £3.7 million with funding from the council,
European Regional Development FundEuropean Regional Development Fund is a fund allocated by the European Union.-Scope:As part of its task to promote regional development, the ERDF contributes towards financing the following measures:...
and the
Learning and Skills CouncilThe Learning and Skills Council is a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Department of Children, Schools and families in England. Until June 2007, it was sponsored by to the former Department for Education and Skills)...
. There are 27 public computer terminals and an additional 60 study places in the building. The distinctive building features a curved double-height corner feature, topped by a sharp Tecu Bronze-clad apex.
The Sanctuary is a building on Tangmere Drive which serves as a venue for community events and a meeting point for many community organisations. Castle Vale Community Housing Association now maintains the building on behalf of the Castle Vale Community Care Partnership. Construction started in November 1998 and was completed in August 1999. It was officially opened by Sir Michael Lyons on 24 May 2000. It was funded by Castle Vale Community Housing Action Trust,
Allied DunbarAllied Dunbar was a large British insurance company. In its early years as Hambro Life Assurance it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
and Birmingham Health Authority, who funded the building as part of the health village which has developed around Tangmere Drive. The building was designed by TSP Architects.
Also part of the medical village are Eden Court Medical Practice and Castle Vale Primary Care Centre. Castle Vale Primary Care Centre was officially opened on 21 February 2005 by then-
Deputy Prime MinisterA Deputy Prime Minister or Vice Prime Minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting Prime Minister when the Prime Minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, but is significantly different, though both...
John PrescottJohn Leslie Prescott is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Hull East since 1970; from 1997 to 2007, he was the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, also serving as First Secretary of State from 2001...
, although it had opened to patients on 13 December 2004 having been completed seven weeks ahead of schedule. Building work was undertaken by
Costain GroupCostain Group plc is a British construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Maidenhead. It was part of the original Channel Tunnel consortium and is involved in Private Finance Initiative projects...
and the building was designed by Gilling Dod. It is managed by Eastern Birmingham Primary Care Trust. It was constructed to replace a previous centre and is twice the size of its predecessor, allowing minor surgical operations to be performed at the centre. The building cost £4 million, £1 million of which was given by the Castle Vale Housing Action Trust with the rest funded by the
NHSThe National Health Service or NHS is the publicly-funded healthcare system in England...
. Eden Court is further along Tangmere Drive and is a GP surgery operated by the NHS. The building was opened in 2001 and features a courtyard in the centre. As well as serving the needs of the local area, the building is also used by medical students.
Transport
Castle Vale is bounded to the north and the west by the
Kingsbury Road (A38)The A38 is a major A-class trunk road in England.Though formally known as the Exeter - Leeds Trunk Road, it actually runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is 292 miles long...
and the
Chester Road (A452)The A452 is a road in England, which runs from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire to Brownhills in Staffordshire. It is the major link to the M6 motorway for both Leamington and Warwick in addition to serving as Leamington's link to the M40 motorway and to Coventry....
respectively, and to the south and the east by the
Birmingham and Derby Junction RailwayThe Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway was a British railway company. From Birmingham it connected at Derby with the North Midland Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
and the
Sutton Park Line|}The Sutton Park Line is a freight-only railway line running from Walsall to Castle Bromwich and Water Orton in the West Midlands, England. It is an important and strategic route, as it enables most freight trains to avoid congestion at Birmingham New Street station...
, which join in the eastern part of the estate. Neither of the railway lines carry passenger services or serve Castle Vale, although
Castle Bromwich railway stationCastle Bromwich railway station was a railway station in Birmingham opened by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway in 1842.It was on the line into Birmingham Lawley Street from Water Orton....
did serve this location from 1842 till 1968, when the Castle Vale estate neared completion. There are now plans to reopen this station for passenger services.
However, at present, the public transport system serving Castle Vale remains a road-based service. Numerous bus routes operated by
National Express West MidlandsNational Express West Midlands is the brand name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall in the West Midlands county of England, and some...
pass through or around the estate, travelling mainly along the three main roads. These access the estate from two locations: Tangmere Drive from Spitfire Island, and Park Lane from Water Orton Lane. The Manby Lane junction with Kingsbury Road (A38) to the north is another access point for motorists into the estate but is not used by buses. There is also another entrance at Castle Vale Retail Park, although this is used mainly by drivers wishing to access the car park or Sainsbury's fuel station. This was designed so that it would not be used as a thoroughfare into the estate. There is an extensive cycle-path network around the estate which follows the main roads and Project Wagtail.
In March 1995, the Castle Vale Hopper bus service was introduced as a pilot service for one year, following a feasibility study by the CVHAT into internal transport links on the estate. The service was considered a success and was rolled out permanently with the service number 696. The bus service is the only route operated by Valley Travel, the transport arm of Merlin Venture, and follows a circular clockwise route around the estate.
| Route number |
Terminals |
Bus operator |
References |
| 67 |
Birmingham - Castle Vale |
National Express West MidlandsNational Express West Midlands is the brand name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall in the West Midlands county of England, and some...
|
|
| 68A |
Sutton Coldfield and Erdington Circular anti-clockwise |
National Express West MidlandsNational Express West Midlands is the brand name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall in the West Midlands county of England, and some...
|
|
| 68C |
Sutton Coldfield and Erdington Circular clockwise |
National Express West MidlandsNational Express West Midlands is the brand name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall in the West Midlands county of England, and some...
|
|
| 71 |
Solihull - Sutton Coldfield |
National Express West MidlandsNational Express West Midlands is the brand name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall in the West Midlands county of England, and some...
|
|
| 638 |
Erdington - Castle Vale |
National Express West MidlandsNational Express West Midlands is the brand name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall in the West Midlands county of England, and some...
|
|
| 696 |
Castle Vale local link |
Valley Travel |
|
When Parliamentary Approval was granted for the construction of Midland Metro Line Two, approval was also granted to the construction of a spur to Castle Vale. The proposed route entered the estate from Chester Road onto Tangmere Drive and on to a terminus at Reed Square. Neither lines have started construction.
Sport
Castle Vale benefits from numerous sporting facilities which are open to all residents. Birmingham City Council's Leisure Department operates the Castle Pool & Adventure Playground which features a swimming pool whilst the Castle Vale Community Leisure Centre has badminton courts, gymnasiums and grass pitches for football.
An additional facility is the Vale Stadium on Farnborough Road which hosts a grandstand, overlooking the main pitch which is then surrounded by several other grass pitches for football. The stadium is used by
Castle Vale F.C.Castle Vale F.C. are a football club based in the Castle Vale area of Birmingham, England. The club was previously known as King's Heath and Castle Vale King's Heath before adopting its present name in 2005...
, Castle Vale JKS F.C. and Paget Sports F.C., the result of an amalgamation of the now-defunct
Paget Rangers F.C.Paget Rangers F.C. is a defunct English association football club which was based in Birmingham. The club originally formed in 1938 when a group of former pupils of Paget Road School together with Jack Hughes Snr combined to form a football team.-History:...
, who played their last match at the stadium on 23 April 2002, and Pinnacle Sports F.C.. Castle Vale F.C. is a more established football club than Castle Vale JKS F.C., although it has its roots in
Kings HeathKings Heath is a suburb of Birmingham, England, three miles south of the city centre. It is the next suburb south from Moseley on the Alcester Road.-History:...
. They became Castle Vale F.C. following a series of name changes that reflected their change of ground. Castle Vale JKS F.C. was established in 1998 as a youth team on the estate and has now diversified into establishing an adult mens team and a girls team. In 2008, Sutton Coldfield United F.C.'s under-17 team merged with Castle Vale JKS F.C. and became known as Castle Vale JKS's under-18 team.
Planning permission was granted in March 2009 for the provision of new judo, dance and gym facilities at the stadium. The plans are estimated to cost £3 million.
Media
Castle Vale is served by a community radio station and a free bi-monthly newspaper, both of which were started by CVHAT and are now operated by Headline Media Birmingham. The community radio station originally started out in 1995 when young residents staged the first Vale FM temporary licence broadcast (
RSLA UK Restricted Service Licence , is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event...
) from Topcliffe House with funding from the HAT. A further broadcast took place in 1996, firmly establishing local support for a community broadcasting service in Castle Vale. This led to the creation of Castle Vale Community Radio (CVCR), also known as Vale FM. In 1998, the organisation's premises within Topcliffe House were completely fitted out with new facilities which included two broadcast studios, a training room, digital recording facilities and office space. Since 1997, the organisation has run fifteen radio skills training programmes for approximately 230 unemployed participants in partnership with East Birmingham College, part of City College Birmingham. In addition, a total of seventeen
Restricted Service LicenceA UK Restricted Service Licence , is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event...
(RSL) broadcasts have been staged, including five weekend broadcasts staged in partnership with other organisations. Further to this, a number of community - wide initiatives have been organised in conjunction with local organisations to facilitate the involvement of 350 young people in community radio activity. The station was granted a Community Broadcast Licence by
OFCOMThe Office of Communications or, as it is more often known, Ofcom, is the independent regulator and competition authority for the communication industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established in the enabling device, the , but received its full authority from the Communications...
and began broadcasting under the name Switch Radio in 2006 to target their services elsewhere in Birmingham area.
Vale Mail was first published in 2000 by CVHAT before being taken over by Headline Media Birmingham in 2004. The bi-monthly newspaper has 16 pages and is distributed to 8,800 residents in 4,100 households. In 2007, a survey conducted by Castle Vale Tenants and Residents Alliance showed that 84% of local residents relied on it as a source for local news. Vale Mail also operates a
WordPressWordPress is a blog publishing application and content management system. It was first released in May 2003 by its co-founders Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little as the successor to b2/cafelog. It is powered by PHP and a SQL data backend...
blog which provides up-to-date local news between editions.
Community organisations
As Castle Vale Housing Action Trust was established to last a total of twelve years, the trust needed to find ways of maintaining their work after it was disestablished. A number of successor organisations were established throughout the HAT's life to deal with individual aspects that the HAT covered. The first of these was the Castle Vale Community Housing Association (CVCHA), established in 1997. The Housing Association manages the homes that were developed by the HAT's housing association partners. Now based at Reed Square, it manages around 2,500 homes and employs over 80 people, with a board of 14 members, the majority of which are Castle Vale residents. A landlord ballot in October 2003 found that 98% of residents wanted to be transferred to CVCHA following CVHAT's disestablishment, with the remaining 2% returning to Birmingham City Council's management.
Merlin Venture Ltd. was established in 1999 as a community development trust, focussing largely on employment and training. It is a not-for-profit company that owns numerous businesses that provides services for Castle Vale and beyond. It manages Tiggy Winkles Day Care Nursery, which was established in 1993 and is now based in two facilities on the estate. They also manage two transport businesses; Valley Travel and Buster Werkenbak. Valley Travel operates the 696 bus route, and Buster Werkenbak operates an on-demand transportation service for employees to travel to work in areas that are otherwise served with poor transportation services. Merlin Security operates CCTV cameras around the estate and works with the Community Wardens employed by CVCHA to tackle problem areas. Valescapes is a landscaping service for the estate that also offers employment opportunities for locals. To encourage job creation on the estate, Merlin Training provides training services in electrics, decorating and plumbing. Additionally, Merlin Recruitment offers residents services to assist them in getting jobs and liasing with businesses to publish vacancies. Merlin JETS is similar in that it offers advice to those looking for a new job. Merlin Venture is based at Venture House in Enterprise Park.
To ensure that the key partners in the regeneration of the estate remain in contact, the Castle Vale Neighbourhood Partnership was established in 2002. The Neighbourhood Partnership holds community meetings with representatives from the community organisations and trusts to assist in any concerns residents may have.
See also
- Castle Bromwich Aerodrome
Castle Bromwich Aerodrome was an early airfield, situated to the north of Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands of England. The site now falls within the City of Birmingham.-History:...
- British Industries Fair
The British Industries Fair was an important exhibition centre in Birmingham, England.The large complex of buildings were built in 1920 and were situated between Castle Bromwich Aerodrome and the railway line. For two weeks every year it was the most visited attraction in the country...
- Housing Action Trust
Housing Action Trusts are non-departmental public bodies, which were set up to redevelop some of the poorest council housing estates in Britain's inner-city suburbs.Six Housing Action Trusts were established under the Housing Act of 1988...
External links