Longbridge
Encyclopedia
Longbridge is an area of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England
England
England 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, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. For local government purposes it is a ward within the district of Northfield
Northfield, West Midlands
Northfield is a residential area on the southern outskirts of metropolitan Birmingham, England and near the boundary with Worcestershire. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...

.

Since 1905, the area has been dominated by the Longbridge plant
Longbridge plant
The Longbridge plant is an industrial complex situated in the Longbridge area of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is currently owned by SAIC Group and is a manufacturing and research and development facility for its MG Motor subsidiary....

, which produced Austin
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...

, Nash Metropolitan
Nash Metropolitan
The Nash Metropolitan is a car that was sold, initially only in the United States and Canada, from 1954–1962.It conforms to two classes of vehicle: economy car and subcompact car. In today’s terminology the Metropolitan is a “subcompact”, but this category had not yet come into use when the car was...

, Morris
Morris Motor Company
The Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...

, British Leyland
British Leyland Motor Corporation
British Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...

, and most recently MG Rover
MG Rover Group
MG Rover was the last domestically owned mass-production car manufacturer in the British motor industry. The company was formed when BMW sold the car-making and engine manufacturing assets of the original Rover Group to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000....

 cars. The factory became dormant, and some parts of the older sections of the site were demolished after MG Rover fell into administration in April 2005. The company, renamed MG Motor (owned by MG Rover's would-be partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) resumed full MG TF
MG TF
The TF model name has been used on two automobiles produced by MG Cars:* MG TF Midget * MG TF...

 sports car production at the factory in August 2008 and In late 2010 started final assembly of the MG6
MG 6
The MG6 is a mid-size car built by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, derived from the Roewe 550 and hence distantly related to the Rover 75, sharing its front subframe...

.

Situation

To the immediate south-west lie the Lickey Hills
Lickey Hills
The Lickey Hills are a range of hills in Worcestershire, England, eleven miles to the south-west of the centre of Birmingham near the villages of Lickey and Barnt Green...

, a favourite recreation spot for the people of southern Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

. From the south-east the railway line from Barnt Green
Barnt Green
Barnt Green is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England, located immediately south of Birmingham, with a population at the 2001 census of 1,733.-Origins:...

 divides Longbridge off from the Bittell Reservoirs
Bittell Reservoirs
The Bittell Reservoirs are located in Worcestershire between Barnt Green to the south and the Birmingham district of Longbridge to the north. They consist of the Upper and Lower reservoir. They were built to feed the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, which was finished in the 1790s, however, the...

: Longbridge railway station
Longbridge railway station
Longbridge railway station serves the Longbridge area in the south-west of Birmingham, England. It is on the Cross City Line. The station and all trains calling there are operated by London Midland.-History:...

 on the Cross-City Line stands opposite the Longbridge plant, near the Bristol Road (A38
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...

). The Austin Sports and Social Club is one of the many social clubs in the area.

Surrounding areas include Rubery
Rubery
Rubery is a village in the Bromsgrove district of Worcestershire. Part of the village forms a southern suburb of Birmingham, England in the West Midlands. The village is from Birmingham city centre....

, Kings Norton
Kings Norton
Kings Norton is an area of Birmingham, England. It is also a Birmingham City Council ward within the formal district of Northfield.-History:...

, Rednal
Rednal
Rednal is a residential suburb on the south western edge of metropolitan Birmingham, West Midlands, England, 9 miles south west of Birmingham city centre and forming part of Longbridge parish and electoral ward....

, Northfield
Northfield, West Midlands
Northfield is a residential area on the southern outskirts of metropolitan Birmingham, England and near the boundary with Worcestershire. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...

 centre and West Heath
West Heath
West Heath may refer to various places in England:*The New School at West Heath, in Sevenoaks, Kent*West Heath, Cheshire, in Congleton*West Heath, Hampshire*West Heath, London, in Bexley, London*West Heath, West Midlands, in Birmingham...

.

Development

The famous service tunnel/bridge (pictured), used to carry vehicle bodyshells across the Bristol Road, was demolished on the night of 4 August 2006. Other parts of the huge MG Rover factories on the site were demolished during that night and later in 2006 and the land to be used for future redevelopment. At the moment much of the original site still lies unused awaiting development Less than half of the original Longbridge site has been retained for carmaking.

Longbridge Technology Park

Situated where the Bristol Road meets Longbridge Lane, the Longbridge Technology Park was completed in late 2007. The buildings are meant to be 95% let, with businesses at the park including a firm supplying to Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...

 and IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

. It was announced after the construction that there were plans to build another 2 buildings of the same style, however once the recession kicked off these plans were temporarily shelved with a view of construction when things begin to pick up.

Cofton Centre

After the collapse of MG Rover group the old XPower building was transferred to EH Smiths Builders Merchants, PRG lighting also took over a large warehouse/factory unit and 2 other Warehouse/Factory units were constructed on the site.

Residential

2000 new homes are due to be built on various parts of the site; the first development along Lickey Lane called Park View due to its proximity of Cofton Park, had government approval for home start funding to construct the first of 115 homes on the site. When the coalition government took over this was one of the schemes to face the axe in the budget cuts. However, the developer found the cash to put forward to build the homes, and work commenced in late 2010. According to press releases the homes are selling far better than imagined and planning permission has been applied for Longbridge East, the former Powertrain plant. This land will house 725 new dwellings, built in phases with phase one consisting of 229 of the homes. There will also be a community centre and childs play area and new associated access and road works. The River Rea like the town centre will be bought back to surface out of its current culvert and incorporated in to a park. Work will begin on site early 2012 providing planning is granted.

Bournville College at Longbridge

Bournville College have also taken part of the Former factory site just off the Longbridge Lane/Bristol Road, over the road from the Technology Centre. The site incorporates a gold-clad conference suite, a turquoise/blue clad sports hall, motor vehicle workshop and construction workshop and a main 6 storey gradual sloping building clad in blue going from dark to light as it nears the top.At the back of the building which will lead on to the Austin Park it is clad in a shiney white cladding with big wooden beams stretching out and forming the wrap around a glass rectangular building which houses the library and learning resource centre. The campus will incorporate Bournville Colleges current 3 sites into one and allow for 15,000+ students, and relieving the old campuses for redevelopment. The new site is now open for the academic year.

Longbridge Town Centre

An outline Planning App was put forward to Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...

 for the town Centre, it will include 25 new shops and restaurants with a major supermarket, (Sainsburys) with underground car parking. The retail will account for over 150,000 sq ft. An Austin Memorial Centre, The River Rea
River Rea
The River Rea is a small river which passes through Birmingham, England. The name of the river derives from a root found in many Indo-European languages and means "to run" or "to flow". It frequently bursts its banks after heavy rain....

 being bought back to the surface as a focal point in the centre of a newly formed 2 acre park called Austin Park, surrounded by the Bournville college campus and the new retail outlets and supermarket. Public consultation happened in the Autumn of 2010. The Sainsburys supermarket is earmarked to be built and up and running for Easter 2013. There will also be a 75 bed hotel and 40 apartments overlooking the new park. The town centre will contain a total of near 700 parking spaces. The retail outlets have had a lot of interest shown in them including high end retailers given the location to affluent areas such as Barnt Green.

Myplace Youth Centre

A Youth Centre will also be constructed on the land by the Austin social club and the nursery. The youth Centre will house IT, media and music suites, a dance studio, sports hall, conference suites, arts space, workshops and outdoor astroturf and games area. The centre is currently under construction and due for completion Summer 2012.

Bristol Road South Reconfiguration

Following the announcement of Bournvilles intentions to take part of the site an outline application was drew up for new road access, it was also looked into about the re configuration of the Bristol Road South, it was found that the roundabout at the Bristol Road and Lickey Lane caused traffic to slow down at this point and was decided along with thee road access and other associated roadworks with the new town centre and college, that the Bristol Road South would be realigned to incorporate a smooth curve, keeping the traffic moving, this is likely to result in the demolition of the former MG Rover training and learning development centre, currently held by Bournville College as a temporary construction campus, the old Longbridge Train Station, tickets and parcels building is also likely to be lost. John Sisk & Sons were appointed contractors for the work and began on site in the summer of 2010, however the original Longbridge Train Station is a listed building so the plans were to be revised with a view towards keeping the existing layout.

Great Park

A major development aimed to improve the Longbridge ward was the Great Park development in Rubery
Rubery
Rubery is a village in the Bromsgrove district of Worcestershire. Part of the village forms a southern suburb of Birmingham, England in the West Midlands. The village is from Birmingham city centre....

 by Corporate Land Developments Ltd. The 200 acre (0.809372 km²) site just off junction 4 on the M5 Motorway
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...

 has been developed into a community with offices, houses, industrial units, Empire Cinemas
Empire Cinemas
Empire Cinemas Limited is a multiplex cinema chain in the UK. There are 17 Empire Cinemas with 141 screens in total, including the flagship Empire Cinema in Leicester Square, London which hosts various film premières and first-runs.-Ownership & Management:...

, Hollywood Bowl, Premier Inn, Brewers Fayre
Brewers Fayre
Brewers Fayre is a chain of around 125 licensed family and casual dining pub restaurants in the United Kingdom, owned by Whitbread.They are known for serving traditional British pub food, including gammon and steak & ale pie which are among the most popular choices. Nearly all Brewers Fayres are...

, Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...

, Gala Bingo, Green's Fitness and an area of public open space.

The housing developments were undertaken by Crest Nicholson
Crest Nicholson
Crest Nicholson is a British housebuilding company based in Chertsey, Surrey.-History:The Company was founded by Bryan Skinner in 1963 as Crest Homes and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1968. One of the characteristics that differentiated Crest from most other housebuilders of the time was...

, Bellway
Bellway
Bellway plc is a major British residential property developer based in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.- History :...

, Barratt Developments
Barratt Developments
Barratt Developments PLC is one of the largest residential property development companies in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1958 as Greensitt Bros. but control was later assumed by Sir Lawrie Barratt. It was originally based in Newcastle upon Tyne but is now located at David Wilson's former...

 and David Wilson Homes and provided a variety of homes. This was completed in 2002. Leisure facilities provided include a cinema, bowling complex, restaurants, health and fitness centre, social and bingo club, a day nursery and a 60 bedroom hotel. An all weather pitch, funded by the developers, was also created and is in the possession of Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...

. In June 2000, a 52000 square feet (4,831 m²) manufacturing unit was completed for Draexlmaier Automotive UK. A further four industrial units are to be constructed to individual occupiers requirements.

In March 2007, Mark Kent was employed as Town Centre Manager to oversee the redevelopment of Longbridge as a community following the closure of the MG Rover factory. Kent's role is to implement the integration of the new factory units being constructed with the existing Longbridge town centre and suburbs. The 13 acres (52,609.2 m²) of land which has been freed up following the demolition of more than half of the former MG Rover factory floorspace (now owned by SAIC) has been allocated for a new town centre for the once bustling and soon to be redeveloped area.

As a result of the development 1,500 jobs will have been created at a total cost of over £400 million.

Politics

Richard Burden
Richard Burden
Richard Burden is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Northfield since 1992. Together with close friend and fellow ex-Young Liberal Peter Hain M.P., he was an enthusiastic supporter of the ill-fated Alternative Vote system in the May 2011...

 (Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

) is the Northfield constituency's Member of Parliament, and the councillors elected to represent the ward of Longbridge are Ken Wood (Conservatives), Ian Cruise (Labour) and Andrew Cartwright (Labour). Longbridge has adopted a Ward Support Officer currently held by Bob Barr.

Population

The 2001 Population Census recorded that there were 30,964 people living in Longbridge with a population density of 3,789 people per km² compared with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. Longbridge has a small ethnic minority population: only 6.8% (2,117) of the ward's population consists of ethnic minorities, unlike more centralised areas such as Aston
Aston
Aston is an 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:...

, Handsworth
Handsworth, West Midlands
Handsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...

 and Small Heath
Small Heath, Birmingham
Small Heath is an inner-city area within the city of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is situated on and around the A45 ....

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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