| Chelmsley Wood |
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| areas of the west midlands | |
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HISTORY Chelmsley Wood is a relatively new area, which was built in the 1960s on ancient woodland (part of the Forest of Arden) as an overspill town for Birmingham . A shopping centre, a library, a bingo hall and a few public houses but no other leisure amenities were included. In recent years, it has tried to market itself as 'North Solihull ,' but this has led to disbelief from the local people and press, perhaps because of the arguably large visual difference between Chelmsley Wood's concrete breeze block homes and high rise flats and Solihull's expensive mansions, and the economical–political difference between working-class Chelmsley Wood and largely middle-class Solihull. With the adjoining neighbourhoods of Fordbridge and Smiths Wood it became part of the Metropolitan Borough Of Solihull in 1974. RECENT DEVELOPMENT The exact boundary of Chelmsley Wood has become blurred in recent years and Chelmsley Wood as a town has actually shrunk since it was built. Many areas that were considered to be Chelmsley Wood originally, have now become separate areas, notably the areas of Fordbridge, Smith's Wood and Tile Cross. In the last decade a number of new areas of housing have been built in the areas of Greenfield Land to the south of Chelmsley Wood. This greenfield area originally separated Chelmsley Wood from the more affluent town of Marston Green . These new areas of housing are often described as being in Marston Green, much to the resentment of residents of Marston Green who consider the new houses to be an extension of Chelmsley Wood. The new houses are indeed closer to Chelmsley Wood and separated from Marston Green by fields, and the confusion in the address of the new housing is probably an attempt by Estate Agents to increase the value of the houses. Plans are currently under way to carry out the largest renovation of older parts of the town since the demolition of many high-rise blocks of flats in the early 1990s. The current plans propose changes to the central shopping centre area, including the construction of a large Supermarket , as well as modernisation of housing and commercial buildings in the Craig Croft area of the town. REPUTATION Chelmsley Wood suffers a bad reputation in the more affluent surrounding areas in the south of the borough of Solihull and to the west in Coleshill . Some residents of these areas perceive Chelmsley Wood to have very high crime rates, drug related problems, unemployment and poor standards of education. This reputation is in many ways not unfounded as all of these problems are more prevalent in Chelmsley Wood than surrounding areas, however when compared to Housing Estates in other areas of the United Kingdom with similar Socio-economic backgrounds, Chelmsley Wood is a highly successful example of Urban Planning . Redevelopment projects include the demolition of Chelmsley Wood's Whitesmore School, and its replacement with the Grace Academy at a cost of £28 million {Link without Title} . Chelmsley Wood is also part of the wider Regeneration of North Solihull, a partnership between Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and the private sector. An estimated £1.8 billion will be invested over the next fifteen years. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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