| Washwood Heath | |
|---|---|
  Washwood Heath Location within theWest Midlands | |
| Population | 32,921 (2011 Ward)[1] |
| • Density | 80.7 per ha |
| OS grid reference | SP105885 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Shire county | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BIRMINGHAM |
| Postcode district | B8 |
| Dialling code | 0121 |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Washwood Heath is award inBirmingham, within theformal district ofHodge Hill, roughly two miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, England. Washwood Heath covers the areas of Birmingham that lie betweenNechells,Bordesley Green,Stechford andHodge Hill.
Saltley on the south-western side andWard End on the north-eastern side of Washwood Heath are the two areas that cover the entire ward, though some parts near Nechells and Hodge Hill do not come under either of these and are simply headed under "Washwood Heath". One of the area's major employers was the railway works owned byMetropolitan-Cammell (laterAlstom), but it closed in 2005.
In the 2020s,Washwood Heath railway depot is to be constructed as part of theHigh Speed 2 project - to service and maintain the high speed trains.[2]
Places adjacent to Washwood Heath | |
|---|---|
According to the2001 Population Census, there were 27,822 people living in the ward with a population density of 5,335 people per km2 compared with 3,649 people per km2 for Birmingham. The area is 5.2 km2. Washwood Heath is an ethnically diverse community with 57% (15,863) of the ward's population being of an ethnic minority compared with 29.6% for Birmingham. It had been a major Irish community.
The area is served byWashwood Heath Academy. For the younger population, there is a children's centre.
The ward is represented onBirmingham City Council by three councillors: Mariam Khan, Ansar Ali Khan and Mohammed Idrees, allLabour.
Project Champion was a project to install a £3m network of 169Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras to monitor vehicles entering and leaving Washwood Heath andSparkbrook. Its implementation was frozen in June 2010 amid allegations that the police deliberately misled councillors about its purpose, after it was revealed that it was being funded as ananti-terrorism initiative, rather than for 'reassurance and crime prevention'.[3][4]
In 1914 the Electric & Ordnance Accessories Company Ltd (Vickers, Sons & Maxim) constructed a large factory between Common Lane and Drews Lane in theWard End area of Washwood Heath. The Ward End Works covered an area of 65 acres (26 ha) upon completion. A distinctive feature was the Bromford House administrative block, with its 400 ft (122 m) façade fronting onto Drews Lane.
The factory was an assembly plant and before the outbreak of hostilities produced a light car called theStellite. During its first four years, the factory also produced munitions fuses and shell cases for soldiers fighting in mainland Europe duringWorld War I. When the war was over, Vickers, the owners of Electric & Ordnance Accessories Company Ltd, put the factory under the ownership of another subsidiaryWolseley Motors on 30 September 1919. After the change in ownership, Wolseley replaced the small workshop sheds with a large assembly building.
Wolseley began to encounter difficulties in the 1920s and it was saved after being purchased byWilliam Morris. As a result of the purchase, car manufacturing was completely moved from the Adderley Park site, which becameMorris Commercials, to the Ward End Works. Engines for theMorris Minor were also produced at the factory during the 1930s alongside the Wolseley production line.
WhenWorld War II broke out in 1939 the factory became the production base for tanks and military vehicles as well as mines. In 1941, it also began to produce theHorsa glider. By the end of the war, £500,000 worth of damage had been inflicted on the plant by theLuftwaffe in raids in 1941 and 1942.
In 1939 a new factory for the Morris Motors Pressing Branch was constructed on the Common Lane side of the Ward End Works. This was renamed Nuffield Metal Products in 1945. Production of Wolseley cars recommenced on 4 September 1945.
In 1948 the works began to encounter new problems and it was seen to be more efficient for production of new Morrises to be moved toCowley inOxford. By the 1950s, production was centred at Cowley and the Ward End Works were used in the productions of Nuffield Group products. Following the formation of theBritish Motor Corporation in 1952, parts were also made there forAustin-Healey Sprite, and the Wolseley 1500/Riley 1.5 twins. The formation ofBritish Leyland resulted in the plant being redesignated the Austin Morris division's Transmission Plant. 4,400 workers were employed on site.
When the Adderley Park plant closed in 1972 all vehicle production was moved to the Common Lane works. During the mid-1980s there was a fire at the factory however no other problems surfaced.
In 1989Freight Rover becameLeyland-DAF Vans, which then became theLDV Group in 1993. The site covered 85 acres (34 ha), with Bromford House being used as the company's headquarters. The works have since been demolished.
The formerMetro-Cammell andLeyland DAF Vans sites are to be redeveloped as theWashwood Heath depot forHigh Speed 2.[5]
