Ladywood

This blog focuses on the Ladywood ward of Birmingham, which covers several distinct parts of the city:

City Centre
The business and retail heart of Birmingham. But also home to over 1,000 residents. The big issues here are planning and licensing of entertainment venues near residential apartments.

Central Ladywood
Unrecognisable from the high-density terraced housing of 50 years ago, the central Ladywood area (broadly speaking, the areas either side of Ladywood Middleway) is now a mixture of mainly low-rise low-density social housing with some tower blocks. Although the area suffers from a poor reputation, huge strides have been made over the years and Ladywood now enjoys a positive community spirit, evidenced by the wonderful work of the kids at TNT News

Broad Street and Brindley Place
Known as the entertainment district, the Brindley Place and Gas St canal area is home to large residential developments such as King Edwards Wharf, Watermarque, Liberty Place, Centenary Plaza and the Mailbox.

Jewellery Quarter
The Jewellery Quarter is Birmingham's gem, where over 2,000 residents live amongst over 400 jewellery businesses and over 200 listed buildings. The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and the beautiful georgian St Paul's Square are must-sees. The area enjoys a thriving community spirit with a successful Neighbourhood Forum responsible for projects such as the 24 Carrots Farmers' Market.

Attwood Green and Park Central
The former Lee Bank area has been transformed over the past ten years. Investment from the private sector together with a £9.8m government grant enabled the project which saw council properties transferred to the new Optima Housing Association. Hundreds of new homes were built, including the Park Central area which combines apartments and townhouses set around an impressive new park.

Icknield Port Loop, Edgbaston Reservoir and Summerfield
Bordering north Edgbaston, the area known as Summerfield is best known for its "eco-village" project, giving many residents solar panels alongside other energy initiatives. The Icknield Port Loop is a 9-acre former industrial area adjacent to Edgbaston Reservoir, set for mixed-use redevelopment.

Ladywood ward, along with Aston, Nechells and Soho, forms the Birmingham Ladywood constituency. The constituency stretches from parts of Handsworth and Winson Green right across to parts of Digbeth and up to Star City. Famous landmarks include the Bullring shopping centre, Birmingham New Street station, the Rotunda, Aston Villa FC, Birmingham City FC and a whole lot more.