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ASTON PRIDEWard ProfileWith a population of over 26,000, Aston is a multi-cultural inner city ward situated to the north of Birmingham City centre. Historical ContextAston is an inner city area, which lies between the City Centre to its south and Spaghetti Junction to the North. The Aston Ward has many notable historic places of interest. Perhaps its most famous is Aston Hall, a Jacobean Hall in Aston Park, built between 1618 and 1635, by Sir Thomas Holte, head of a prominent Warwickshire family. Aston park is the remnant of Sir Thomas Holte's 329 acre deer park. Although much altered during the last one hundred and fifty years (and now only some 50 acres in area), it retains significant elements of its 17th and 18th century form. It is grade II listed on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. Aston, once a rural district, was transformed into a thriving, urban neighbourhood. Greenflelds were criss-crossed with roads; streets, canals and railway lines and they were covered with factories, shops and houses. There were plenty of famous businesses in the area such as the Norton Motorcycle works in (racebridge Street, Joseph Lucas’ electrical component premises in Great King Street (site now occupied by Tenby Industries), Newman's of Moorsom Street who still produce door closers, Brandaeurs pen nib manufacturere now making small pressings for the electronic industry and Hudsons, who produced whistles for the crew of the Titanic!
PopulationOver the last 20-30 years the characteristics of the local community has seen considerable change. Today, Aston is a multi-ethnic community with substantial numbers of people who are either first or second generation Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Kashmiri, Indian and African-Caribbean. These communities are well established in the area. In 1991 the population was 26,819. 45% of residents were white, 20% black, 31% Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi and 4% of other origin. 12% of the households are headed by a lone parent with 50-60% of lone parents unemployed. 38% of households have dependent children. The age profile shows that 31% are under 15, 53% are between 15-60, 16% are over 60. There are 6,809 households claiming Council Tax and/or Housing Benefit in the Ward.
Household Tenure53% of the residents rent from the local authority, 10% from the housing associations, 8% from private landlords or with a job whilst 29% are owner occupiers.
Previous InvestmentThe Ward has benefited from significant inward investment, in particular during 1993-98, when £1/4 Bn was attracted to the area through the City Challenge programme. Investment has focused around: Business Development
A credit Union is a none-profit making financial co-operative, which offers a convenient savings and low interest loans service to its members. The establishment of a credit union in the area was a result of a group of residents and employees looking for a practical solution to the banks leaving the area in the late 1980s. There is now a flourishing community Credit Union in the area, providing a useful financial service to its members, it is proving to be remarkably successful. Housing
Ward PlanThe ward has been divided into seven smaller geographical areas to identify key neighbourhoods: Witton
Purpose of the planBirmingham City Council is committed to identifying issues of local concern and then developing strategic plans to respond to those issues. The primary purpose of the plan is to influence the Council’s main service budgets to ensure that they are targeted to addressing the needs of local people.
Identifying the IssuesThe main issues affecting the quality of life of people in the
Aston Ward have been identified through careful consultation. A
variety of techniques have been applied and this document summarises
the issues identified by the Aston Ward Advisory Board, the Community
Conference, leading community representatives, business groups and
officers of the City Council working in the Ward. Having amalgamated
all this research information, it is evident that the priorities
for the Ward are as follows:
Promoting PartnershipsStronger partnerships have been established with the different agencies operating in the area, and the West Midlands Police, Birmingham Settlement, Groundwork, and Aston Villa FC are four agencies amongst many others where strong partnerships have been achieved.
Aston Ward Advisory BoardThe Aston Ward Advisory Board is made of members of the residential and business communities, voluntary sector agencies and other public organisations such as the Police and Health Authority. The primary role of the Board is to identify issues which affect our community and then attract and target resources to addressing those needs. The Ward Advisory Board meet every two months, and a strong partnership has been forged among the Board members.
OBJECTIVES OF THE ASTON WARD DEVELOPMENT PLANCommunity Safety Youth Activities Voluntary Sector and Other Agencies Employment Environment Community Facilities
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