Building Chelmsley Wood – pictures showing how the town came to be

In 1966, Birmingham City Council compulsorily acquired ancient woodland and built on the council estate to relocate families on the council housing waiting list. Fast forward to today and you have Chelmsley Wood.

Built on land that was once the Forest of Arden as an outgrown city for Birmingham, planning permission was granted by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and the shopping center opened on 7 April 1970, with the library following later that year.

Local government reorganization in 1974 transferred the area to Solihull Metropolitan Borough, although responsibility for housing remained with Birmingham until September 1980.

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By the end of the Second World War over 12,000 homes had been destroyed by aerial bombing in Birmingham and by the 1950s there was a great demand for new homes. Great estates were being built in Birmingham city limits such as Druid’s Heath, Castle Vale and Bromford, but by the early 60s there was no land available so Chelmsley was the obvious place to build.

By the end of the Second World War over 12,000 homes had been destroyed by aerial bombing in Birmingham and by the 1950s there was a great demand for new homes. Great estates were being built in Birmingham city limits such as Druid’s Heath, Castle Vale and Bromford, but by the early 60s there was no land available so Chelmsley was the obvious place to build.

Construction of over 15,000 homes began in 1965 and was completed by 1970, then by Birmingham City Council. These were then transferred to Solihull Council in the 1974 reshuffle, although full control was not transferred until 1980 when the eventual Solihull MBC took full control.

The name “Chelmsley” is of Saxon origin and indicates a settlement, an enclosure of Ceolmund and Ceolmund Crescent still exists today as a reminder of the olden days. Today, considerable redevelopment has changed the shape of the area, still known to many as “The Wood”.

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