Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, everyone's comments are always considered.  It is not possible for the Partnership to keep everyone happy and sometimes tough decisions need to be made.  There are countless examples of how the community and stakeholders have significantly shaped our plans, if you would like to get involved click here.

All of the new Social Housing being built by the North Solihull Partnership is let through Solihull Home Options for more information visit www.solihullhomeoptions.org.uk or telephone 0121 717 1515.

For the latest information about our plans for your area click here.

As part of our response to the economic downturn the programme was extended, we are now aiming for the regeneration programme to be completed by 2025.

This is one of the UK's biggest ever regeneration programmes and in its lifetime aims to deliver:

• More than 8,000 new homes
• 10 New, state-of-the-art primary schools,
• 5 vibrant new village centre's
• New health care facilities
• A positive change to almost 40,000 people's lives
• Mixed use developments
• Local environment and transport improvements  

 We want to make North Solihull a better place, to work live and play.

North Solihull is a relatively new area in the West Midlands, built between 1965 and 1971 on ancient woodland (part of the Forest of Arden) as an overspill town for Birmingham.

Located near Birmingham International Airport and the National Exhibition Centre. There are several bus routes linking the area with Birmingham city centre, just 8 miles away, as well as the town centre of Solihull.

With over 40,000 residents living and working in North Solihull, the area covers 1,000 acres and is divided into 3 wards: Chelmsley Wood, Smith's Wood, Kingshurst & Fordbridge.

Due to the decline in industry in the early 1990's and the premature dilapidation of some of the buildings and infrastructure, the components that the community needed to help them adjust adapt and move on were not there.

Some facts regarding the deprivation within North Solihull are:

• Communities in 5% and 10% most deprived neighbourhoods within England for education, skills, employment and income (IMD 2004).
• People over 16 are four times less as likely to have no qualifications than those in south Solihull.
• A child born in North Solihull today will die 7 years earlier than a child born in the south of the Borough.
• Smith's Wood in worst 5% for crime (IMD 2004).
• The formulaic Radburn housing layout created thousands of 2 and 3 bedroom houses and flats, but nothing bigger or smaller.
• Little ethnic mix; lone parents; second and third generation worklessness; 48% no qualifications.
• There are limited numbers of jobs available within North Solihull, and accessibility via public transport to employment hubs such as the NEC is inadequate.
• Local shopping areas are very outdated that don't meet the needs of the community.
• North Solihull is not eligible for a lot of funding because severe deprivation is masked by district-wide scores.

Solihull Council wanted to improve the lives of local people, but knew they couldn't do this on their own so set up the North Solihull Partnership which enabled money to be raised through the council's land assets that could then be invested back in the whole community. Solihull Council set up the North Solihull Partnership to work with the community to address this issue.

Over £1.8 billion is being invested into the area by 2025.

The North Solihull Partnership is made up of four partners. As a private and public sector partnership, each partner has a specific role:

Bellway Homes - is building and designing all the new homes in the area. For more information visit www.bellway.co.uk

Inpartnership - is working to create the new Village Centres and has an overall strategic role in the project. For more information visit www.inpartnershipgroup.com

Solihull Council - is encouraging investment into the area and re-building the primary schools. For more information visit www.solihull.gov.uk

Whitefriars Housing Group - looks after community consultation and information events. For more information visit www.whitefriarshousing.co.uk

The North Solihull Partnership work very closely with the local Community, Stakeholders and elected representatives to deliver the project and make a real difference to people that live and work within the area.

Regenerating North Solihull is a hugely complex project. Many regeneration projects take place in areas such as former industrial sites where often the bulldozers can move in and create a blank canvas. But in North Solihull, we are hoping to completely transform the area in terms of housing and amenities, while alongside the 40,000 residents who live in the area.

Regenerating North Solihull is responsible for the creation of new Village Centres.

When we talk about Village Centres, we mean a collection of local amenities that will service your community, such as shops, schools and health centres.

Village Centres will either be where local centres are now or in new, more accessible locations. The Village Centres are:

• Kingshurst Village Centre
• Bacon's End Village Centre
• North Arran Way Village Centre
• Craig Croft Village Centre
• Bosworth Drive Village Centre

The Chelmsley Wood town centre improvements are run by a different partnership between the shopping centre owners Fordgate and a project management company called Barton Willmore. Solihull Council are also involved in this project.

The new schools will be extended schools, meaning they'll be open to the community for longer, with more clubs and activities for children to enjoy before school, after school and in the holidays, as well as offering opportunities for adults to access college courses. There will be excellent early years and pre school facilities on site and brand-new computer equipment will be available for everyone who uses the buildings.

New schools also mean a better chance for children because we are investing time and money in expert advice and support for every primary school in the area.  This means that some of the latest and most up-to-date ways of learning will be available and every child will get the start in life they deserve.

Also the number of children living in the area is falling – so some schools are quite empty.

When looking at all aspects of the regeneration programme we take in account the young people living in the area. We have created a new basketball court at Babb's Mill Park, a new ball park at Chapelhouse Recreation Ground.  Click here to see our plans for improving greenspace in North Solihull.  We want to encourage young people to stay living in the area.

We are always very keen to hear the views of young people in the area. We encourage them to get them involved in Regenerating North Solihull.

North Solihull currently has a lot of green space but is often of poor quality.  What the Partnership want to do is increase the quality of the green space to be safe, clean, accessible and fun for everyone.  This may however mean that there is less green space overall but of much better quality.  For more information click here.

North Solihull is located on the eastern edge of Birmingham within the West Midlands. The 3 wards of the regeneration area are Chelmsley Wood, Smith's Wood, Kingshurst & Fordbridge were created close to Birmingham International Airport.

Approx 40,000 residents live in the area and it forms part of the larger Metropolitan Borough of Solihull which itself has a population of 200,400.