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HISTORIC QUEENSBRIDGE ROAD ‘DEPOT’ SET TO BE AUCTIONED, DESPITE COMMUNITY OPPOSITION A historic building in Queensbridge Road linked to the Cadbury family is set to be sold in a public auction, following a recommendation made by a key committee of Birmingham City Council. The recommendation that the Queensbridge Road depot be put up for auction will come as a blow to the Moseley and Kings Heath Shed, a community group who have repeatedly expressed a wish to occupy the depot building and seek a ‘community asset transfer’ by which the Council would lease the building to them. Queensbridge Road depot was built as part of the estate of Uffculme Hall, which was built by Richard Cadbury. The depot building was then inherited by Mr Cadbury’s daughter Helen. The building became Council property and was used as a vehicle workshop for the Council’s Parks department until 2010. It has remained empty since then. The depot is of historic interest because it is where Helen Cadbury founded the Pocket Testament League when she was a Moseley schoolgirl. The Pocket Testament League was responsible for printing and distributing 110 million pocket-sized bibles across the English-speaking world, and there is evidence that the first bibles for the League were actually printed in the Queensbridge Road depot, so many local historians regard it as a special site which should be saved. Moseley and Kings Heath Shed charity, the group interested in occupying the depot, has the objective of providing a community workshop for people over the age of 50, where they create and mend items, but also make new friends. The Shed is currently located in The Old Potting Shed, Vicarage Road, Kings Heath Park. Martin Mullaney, who is chair of the Shed, has said: “The Shed in Kings Heath Park is bursting at the seams since it is so popular. Every week there are sessions in stained glass construction, tile mosaics, furniture restoration, woodwork and drawing classes. If the Shed occupied Queensbridge Road depot, it would allow us to expand into extra
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