Druids Heath : In Community Is Our Strength

DRUIDS HEATH IN COMMUNITY IS OUR STRENGTH

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It’s to put Druids Heath on the map, because every city map that you ever see, Druids Heath isn’t mentioned, it doesn’t exist and there are 7000 people stuck out here.

Albert Rowe 1988, Treasurer, Neighbourhood Action Group (N.A.G)

Albert, by John Moore

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My overriding sense now, 30 years on from leaving – if you look at that area as a process – it feels like it has always been subtractive... things are taken away or things become so degraded they no longer function and nothing new ever goes in...

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Rob Clayton

...and to think that an area in 20, 30 years, in this day and age, has got less now than it had then, is not a good story to tell.

I know that people who’ve lived there have said that it’s like they’re forgotten – it is like they’re forgotten!

Michelle Lord

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The Monyhull Estate 1927 The Monyhull Estate was a mental ‘colony’ including hospital buildings and farms. It encompassed the land that would become a prefab estate and later the Druids Heath estate. The hospital closed in 1998.

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Bells Lane Prefab Estate 1947 — 1965 In 1947 we were offered a prefab on Bells Lane and they were all new.

There was 400 prefabs here, half were American ones, and half of them were aluminium ones. And it was the aluminium ones that we were offered. They were very cold during the winter but lovely in the summer. The community were very friendly. Because we’d all suffered during the war we were a happy community and everyone wanted to help each other as much as we could.

The sad part about it was, and we felt it in the aluminium ones - in 1965, we were told that the American ones were going to come down. They would be rehoused, the families, but the aluminium ones were staying until they’d built houses where the American houses had been and we were going to be moved into that. Instead of that, it just got pulled down and it was so sad.

Irene Lawrence Images: Wolfson Archives, Library of Birmingham

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Phylis Nicklin Archive 1967

Phylis Nicklin Archive 1968

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At Druids Heath, (13 storeys — 50 flats), the erection period was 9 weeks; the number of men employed was 11, the number of flats built per week 4.5, and the number of manweeks 1.98 weeks. Bryant’s total time for the superstructure was 18 weeks. The total number of site man-weeks per flat was 8, against 27 on a similar traditional block.

Extracts, and image (left) from the opening ceremony brochure (above) courtesy of the Wolfson Archives, Library of Birmingham.

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Wolfson Archives, Library of Birmingham 1974

Druids Heath is laid out as a ‘Radburn Layout’. Radburn estates were built throughout the UK from the early 1960s through to the early 1980s. The first Radburn layout was in Radburn New Jersey, USA. The idea was to separate cars and people to lower accident rates.

What was successful over there was lost in translation over here.

“The lay-out of the Druid’s Heath “instant estate” is seen from the roof of one of the 13-storey blocks of flats.” Birmingham Post 5 July 1967

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Whereas the houses in the original Radburn faced onto the street, British planners decided to turn them around so that they fronted onto the pedestrian network with cars relegated to rear parking courts. Traditional understanding of private and public areas became confused and meant everything became public.

Birmingham Post, 5th July 1967

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En bloc

Rob Clayton

The community basically moved en bloc to Druids Heath, they all knew each other, because they lived in back to backs, practically living on top of each other, and they thought it was heaven, they got all this open space - you’ve got these fields and this, that and the other. You know, being stuck in those conditions where you had the outside toilets, and the back to backs, where you’re all cramped in, very claustrophobic and that, and you’re in this lovely open air, they thought they’d landed in heaven.

John Moore

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Balsall Heath was slums really so Birmingham City Council decided to make a clearance of all the slum parts. After the war, because they were so old fashioned, coal, toilets outside, no baths or nothing like that. So they knocked them down and asked people if they wanted to come and live on Druids Heath, which became a new estate in the sixties.

That’s how people have moved up here. You find quite a few on the estate that’s from Balsall Heath. It’s really surprising.

Some have actually been to school with my father. He was born in Balsall Heath. 44 years I’ve been here and I love it.

I live on the 11th floor, looking out at the countryside.

Clive Martin

Clive, by Rob Clayton

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People for the factories

The estates out here are dormitory estates, we were all shipped out here ‌as a workforce for major industry. First of all when we moved in, they leafleted the whole estate, flooded it, advertising jobs, all shift work, different shifts, part time, full time and they bought in these special buses and we all got these wonderful jobs and shiny new houses and thought it was just paradise.

Shirley Mills

Shirley, by John Moore

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Rob Clayton

All of that changed when this country stopped having manufacturing jobs, and so this area became an area where people just lived and didn’t have that many jobs.

And it became a poorer area. And because it was next to the countryside, which is really nice, but it was a long way from any other form of employment - because it’s on the edge of the city, they used to call them outer ring estates.

And so that’s one of the things we thought about, how you could try and get people job opportunities locally.

Pete Norman

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Rob Clayton

Rob Clayton

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Jenny Watts, by John Moore

The ‘Right to Buy’ was introduced in 1980 by the Conservative government, enabling people to buy their council home - changing the perception of social housing and reducing the housing stock.

There used to be more of a community I think, when I first came out here, but as privatisation hit and people moved in, out, in, out, sold up and everything, there was a feeling of us and them. The people who could afford to buy a house, looked down on those who couldn’t afford to buy a house...

So, we did a major benefit take up campaign. We got £5000 from Cadbury’s Trust and we did this benefit take up campaign and it brought in £50,000 worth of unclaimed benefits. And I was amazed, because people say, they’re all dodgers and skivers, but £50,000 of unclaimed benefits.

Ken Atkinson

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When I started, there was really quite high unemployment.

There was lots of unemployed young people living around here but there was not a lot to do and not a lot of money to do things with. But things gradually improved and we were able to build up a staff team of people who lived locally and who had been through our services. One of the key things in areas where there isn’t much employment – is that some of the services that are provided in those areas should be provided by local people. So instead of, say I come and work for you as a youth worker – you have my good will, and all the good things I do, but I go home, I go and live somewhere else, and I spend the money I get there. Whereas if you’ve got all the services delivered in this area like librarians, like childcare workers, connexions workers, youth workers, caretakers, if you can get those people more from the local community, it means not only the service they deliver helps round here, but also the money they earn from it gets spent locally, so the shops improve, and also there’s a sense of community.

Pete Norman, Youth and Community Worker

Pete, by Rob Clayton

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Jayne Murray

In 1985, I met a person who had formed an association for people who lived in the Tower Blocks. What he’d found, was that the tower blocks were really hard to heat. They used to have underfloor heating and two bar electric fires on the wall. And people couldn’t afford to heat them, because it was really, really expensive. So, lots of people put gas heaters in the flats which was really dangerous, and also gave off lots of humidity which meant that people had mould and stuff growing in the flats. And they just couldn’t afford to run their heating systems. And basically, the tower blocks were built for a design for European Countries not for countries like the UK. So, what he did, and I helped him - he started measuring the temperature outside against the temperature inside. And one of the things about Druids Heath, in front of Baverstock school, there’s a triangulation point – a marker that says how high it is, and this is the highest point - if you go east, then the first bit of land you come to is the Russian Ural Mountains.

So, when you get an easterly wind blowing, it really is cold. He then got the supplementary benefit, or the government, to change their rules, which meant people got an extra £10 a week additional heating allowance, which was a vast sum of money in those days for people and they could begin to heat their homes properly.

Pete Norman, Youth and Community Worker

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Tower Block Flag by Tamika Gill, Photo by Jayne Murray

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Built on Midland Clay Because Druids Heath is on Midlands Clay it expands and contracts quite violently with the weather. Most of the properties are system built on a concrete raft. They don’t have any footing below the ground because, it wouldn’t stay up. Also, on the estate – now here we’re going back into 1754 - we have big holes all over the estate. They dug the clay out to do the lining of the canals. There’s also springs all over the estate. All the way round here, when it rains it runs down Manningford Road and down Bells Lane. That’s another reason why we wanted to stop them building on what is now the village green, because the Chinn Brook, it floods straight down stream and it floods from here to the river Cole, and there’s quite a lot of homes there.

So, we’ve done them all a great favour by having the village green there, it acts like a sponge.

Ken Atkinson

Martin Cooper, 2004

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IN COMMUNITY IS OUR STRENGTH The Neigbourhood Action Group, 1988

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Community Enterprise

The idea is that you get local community persons together in groups, you can start with one or two and you build it up from that. You then come forward with ideas of how you can do better for the local economy and also keep the wealth you generate in the area using local people. It’s a business owned by the community; expertise and money stay in the area.

Shirley Mills

Ken, by Rob Clayton

There’s only one provable economic theory that works and that is the faster money moves around the more jobs it creates.

Ken Atkinson

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Maypole and District Credit Union 1987 - 2008

PEOPLE TO HELP PEOPLE

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John, by Rob Clayton

The Credit Union - a small lending bank, owned by the people who have shares in it, it really worked well, because if we lent someone £100 and they paid it back in 6 months, they’d have to pay a total, including interest of £103. Well no loan shark or money lender could compete with that. It wasn’t meant to be about making money, it was to do with getting people out of a rut.

John Moore

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Evening Mail, 30th September 1997

We opened another cash point on Pound Road, which was the tenant management building, and we had two thriving cash points. It was great and it was going great guns, then we had the financial crash (2007/8) and they started to treat small credit unions like our own, fully volunteer run, like Enron. So, it was merge or die, then it would have been merge again. So we decided to close, very reluctantly, as it was a cracking organisation.

John Moore

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Rob Clayton

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The Campaign for The Dell 1990 ­— 2000

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The Draft Birmingham Unitary Development plan of 1990 proposed building private houses on The Dell.

The community opposed this and a campaign began.

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Evening Mail, 27th January 1994

You had birdsong there that was unbelievable.

It was like being in the midst of the countryside.

You’d walk along by the side of the Chinn Brook, and butterflies would come flying up like jewels.

Ken Atkinson

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Birmingham Post, 3rd July 1999

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Maypole Mayweek 1970s — 1990s An annual event held on The Dell and Walkers Heath Park

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Images courtesy: Elaine Summerhayes, John Moore & Shirley Mills

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My youth work started when I moved onto the estate to find out what was in the area. There wasn’t a lot going on.

So eventually I came to the Maypole Centre. I met a guy named Pete and another guy called Steve Joseph that I worked with for many a year and they got me involved doing a bit of voluntary and stuff, and I ended up getting myself locally qualified, and being here for about 27 years.

The May festival, which I worked with Pete on - it was really good - we even had a gymkhana, mad isn’t it on a council estate, people riding horses and jumping fences, it was unbelievable! And we had the football - that started at May festival, with Maypole Football Club. We got loads of the local residents involved, it was really, really good, hard work but very good.

Tony Crampton Tony, by Rob Clayton

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Rob Clayton

In the area at one time we had 1, 2, 3 local pubs. Starting at the island, there was a pub up the road there which was called the Maypole, and then further on down the estate on Bells Lane you had the Gladiator, and further on, it’s McDonalds now, but it was the Cartland Arms.

I think my favourite pub really was the Gladiator, a lot of people thought it was a bit rough and ready, but it did have its moments - we had some really good times in there. Now it’s turned into a residential home, which is quite good – at least the building has been used well.

Tony Crampton

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John Moore, 1990

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Rob Clayton

In the summer people would go to the flats - they’d have like midsummer raves on the roofs after the pubs stopped... people used to go onto the roof and bring all the speaker boxes up, and the decks and drop the leads down to the person who lived on the twelfth floor and plug them into their electric. That went on for a while, but eventually it was getting too busy and the police come and closed it down, because there was too much traffic being parked up on the grass. You used to get something like 200 people on a roof for a little mini rave. And they were good, there was never any problems. I think it was about ‘89, ‘90.

Anonymous

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Tenants Management Cooperative 1997 — 2007 The Neighbourhood Action Group had been working towards Tenant Management for several years and in 1997 they achieved it through a ballot on the estate. The TMC was a large undertaking due to the size of the estate and many feel it may have benefitted from more support. By 2003 complaints were received about decision making, finances and equal opportunities and the TMC was monitored by the council to see how this could be put right. A new board was put in place as a result.

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I joined the TMC, which took the estate out of council hands. Being on the TMC, we helped people, everybody helped each other. We had so many people come and look round, and see what we were doing. You did learn a lot.

It brought you out of your shell, it was brilliant. We learnt how repairs was done, where the money was being spent - it sounds boring but it wasn’t. Pity really that it changed.

Unfortunately the wrong people got involved, and six of us walked away from it and before we knew where it was it was back in council hands. We could have done so much.

Doreen Dowling

Doreen, by Rob Clayton

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Maypole > Baverstock School 1969 — 2017

Above: Post, 10th November 1970 Right: Post, 5th July 1988

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1965

Labour Policy decision Circular 10/65 instruction to local education to plan for conversion to comprehensive education.

Debate rages in Birmingham on whether to retain the 11+

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Maypole Secondary School opens as a Secondary Modern

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Maypole School is extended

Left: Post, 6th May 1989 Above: Mail, 16th June 1992

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The Sun, 4/3/95

Above: Mail, 14th May 1998 Right: Post, 12th July 2001

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1983

Maypole merges with Brandwood Secondary School to become Baverstock Comprehensive School, Roger Perks becomes headteacher

1998

Education Reform Act. Parents have the right to choose which school to apply for. This introduces competition between state schools in opposition to the neighbourhood model

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1989 Baverstock School ‘opts out’ from local authority control and becomes the first grant maintained school in Birmingham

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1992 Education Act brings HMI Ofstead into being

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1996

Baverstock opens a sixth form

1998

Grant Maintained Schools are abolished and Baverstock returns to local authority control

2000

New Labour establishes Academies through the Learning and Skills Act

2001

Baverstock becomes a Specialist Sports College

2002

Baverstock appears in Oftstead‘s top 50 most improved schools. Long standing head Roger Perks retires, David Green is the new head. David Green disbands the PTA

2010

David Green retires with best GCSE results on school record, Thomas Marshall takes over as head

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Baverstock, Rob Clayton

2013

Baverstock becomes an Academy under Thomas Marshall’s leadership, managed by the LEAP Academy Trust

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Ofstead rates the school inadequate and places it in special measures

2015

School investigated by Department for Education, with ‘concern’ over irregularity within the schools finances and procurement.

Thomas Marshall stands down, due to allegations of fraud.

Sylvia Thomas takes over as interim head

2016

Peter Cox becomes head

2017

Peter Cox becomes CEO of Leap Academy Trust and pushes for the closure of Baverstock school.

Resigns due to campaign pressure

2017

School assets sold, Baverstock Academy closes

2019

Application to Planning Department for demolition of Baverstock Academy as part of regeneration plans

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Rob Clayton

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People aren’t really cared about here, because they’re not rich and they’re not important, they’re not as likely to vote as people who are, and I think it’s sort of leeched the hope out of the estate. So there’s less aspirations, there’s a lot of apathy, why should we bother, why should we bother to help ourselves, why should we bother to look after our area? But what’s wonderful about the estate is that there’s still an incredible sense of community, and an incredible sense of people will help one another – we had one situation where a lady who had been in a domestic violence situation, she had five children, and she came with nothing, and we had a collection and she was just overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that people brought, so there’s an incredible sense of community still on the estate, that’s still very strong and people look after one another.

Karen Urwin, Volunteer and Community Worker Karen, by Rob Clayton

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Rob Clayton

Kath Coogan, by Rob Clayton

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Project for the Regeneration of Druids Heath (PRODH)

2007 — 2017

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I was going to St Nicholas Church on the Green and Druids Heath is part of that Parish. They had a new vicar come, and he was sent on to the estate to see if they could start up the church again, and he’d got a big background in community work. And he said people had got so many things that they were struggling with that he felt there needed to be some support for them. And so he started up this project, called the Project for the Regeneration of Druids Heath and they were looking for a worker. And the two things sort of slotted together, it was a place I was passionate about, it was working for the church that I was passionate about, so I took the job, and I ran it for 11 years.

One of the things we wanted to do when we first set it up was break down barriers. Because there was a real tribalistic feel about the estate as far as organisations went. People were great – people just wanted help and they didn’t mind where it came from. But the organisations were very set as – ‘this is what we’re doing and we don’t want anyone stepping on our toes’. We wanted to try and work with everybody. So that was the first thing we did was to go out to everybody and be very generous... gradually the barriers broke down, and we started to be able to work with one another, and of course you can get so much more done, and what was great was once you can talk to one another you can refer people between you, because you can’t do everything well yourself, some people are going to be able to do things better than you. Karen Urwin

Rob Clayton

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I’ve lived in Druids Heath for the past 37 years. It was so different back in the day, I loved that there was lots of greenery, and I loved the community spirit. I became a family support worker - I’d never heard of family support workers, and there was a course going on - I used to help people because I come from a community where you helped and I was amazed to think you could actually get paid to do something that you enjoy doing. Unfortunately, I’ve seen the changes and how heroin ripped through Druids Heath, and lost family members to it. What’s kept me going through it is you’ve always got to have hope.

And if you can’t physically do it yourself – because I’m a strong believer in working across the board; everyone’s got their own skills, and no matter how small you might think it is, it can help support somebody else.

Margaret O’Reilly Margaret, by Rob Clayton

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When I walked the dog on Walkers Heath I saw the beauty, but I noticed that there were a lot of problems, there was no bins, there was nowhere to sit, it just seemed really unloved. I was doing a community development course at the time and thinking if I can find enough people then maybe we can get a few bins and benches and that’s how it started. The friends raised funds, ran community games, brought in art, theatre and a festival.

There was a lot of vandalism and there’s nothing now – it was really, really neglected and not looked after and based on what we did, working with the community, it’s been looked after. We did that for poor people to have a better resource. And we’ve protected 52 acres from ever being built on, under the Queen Elizabeth Fields in Trust 2012 Challenge. For many years people have been forgotten here, ‘fend for yourself’, people work really hard here to do what they do and to get what they get. And give back. Some of the most giving people and talented people I’ve ever met in my life live on this estate, but they’ve never been given the opportunity to fully reach their potential because they’re poor.

Leanne Gregory, Friends of Walkers Heath Park, 2011 - 15 Leanne, by Rob Clayton

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I feel like because they’ve left this area for so long and taken resources from them, people don’t feel much, that they can do, but they can, so we’re trying to help them going back to that. We do care and as a community we can be strong together rather than be divided. If we care they can too.

Tamika Gill

Tamika, by Rob Clayton

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In early 2018 I was told by a doorstep knocker from the councils consultation that my bungalow may be demolished.

This was certainly news to me! Having moved from a tower block due to my husband’s health we were very grateful for what we have been allocated. We love our little bungalow and where it is located. It is not perfect, we have problems with damp and it is very cold when the wind blows in from the east. But it is ours. Or so I thought. That is when I started to investigate what this meant for us. We would have to move.

We would have to bid again. Suddenly I was afraid for the future... again! At a public meeting I found others who were afraid. Hence, with like-minded residents we formed the forum to gain strength in numbers and knowledge.

Jane Cope

Jane, by Rob Clayton

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TIMELINE 1880 1908 1936 1947 1960-5 1965 1965 1969 1970 1973 1973 1974 1974 1975 1977 1978 1980 1980’s 1980 1983 1983 1984 1987 1988 1988 1988 1989 1989 1990

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Land divided between Monyhull Hall, Bells and Kingswood Farms as part of the Monyhull Estate Monyhull Hospital opens Trig Point installed on highest point on Bells Lane Bells Lane prefab estate built by Italian Prisoners of War Prefab estate demolished Kingswood and Bells Farm sold to Birmingham City Council by the Regional Health Authority – enables building of first two phases of the estate.

Estate officially opens on 3rd December Maypole Secondary School opens Maypole Youth and Community Centre built after community campaign Travellers vacate land near Bells Farm More land sold to Birmingham City council by the Regional Health Authority, enables the building of the Pennyacre area Manningford Tenants Hall established Maypole FC established Temporary library opens on Idmiston Croft Pennyacre completed.

Bells Farm Community Association formed Legislation to implement the ‘Right to Buy’ was passed in the Housing Act Decline of major industry (Lucas, Longbridge, Cadbury’s) Bells Farmhouse destroyed by fire Maypole merges with Brandwood Secondary School to become Baverstock Comprehensive School Unemployment at a national high of 3 million Druids Heath Tower Blocks Association formed Maypole & District Credit Union formed: ‘People to Help People’ Neighbourhood Action Group formed in response to Housing Action Trusts Druids Heath Low Income Support Group formed - undertakes and publishes a Social and Economic Survey of the estate.

Unemployment found to be 33% The 1988 Housing Act becomes law, reducing rent regulation, altering succession to spouse only, and assurance of tenancy Baverstock School ‘opts out’ from local authority control and becomes the first grant-maintained school in the city Battle commences for the Dell to become registered as a village green through the 1965 commons registration act by the Neighbourhood Action Group

1990 1990/1 1992 1993 1994 1997 1998 1998 1998 2000 2001 2002 2002 2003 2003 2004 2005 2007 2007 2008 2008 2009 2013 2014 2017 2017 2018 2019 2019

Thruxton Close and Gomeldon Ave demolished Druids Heath Neighbourhood Development Association funding rejected as outer ring (being outside core area for urban programme funding) Building of the permanent Druids Heath library begins First Maypole District Housing Liaison Board elections The Dell is registered as a village green Tenant Management Organisation formed Grant Maintained Schools are abolished, Baverstock returns to local authority control Monyhull Hospital closes Tenants Management Organisation becomes Tenant Management Cooperative Academies established by New Labour through the Learning and Skills Act Bells Farm Community Centre opens Maypole Pub site is bought by Sainsbury’s Youth Centre is refurbished by SRB funding Dell Meadow Centre opens TMC Investigations (concerns in financial irregularities) Phoenix Club opens after fire in the Gladiator Pub. Moundsley House demolished due to subsidence Project for the Regeneration of Druids Heath begins TMC officially wound up Maypole & District Credit Union ceases trading Austerity measures introduced by the Conservative Government Bells Farm Community Association merges with the Spearhead Trust to become The Spearhead Trust at Bells Farmhouse Baverstock School becomes an Academy, managed by the LEAP Academy Trust Ofstead rates Baverstock school inadequate and places it in special measures PRODH ceases due to funding cuts Baverstock closes Regeneration Plan introduced for Druids Heath, to demolish tower blocks in a 2 phase plan Druids Heath and Monyhull Forum inaugurated Druids Heath Library reopens after a 10 month closure and community campaign

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Throughout the years, there’s always been quite a number of people that have decided that they don’t just want something good for their family, but they want something good for the community and for other people. and I think that’s quite special about this place, that there have been so many people that have been active, either by volunteering, or actually being paid to do jobs locally and you don’t get that in many other areas.

Pete Norman

Clothing Alley, Community Enterprise Shop Launch by John Moore

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Flag Day 23 April 2019 Photo: Amanda Holdom

This limited edition book is part of the A Level Playing Field Project, seeking to redress social inequality through art and creative opportunity. The project works with the community and is delivered

by Place Prospectors CIC in Druids Heath, Birmingham.

Material has been compiled from the British Newspaper Archives, the Wolfson Archives at the Library of Birmingham, Individual Collections, and Oral Histories.

The project would like to thank: John Moore, Ken Atkinson, Jayne Carter, Rob Clayton, Kath Coogan, Jane Cope, Tony Crampton, Helen Donaghy, Doreen Dowling, Tamika Gill, Leanne Gregory, Pat Hollinshead, Carli Lloyd, Gee Manku, Ella Marshall, Clive Martin, Billy Mills, Pete Norman, Leanne O’Connor, Margaret O’Reilly, Gail Pittaway, Elaine Summerhayes, Karen Urwin, our friends at The Gap, staff at the Wolfson Centre, our hosts Maypole Youth Centre, the Spearhead Trust at Bells Farmhouse, Druids Heath Library and Manningford Tenants Hall. First edition originally funded

by Birmingham City Council and Heritage Lottery Fund.

Research and Compilation Jayne Murray Book Design Kerry Leslie Digital PDF edition 2019

Cover image by Jayne Murray

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