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53-480: Acocks Green is a suburban area and ward of southeast Birmingham , England . It is named after the Acock family, who built a large house there in 1370. It is occasionally spelled "Acock's Green". It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names . Stockfield in the north of the ward was once a separate village. It merged with Acocks Green after housing development in the 20th century. The 2021 census gives

106-636: A ku (or 区 in Japanese writing ) is an administrative unit of one of the larger cities, closely equivalent to the divisions or wards of a London Borough or a New York Borough. In Vietnam , a phường is an administrative subunit of an inner city district, or quận . Wards and electoral divisions of Nepal are political divisions which are grouped into Gaunpalika ( Rural council ) and Municipality . A rural municipality or municipality has minimum of five and maximum of 33 divisions. Taylor Wimpey Taylor Wimpey plc (formerly Taylor Woodrow plc )

159-438: A bypass to ease pressure on the roads. Businesses in the shopping area have opposed the idea because of concerns over losing passing trade. Another proposal put forward to alleviate traffic congestion in the centre, whilst also making the area more pedestrian friendly, is to introduce a type of high street design known as Shared Space . Acocks Green is served by West Midlands Police . The nearest police station with public access

212-550: A man-made lake called Round Pool. The roundabout where Warwick Road meets Shirley Road and Westley Road, despite being a tram and bus terminus until the 1950s, is called The Green by most locals. This is the main shopping area in Acocks Green. Most of the general retail shops are located here and further along Warwick Road. There is also a library and a bowling alley. Outside The Green you will not find many shops except convenience stores and off-licences , although there

265-475: A mortgage". In August 2022, the CMA ruled that people who had to pay double ground rent would be refunded. In 2021, Taylor Wimpey was among a 2% minority of respondents to government consultations on future homes standards, opposing plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions from new homes by 75% to 80% from 2025 and arguing against heat pumps (proposed as replacements for gas boilers). Greenpeace claimed Taylor Wimpey

318-480: A pensionable age and 58.2% are of a working age. 9.1% of the ward population was unemployed, above the city average of 6.8% and the national average of 4.1%. 36.6% of the unemployed had been in such a situation for the long term, and 13.5% had never worked. The majority of those that were employed worked in the manufacturing sector (18.6%). Wholesale & Retail Trade and Vehicle Repairs Finance and Real Estate & Business Activities were both major employment sectors in

371-497: A population of 24,500 for Acocks Green ward. The ward covers an area of 3.8 square kilometres (1.47 sq mi). Acocks Green developed north of the current centre at the roundabout where the Warwick Road meets Shirley and Westley Roads. This area was known as Tenchlee or Tenelea , meaning 'ten clearings'. The settlement that developed here has completely disappeared. Hyron Hall and Broom Hall were moated manor houses in

424-635: A premium housebuilder, from John Laing for £295 million. In September 2008, Vinci bought the operations of Taylor Woodrow Construction and in April 2009, the remaining activities of Taylor Woodrow Construction in Ghana were sold to management. In March 2011, a property investment group backed by private equity firms acquired Taylor Wimpey's American and Canadian housebuilding businesses. On 23 March 2020, Taylor Wimpey closed all of its UK sites and sales centres following lockdown measures in response to

477-526: A single discussion with Taylor Wimpey or any attempts to help/support the residents whose quality of life they are ruining." Taylor Wimpey apologised to local residents. In February 2024, Taylor Wimpey was among eight UK house-builders targeted by the Competition and Markets Authority in an investigation into suspected breaches of competition law. The CMA said it had evidence that firms shared commercially sensitive information with competitors, influencing

530-535: A £19m cost-saving plan that resulted in 450 job cuts and cost £8m to implement. In May 2024, Taylor Wimpey was reported to be considering a bid for Legal & General 's subsidiary Cala Homes , valued at around £1bn. Taylor Wimpey's corporate head office is located at GateHouse in High Wycombe. There are 24 regional offices in the United Kingdom. Taylor Wimpey was headed by Pete Redfern, CEO of

583-634: Is Stechford. Acocks Green police station remains in use but is scheduled for disposal. Acocks Green library was opened on 14 June 1932 by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham , John Burman . It was the 25th branch library in Birmingham. Outside the library is the Acocks Green war memorial . The Grade II listed police station and courthouse building on Yardley Road was designed by the Worcestershire county architect, Albert Vernon Rowe and built for

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636-639: Is a large modern bingo hall located on Stockfield Road. Acocks Green has seven churches including St Mary the Virgin, Acocks Green , Holy Souls, a Methodist church on Shirley Road, a Baptist church on Yardley Road and the Ghamkol Sharif Mosque . There is a large cultural diversity in Acocks Green with a mix of people from all religions and races. In recent years, Acocks Green has begun to see an increase in Polish residents. Gospel Lane Skatepark

689-735: Is one of the largest home construction companies in the United Kingdom. The company was created from the merger of rivals Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey on 3 July 2007. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . Its headquarters are based in High Wycombe , England. Taylor Woodrow was founded in 1921 by 16-year-old Frank Taylor as Taylor, Woodrow Limited . Though Taylor had borrowed money to build two houses in Blackpool , as he

742-544: Is run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham in partnership with Birmingham Local Education Authority. The school was established in 1907 and moved into its current premises in 1968. There are 401 pupils on roll. Oaklands Primary School, which was a primary school on Dolphin Lane, was constructed in 1928 and opened in 1929 as Oaklands County Primary School. It was expanded in 1932. In 1950, one of

795-509: The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom . Six weeks after shutting down, the firm claimed to be "the first major housebuilder to unveil a timetable for restarting jobs", and said it would begin remobilisation in England and Wales on 4 May 2020. Taylor Wimpey said that although all its show homes had been closed during the lockdown, sales had continued, growing by 200 homes in comparison to

848-534: The Labour Party . Within its borders are EYFS providers seven primary schools and two secondary schools. Acocks Green Primary School was created in 2004 upon the amalgamation of Acocks Green Junior School and Acocks Green Infant School. It is located in buildings dating to 1908. It was opened in 1909 by Worcestershire County Council and was transferred to Birmingham City Council in 1911. The school consisted of Boys, Girls and Infants departments, but in 1932 it

901-648: The Rover shadow factory and it was operational by July 1937. The factory was visited by King George VI in March 1938. Towards the end of World War II, the factory began to produce Meteor tank engines and the Meteorite engine, and thus became a target for German bombers. The Stockfield Estate was one of Birmingham's many interwar housing estates built by the city council during the 1920s and 1930s to rehouse people from inner-city slums. The houses proved popular thanks to

954-531: The Stratford-Upon-Avon line also goes to Moor Street and Snow Hill. Many bus routes are operated by National Express West Midlands from Acocks Green Bus Garage on Fox Hollies Road, including the Outer Circle (11A/11C), which is the longest urban bus route in any European city at 27 miles long. Routes that serve Acocks Green are: The area can become congested and there have been calls for

1007-608: The United Kingdom , and the United States , wards are an electoral district , within a district or municipality , used in local government elections. In the United States, wards are usually subdivided into precincts for polling purposes. In Wisconsin, a 'ward' is what in most other states would be a precinct In some cities of India , such as Mumbai and Delhi , a ward is an administrative unit of

1060-613: The Wards of the City of London , where gatherings for each ward known as "wardmotes" have taken place since the 12th century. The word was much later applied to divisions of other cities and towns in England and Wales and Ireland . In parts of northern England , a ward was an administrative subdivision of a county , very similar to a hundred in other parts of England. In Australia , Canada , New Zealand , South Africa , Sri Lanka ,

1113-517: The Warwick and Birmingham Canal was cut through the northern edge of Acocks Green, with wharves being constructed at Stockfield Road and Yardley Road. The increased prosperity brought by the canal led to the construction of farms and large residences. Acocks Green began to expand following the opening of the Birmingham to Oxford Railway in 1852. At this time there were three hamlets along the Warwick Road; Flint Green, Acocks Green, and Westley Brook. As

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1166-744: The Worcestershire Constabulary in 1909. The complex also originally provided residential accommodation for officers. The façade is of red brick in a Queen Anne revival style . A three-storey octagonal corner turret at the Alexander Road end has keyed oculi and a domed roof. A cartouche depicting the three pears of the Worcestershire coat of arms is in the centre pediment facing Yardley Road. Other Grade II listed buildings are cottages in Arden Road, and

1219-463: The ground rent to rise dramatically in later years, making the houses unsaleable. Taylor Wimpey also sold the freehold to other companies, which could then go on to charge exorbitant amounts (up to £40,000) for the freehold. On 19 March 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority ordered Taylor Wimpey to remove terms that double the ground rent of leasehold properties every 10 or 15 years. In December 2021, Taylor Wimpey formally committed to remove

1272-546: The Baptist Church on Yardley Road together with its church hall on Alexander Road. Locally listed buildings include the former fire station (Grade B) and caretaker's house (Grade A) on Alexander Road, a house on the corner of Elmdon Road, and the library on Shirley Road (Grade A). In Fox Hollies Park is a Bronze Age burnt mound with Scheduled Ancient Monument status. Ward (politics) The word "ward", for an electoral subdivision, appears to have originated in

1325-486: The Birmingham average of 16.5% and the national average of 9.3%. Christianity was the most prominent religion in the ward at 64.3%, above the city average of 59.1%. Islam was the second most selected religion at 7.7%, although "No Religion" had a higher percentage at 13.7%. 98.8% of the population live in households, which is above the Birmingham average of 98.3% and the national average of 98.2%. 1.2% live in communal establishments. There were 11,008 occupied households in

1378-529: The Community Association, Birmingham City Council, Halifax Building Society and Bromford Carinthia Housing Association, with Anthony Collins Solicitors and Webb Seeger Moorhouse Community Architects giving support. Wimpey Homes were appointed developers and work on the first phase of the estate commenced in July 1991. This was met with opposition from some residents refusing to move and the crime on

1431-622: The area at 16.4%. The largest employer based in Acocks Green was Eaton Electric Ltd, employing approximately 750 people until its closure in 2018. As of 6 May 2022 the Acocks Green Ward is represented on Birmingham City Council by two Liberal Democrat councillors. Nationally, Acocks Green is part of Birmingham, Yardley constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Jess Phillips of

1484-527: The area. The Fox Hollies name derives from the time the Fox family bought the farm belonging to the atte Holies in the 15th century. The earliest known reference to Acocks Green is in the Yardley Parish Register of 1604. In 1626, Acocks Green House and other estates were given by Richard Acock to his son as a wedding gift. In 1725, the Warwick Road was turnpiked . At the end of the 18th century,

1537-541: The business in 1893. George Wimpey died in 1913 at the age of 58, with his family putting the business up for sale in 1919. Godfrey Way Mitchell bought the firm and decided to retain the Wimpey name. George Wimpey completed its first residential development, the Greenford Park Estate, in 1928. In the 1970s, George Wimpey became the United Kingdom's largest private housebuilder, selling 106,440 homes in

1590-683: The case of a municipal amalgamation , the former cities and towns that make up the new metropolis may be referred to as wards. In Monaco , wards are informal divisions of the country, grouped into quartiers. In the Republic of Ireland , urban divisions were called wards and rural ones were called district electoral divisions . Both were renamed as electoral divisions in 1996. The electoral districts for Irish local authorities are local electoral areas . These are generally defined as combinations of electoral divisions, and in urban areas were formally described as combination of wards. In Japan ,

1643-524: The city region; a city area is divided into Zones, which in turn contain numerous wards. The smallest administrative unit of Gram Panchayats in India is also known as a ward. In Bangladesh wards are subdivisions of a city or town which administrates under City Corporations and municipalities ( pourashova ) In East Africa, the word ward used in English is translated into Swahili/Kiswahili as Kata. In

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1696-491: The company from July 2007. In December 2021, he announced plans to step down once a successor had been appointed. In February 2022, Taylor Wimpey announced that group operations director Jennie Daly would take over as CEO in April 2022; she replaced Redfern at the company's AGM on 26 April 2022. Irene Dorner , chair of Taylor Wimpey since February 2020, stepped down after the company's April 2023 AGM, replaced by former Land Securities executive Robert Noel . Taylor Wimpey

1749-460: The decade, and in the 1980s, George Wimpey began to reinforce Wimpey Homes as a brand, focusing on compact housing. In March 1996, George Wimpey acquired McLean Homes , a business founded in 1934 by John McLean, from Tarmac . In August 2001, the business acquired McAlpine Homes from Alfred McAlpine in a £463 million deal, and in October 2002, George Wimpey went on to acquire Laing Homes,

1802-528: The estate was so bad that the washing machine in the show home provided by Wimpey was stolen. The first phase, saw 17 Bromford family homes for rent, opened in the summer of 1991 by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham. By 1998, all four phases of the estate were completed. The 2001 Population Census recorded that there were 26,635 people living in Acocks Green with a population density of 5,580 people/km. The 1991 Population Census recorded 26,087 residents living in

1855-460: The first church in Acocks Green. Ninestiles Academy has over 1,300 laptop computers . It is attached to Fox Hollies Leisure Centre, which complements Acocks Green's other sports, gym and recreational facilities. Fox Hollies School and Performing Arts College is a special school and used to be in the western end of the ward, but relocated to Moseley. Kimichi School is an independent music school sited on Yardley Road, which opened in 2014 on

1908-410: The hamlet of Acocks Green was closer to the railway station it developed faster than the others. Westley Brook became the centre of modern Acocks Green. In 1911, the parish of Yardley , of which Acocks Green was a part, was absorbed into Birmingham. Birmingham was in need of housing and in the mid-1920s, municipal housing was built on the fields surrounding Acocks Green, resulting in a large increase in

1961-438: The inclusion of electricity, running water, indoor toilets, bathrooms and gardens. The houses, constructed from concrete and designed in the 'Parkinson' style, were declared defective by law in 1985 and structural tests concluded that damage was so severe that repair would not be possible. This meant that the 477 houses had to be demolished, however, Birmingham City Council did not have the financial services available to carry out

2014-438: The local church hall for lessons, it was decided to split the school into an infant school and a junior school. The infant school remained in the original school buildings whilst the junior school was moved over the road with the original headteacher taking charge. Cottesbrooke Infant School has 329 pupils whilst Cottesbrooke Junior School has 220. Holy Souls Primary School is a voluntary aided Roman Catholic primary school. It

2067-454: The population. Many new residents were unwelcome and existing residents moved away leading to the nickname Snobs Green . Acocks Green benefited from an increase in commerce brought about by the newcomers. It developed into a major shopping area and churches and meeting halls were extended to accommodate more people. Trams arrived in Acocks Green in 1916, first terminating at Broad Road before reaching The Green in 1922. The centre of Acocks Green

2120-463: The previous year's figures. The company also ran a manufacturing project during the pandemic to supply "GP surgeries and care homes with reusable 3D printed face visors". On 2 March 2021, Taylor Wimpey announced it had set aside £125m to pay for cladding and fire safety repairs. By July 2024, the company had been forced to increase its provisions for expected fire safety work to £333m. In April 2023, Taylor Wimpey announced it had consulted staff on

2173-456: The site of the former Eastbourne House School. Adult education takes place at Stone Hall, Archbishop Ilsley Technology College, Ninestiles Technology College, and Fox Hollies Leisure Centre. City College run an IT training facility from the Green. There is a yoga institute on Westley Road. Acocks Green also has numerous parks and green spots, including Fox Hollies Park in the south which is home to

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2226-450: The terms from leasehold contracts and exclude them from new contracts; it would also pay third party freeholders of leases that Taylor Wimpey originally owned to enable their leaseholders to do the same. The CMA's chief executive Andrea Coscelli said Taylor Wimpey's action was "a huge step forward", describing the ground rent rises as "totally unwarranted obligations that lead to people being trapped in their homes, struggling to sell or obtain

2279-439: The timber buildings which formed the infants block was dismantled and reassembled in the newly constructed Gilbertstone estate to form Gilbertstone Primary School. It currently has 335 pupils on roll. Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School is a specialist secondary school with a sixth form centre. Construction commenced in 1955 and the school was opened in 1957. The school is named in memory of Archbishop Edward Ilsley , who built

2332-404: The ward at the time of the census with an average of 2.4 people per household, equal to the national average. 305 households were vacant. 57.2% of the total households were owner-occupied, below the city average of 60.4% and the national average of 68.7%. The majority of the houses in Acocks Green were terraced (39%): semi-detached houses were also common in the area (36.4%). 17.5% of people are of

2385-414: The ward, a decline of 6.7% from 1981. 51.5% of the population is female and 48.5 is male. 19.6% (5,188) of the ward's population consists of ethnic minorities compared with 29.6% for Birmingham in general. 80.4% of the population are White. Chinese was the smallest ethnic group at 0.7%, compared with the Birmingham average of 1.1%. 13% of the ward's population was born outside the United Kingdom, compared with

2438-420: The work. Residents of the estate set up an Estate Development Group and architects Webb Seeger Moorhouse were invited to prepare a masterplan for the estate. The masterplan and the proposal to establish a community association were publicly announced in October 1989. Residents unanimously approved the plans. Stockfield Community Association was formed in 1991 and a redevelopment partnership was then formed between

2491-561: Was opened to the public on 12 August 2006. It was created using Neighbourhood Renewal Fund grants and through the advice of youngsters who would use the park. The British Legion have a local office and club in the ward. Hall Green Little Theatre is also located in Acocks Green. Acocks Green has transport links to Birmingham city centre and Solihull . Birmingham's Moor Street and Snow Hill stations, as well as Solihull station can all be reached in around ten minutes by train from Acocks Green railway station . Spring Road railway station on

2544-468: Was remodelled in 1932, and a large island incorporating the tram terminus was created. After the tram service ended, the island was grassed over. Acocks Green was the location for a custom-built factory which made parts for the Bristol Hercules radial engines . Construction of the factory commenced in late 1936 on the site of Westwood's market gardening business near the canal. The factory was

2597-462: Was reorganised into Senior Mixed and Junior Mixed departments. The Senior Mixed department became a separate school in 1945 and the Junior Mixed department became a primary school at the same time. It currently has approximately 480 pupils. The Cottesbrooke Infant and Junior schools opened on 6 September 1968 as a combined school. As the school was so oversubscribed, which resulted in the use of

2650-587: Was still only building around 500 to 600 houses a year. In January 2001, Taylor Woodrow acquired Bryant Group, a business founded in Birmingham in 1885 by Chris Bryant, for £556 million, and in October 2003 Taylor Woodrow acquired Wilson Connolly in a cash and shares deal worth £499 million. George Wimpey was founded by George Wimpey and Walter Tomes as a stone-working partnership in 1880 in Hammersmith . Tomes would later sell his portion of

2703-429: Was the main sponsor of St Johnstone F.C. , for the football seasons of 2009 to 2011. In 2016, Taylor Wimpey held its Project 2020 Open Design Competition in an attempt to find a design for a "home of the future". The project was launched in partnership with RIBA . In 2016, Taylor Wimpey was accused of selling houses and apartments as leasehold that would traditionally have been freehold , with clauses that allowed

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2756-403: Was too young to form his own company, his uncle Jack Woodrow lent his name to the business. In the 1930s, Taylor Woodrow diversified into building temporary hospitals, and thereby moved into general construction. Taylor Woodrow Homes constituted a relatively small part of the business, and with housing sales declining in the following 50 years, at the beginning of the 1980s, Taylor Woodrow Homes

2809-589: Was trying to derail UK climate policy, which the company strongly denied, saying it was concerned about practical implementation of the cuts. After structural problems were discovered in the concrete frame of a new £48m residential scheme in Hackney Wick , east London, Taylor Wimpey opted to demolish the block prior to reconstruction of the building. After two years of construction work, nearby residents faced 22 weeks of demolition work; one said "we're now into our third year of incessant and unbearable noise without

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