Nechells 1950 – present

New road systems accompanied the housing schemes. A direct route to the City centre, Nechells Parkway, split the area into two self-contained neighbourhoods. Each was planned with its own centre and large areas of green open space. In St Clements Redevelopment Area (added in 1955 to define North Nechells and Saltley), redevelopment took a different form. Industry was concentrated in a zone on the west side and much new housing, continuing into the late 1980s, was low-rise with short terraces and walkways. Consequently, north Nechells appears very different in layout to-day from the tower blocks of Nechells Green and retains some of its 19th century terraced houses.

Accompanying a radical physical transformation of Nechells, the social structure changed as well. From the 1950s onwards, new people settled in the area. They were amongst immigrants from the West Indies, Pakistan – especially from the Mirpur district in Kashmir - and elsewhere who came to Birmingham in order to ease labour shortages and improve their prospects.

New Ward boundaries came into force in June 2004, so that the area now covered includes a significant part of the old Nechells ward plus parts of the old Aston, Ladywood, Small Heath and Sparkbrook wards. Estimates based on the Census of 2001 revealed significant numbers from minority ethnic groupings amongst Nechells Ward’s population of 28,064 persons, especially Asian (33.8%) and Black-Caribbean (14.0%).

For much of the past century Nechells’ communities have been constantly replenishing themselves, making the area one rich in cultural diversity. This looks as if it may well carry on into the foreseeable future.