Perry Barr

Perry Barr constituency shown within Birmingham

Perry Barr is an area in north Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Perry Barr ward and the wards of Handsworth Wood, Lozells and East Handsworth, and Oscott. Birmingham Perry Barr is also a parliamentary constituency; its member of Parliament is Khalid Mahmood. "Perry" means "pear" and "Barr" means "hill". Birmingham City University's main campus is in Perry Barr.

History

Perry Barr was originally two separate entities, both mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'Pirio' and 'Barre'. Pirio is recorded as having an estimated population of 35 and Barre with an estimated population of 25. William FitzAnsculf is recorded as being the tenant in chief of both manors, and Drogo as the tenant. It is thought that the two manors may have been combined in the Early Middle Ages. Perry Barr was an urban district in Staffordshire from 1894 until 1928 when it was incorporated into Birmingham, and therefore become associated with Warwickshire. It then became part of the West Midlands in 1974 when Birmingham became a metropolitan borough in the county. In the 1920s, Oscar Deutsch opened his first ever Odeon cinema here. The original cinema is now a conference venue, having also been a bingo hall. The site of the former Perry Hall is now Perry Hall Park. Perry Park hosted the Birmingham Carnival in 2005. Perry Barr Greyhound racing Stadium on the Aldridge Road has been located here for over 70 years. This has a 500 seat capacity, and was refurbished in 2004. It is the former home of the Birchfield Harriers, whose badge, in Art Deco style, it still carries. Birchfield Harriers are now based at Alexander Stadium. Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium hosts the Birmingham Brummies speedway team. Birchfield Community Library was opened in 1874 as the "Perry Barr Institute". It was converted into a Carnegie-funded library in September 1897. In early 2007, this library was demolished, due to its dilapidated condition. A new building is to be commissioned. Another library in the area is Tower Hill Library. There is a large shopping centre in the district known as "One Stop" Shopping Centre. This is owned by Birmingham City University and was built in the early 1990s.

Transport

Major roads in the ward and constituency include the M6 motorway and the A34. Bus routes operated by Travel West Midlands in the area are the Number 51, Number 52 and the Number 952. The A4040 and A34 roads cross at Perry Barr, the former carrying the Birmingham Outer Circle bus routes. To the south-west of the ward is the Walsall line, part of the old Grand Junction Railway, which has two railway stations within the boundaries of the ward; Hamstead railway station and Perry Barr railway station. The latter, opened in 1837, is one of the oldest stations in the country to remain on its original site. The Tame Valley Canal bisects the ward, with boats from Salford Junction, under Spaghetti (motorway) Junction climbing the 13-flight Perry Barr Locks towards Hamstead and on to Rushall Junction. There is a feeder reservoir, Perry Reservoir, in Perry Park^[1]. The River Tame passes through the area and is crossed by several bridges, including Perry Bridge, a scheduled ancient monument of 1711, on the line of the Roman Ryknild Street and its 1932 art deco replacement carrying the Aldridge Road. The old bridge appears on the badge of nearby Handsworth Grammar School.

Ward

The Perry Barr ward is part of the Birmingham Perry Barr (UK Parliament constituency). Following boundary changes in 2004, the eastern edge of the ward follows the M6 motorway from Spaghetti Junction near to junction 7 at Great Barr, including parts of the communities of Witton, Aston, Perry Barr and Great Barr. As of 2004, the three councillors representing Perry Barr on Birmingham City Council are Ray Hassall, Karen Hamilton and Jon Hunt, all of them Liberal Democrats. Ray Hassall was elected in 1990, Jon Hunt in 2003 and Karen Hamilton in 2004. Karen Hamilton became the first black councillor elected for the ward. No single party held all the seats in the ward between 1990 to 2004. The Liberal Democrats took a clean sweep at the 2004 Council Elections in which all seats were contested, but only after three recounts. In 2006 Karen Hamilton increased her personal majority from 31 to more than 1,500. Prior to 1990, the ward had a strong tendency towards the Conservative Party. However, more recently, the ward has increasingly appeared to be a Liberal Democrat stronghold. The ward had Labour representation for a period, from 1995 till 2004 following the election of Mike Leddy (1995-2003), along with the defection of Ron Whitehouse from the Liberal Democrats to The Labour Party (2000-2004). The Liberal Democrats took a clean sweep at the 2004 Council Elections in which all seats were contested.

Election winners in the ward

• 1986 - Conservative
• 1987 - Conservative
• 1988 - Conservative
• 1990 - Liberal Democrat
• 1991 - Liberal Democrat
• 1992 - Conservative
• 1994 - Liberal Democrat
• 1995 - Labour
• 1996 - Liberal Democrat
• 1998 - Liberal Democrat
• 1999 - Labour
• 2000 - Liberal Democrat (defected to Labour within 12 months)
• 2002 - Liberal Democrat
• 2003 - Liberal Democrat

Boundary changes

• 2004 - 3 x Liberal Democrat
• 2006 - Liberal Democrat
• 2007 - Liberal Democrat

The ward has adopted a Ward Support Officer, with the title being currently held by Mike Trevor.

Population

The 2001 Population Census recorded that 22,704 people were living in Perry Barr. 28.2% (6,410) of the ward's population was represented by ethnic minorities, compared with 29.6% for Birmingham in general.

See also

• Perry Barr Park
• Perry Barr Reservoir
• Perry Hall, Maryland
• Alexander Stadium

References

External links

• Birmingham City Council: Perry Barr Constituency
• Birmingham City Council: Perry Barr Ward
• Perry Barr Community Network
• Birchfield Library
• Birchfield Harriers Athletics Club
• Greyhound Dog Racing in Perry Barr
• Zig Zag bridge
• Old warning sign from Zig Zag Bridge
• Map sources for Perry Barr
• Perry Barr's Walsall Rd Allotment's website

Coordinates: 52°31′30″N 1°54′15″W / 52.52494, -1.90415