Handsworth Wood

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Handsworth Wood is a loosely defined area in the north west of Birmingham, England. It is also a ward within the formal district of Perry Barr. Located within the metropolitan county of the West Midlands since April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, it was previously a part of the county of Staffordshire. Handsworth Wood is regarded by estate agents as "upmarket" in comparison to the neighbouring district of Handsworth, but is disadvantaged by its extra distance from Birmingham city centre.

The BBC's obesity reduction challenge, Fat Nation, was filmed in Handsworth Wood.

It is home to the University of Central England's 'Hamstead campus'.

1 Places of interest
2 History
3 Local politics
4 Population
5 See also
6 References

[edit] Places of interest

Local amenities include: King Edward VI Handsworth Girl's Grammar School and Handsworth Grammar School, Soho Road, St. Mary's Church, Handsworth and Handsworth Park. The local library for the area is in Hawthorn House ^[1].

[edit] History

Birmingham historian Dr. Carl Chinn noted that during WW2 the boundary between Handsworth and Handsworth Wood marked the line between being safe and unsafe from bombing, with Handsworth Wood being an official evacuation zone ^[2].

[edit] Local politics

There is a Birmingham City electoral ward called Handsworth Wood ^[3] comprising part of Handsworth and nearly all of Handsworth Wood made up of distinct cultures and built environments - the once salubrious Victorian suburb, now "inner-city" Handsworth, consisting of some of the finest Victorian houses in the city, increasingly being refurbished to complement the £9 million restoration of Handsworth Park, and Handsworth Wood dominated by characteristically suburban pre-war semi-detached and detached properties. The ward was formerly known as Sandwell Ward.

The ward is presently represented by three Labour councillors in the Birmingham City Council; Gurdial Singh Atwall, Paulette Hamilton and Narinder Kooner^[4].

Handsworth Wood has adopted a Ward Support Officer with the current holder of the title being Joy Hazel.

[edit] Population

The 2001 Population Census recorded that 25,276 people were living in the ward. It has a high percentage of ethnic minorities in the area with the figure being 67.1% (16,975) of the population being of an ethnic minority as opposed to 29.6% for Birmingham in general.