Fox Hollies since the war
At the end of the Second World War prefabs were built to house
people who had lost their homes as a result of bombing. Several
places in Fox Hollies had groups of these small but very well
designed homes. There was a row on Shirley Road near Oakhurst
Road. A level platform at the entrance to a park often shows were
prefabs were, as it does here. At the other end of the park, on
Gospel Lane, there was another row, and there were prefabs at
the Hall site. These were apparently built by Italian prisoners
of war, and when they were finally removed, people were able to
buy them, dismantle them and erect them outside the City perhaps
as holiday homes! For more information on local prefabs,
go here.
Fox Hollies Park is perhaps the most historic part of Acocks Green. Two of
Colonel Walker's farms were here: Sandpits (for breeding horses), and Pool Farm
(agriculture). It had an 18th century mill, whose sluices were still there in
1936, and its pool from Pool Farm, but the star is the
bronze age saunas. It did not have the
same level of equipment by the war as the Recreation Ground did: Pat Smith
called Fox Hollies Park a snogging park.
During the Yardley Millennium
celebrations a Medieval Fayre was held there, on Saturday 20th May 1972. There
was jousting, falconry, archery, the Band of the Queen's Own Hussars, manoeuvres
by the Royal Horse Artillery, a period encampment by the Queen's Royal Lancers,
and an ox roast, plus many crafts and other entertainments, including Morris
dancing and a mock hanging. The weather was very bad on the day, which spoiled
the fun.
From New Compass newspaper, June 1972
On the Sunday, there was a Children's Anti-Pollution Crusade, led by
Rolf Harris. Children walked along the streets in costume, singing a Wally Whyton anti-pollution song; he entertained them in a marquee later in the day.
In the evening, there was a folk concert in a 2000-seater marquee with Wally
Whyton, the Ian Campbell Folk Group, and others. Fox Hollies Park has had play
equipment since then, and its prefabs have
gone. It suffers from anti-social behaviour, which is difficult to control
because of the many access points. A youth 'pod' proved successful recently in
giving young people something to do.
The investment the City was able to make in housing between
the wars occurred again in the 1950s and 1960s. Many maisonettes
and tower blocks were built throughout the city, and also housing
designed for elderly people. We have mentioned the local belief
that the area by the Hall had to stay parkland because of Colonel
Walker. However, not only Hall Green Little Theatre
was built here from 1950 onwards, but three tower blocks, homes for elderly
people and other facilities, were built on this supposed parkland by 1964.
The Hall site around 1960, with the allotments and prefabs
shown.
Eric Northey
rented one of the allotments in the grounds from about 1953. He went out to work
on his allotment one day, and found it had all been scraped off. He knew his
tenancy was on a six-month basis, but had been given no notice of this. A
complaint resulted in an apology and £5 compensation, he recalls.
It seems that the building of the towers happened as a result of pressure by
a local Labour Party activist, John Curtis. An article appeared in the
Birmingham Mail on 29th July 1965, to commemorate the opening of a new park
here, which said that he had pressed for improvements to the site for twelve
years.
"Fifteen years ago the site was an eyesore. There was
just an old house falling in ruins where vagrants stayed, and
a few tattered allotments. I was brought up in a slum area at
Wednesbury, and with people wanting homes, I kept nagging away
to have them built on this site."
The new towers, and the Fox Green Tenants Hall
Apart from flats and specially designed house for the elderly,
there were now tennis courts, play areas for children, a meeting
room with stage for the Tenants' Association, and a landscaped
park. A Training Centre for disabled people was also provided,
which later became Fox Hollies Special School. So a ceremony to
open the gardens took place, with the newly laid-out park being
called Curtis Gardens to acknowledge his efforts. The plaque can
be seen on the image below. It is now at Acocks Green Library,
having been kept safe for many years by Matt Redmond, M.B.E., a local
councillor, now Honorary Alderman, with many years of commitment
to Fox Hollies himself.
The two surviving gateposts near the kennel block, with the sign Curtis
Gardens, around 1977
A Council vehicle knocked down the post on the right some years
ago, and has been reinstated, together with wrought iron gates
as similar to the originals as could be made. There is seating
as well. The concrete fish play equipment, a piece of
sculpture in its own right, is still there.
The new gates and pillar, 2005
The reference to the Hall site having become neglected raises
the uncomfortable issue of investment and maintenance. Often,
especially as years pass and economic conditions change, the resources
needed to maintain the City's estates, parks and other facilities
have come under great pressure, and the quality of the infrastructure
has deteriorated. For many years, government money flowed into
the inner city wards in vast quantities to rescue the areas from
collapse, but the outer suburbs did not receive the same help.
In recent years, however, it has been recognised that huge problems
have developed on the outer city estates, and not just to do with
the infrastructure. Roy Hattersley wrote an article about the
desperation and poverty on the Fox Hollies estate, and the low
educational ambition of the families he visited, during his time
as M.P.
The Conservative policy of right to buy has resulted in
around half of the houses on the Fox Hollies estate now being
in private hands. However, some people have not been able to afford
the upkeep of their homes, and so the condition and appearance
of some homes is now worse than when under Council ownership.
Also, as those living there are no longer tenants, one avenue
of influence the Council had is no longer there. One success story
has been the conversion of the towers one by one to elderly only
occupation. These form part of what is claimed to be the largest
sheltered housing scheme in Europe. Another is the City's visionary
ambitions for leisure activities, which produced the first class
facilities at
Fox Hollies Leisure Centre in the 1980s. It is an
irony that the majority of users come from outside the area, though. Ninestiles Technology College, opened originally as Hartfield
Crescent Council School in 1929, has made great strides in recent
years, and its Head, Dexter Hutt, has been knighted for his work
in turning the school round.
There have been noble efforts for several decades to intervene
and mitigate the social problems. Fox Hollies Forum with
Dave Swingle at the helm, the former Community House at the corner
of Severne Road and Oakhurst Road ably run by Elsie and Pauline
Carter, and the tireless work of Bari Aziz from the school/leisure
centre site are shining examples to add to the work done by the
churches and other agencies statutory and voluntary.
Many people talk about loss of community. The word 'community'
is itself overworked, and threatens to lose meaning as it is used
in ever wider contexts, but in respect of Fox Hollies it is undoubtedly
true that social problems are a significant issue for everyone.
There are conflicts between the generations, especially between
young people and the elderly, over things like anti-social behaviour,
noise and vandalism. Drug-taking, drug dealing and car theft are
other known problems in the area. Many people who have a long
association with Fox Hollies and who care a great deal about their
locality are distressed to see others treat it with contempt,
and wonder what can be done to halt social disintegration. As
we have said, many agencies are active in the area, and resources
and skills are being applied with determination and coordination
under the auspices of the Community Council and local political
and professional leaders.
|
