The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
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City of Birmingham Central Areas Redevelopment
"Everywhere one looks there are bricks and mortar. Nature is far and beauty a name". Over 18,000 back to back houses "old and gaunt". Redeveloping England's second city.
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Overview
The back to backs seen from St Alban's Church in the Highgate area of Birmingham (where the first Anglo Saxon settled) are earmarked for demolition and redevelopment. They remind us that even in the mid 1950s Birmingham had changed little since the Industrial Revolution when thousands flooded to the 'Workshop of the World'. Even so, this form of housing with its central courtyards teeming with children would soon be a thing of the past.
The post-war redevelopment of Birmingham began with the compulsory purchase by the council of land in five designated areas. This film produced by the Public Works Department of Birmingham City Council concentrates on two of those: Bath Row and Gooch Street. The Bath Row redevelopment, when it was eventually completed was named Lee Bank. Many of the high rise buildings constructed there have since been demolished making way for a new development called 'Park Central' under the control of a housing association.
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