Sutton Coldfield

From UK Housing Wiki

Sutton Coldfield is a former royal town in the north of Birmingham, England. It was largely untouched by the postwar developments of the 1960s and 1970s, however, expanding suburbs of the area were aided by small scale developments. Sutton town centre was completely rebuilt effectively, leaving the conservation area to the north providing a contrast between the Gracechurch Centre and the Red Rose Centre which have now become less-desired shopping areas.

Sutton Coldfield's first tower block was built in 1964 in Boldmere; Park Court.

Wylde Green received a new shopping precinct called The Lane Shopping Centre during the 1960s and as a part of this development, one separate tower block, Heron Court, was built to the rear. On top of the shopping centre, a smaller tower block was built. The larger tower block was refurbished in the early 2000s to improve the appearance.

The area of Reddicap received the greatest expansion of all of Sutton Coldfield. To the west, two tower blocks, Redway Court and Copeshill Court, were constructed alongside eachother with a low rise building north of them. They were opened by the Duchess of Kent in 1967 along with the rest of The Mount. To the east, two large housing estates were built. Falcon Lodge was the first to be constructed and the extended from Reddicap to Walmley and to the borders with Signal Hayes, Thimble End and Minworth. All the buildings built here were low rise and some were prefabricated houses. One tower block was built in Falcon Lodge; Brook House, which was demolished in the early 1990s following structural problems.

South of Falcon Lodge, the Berryfields Estate was constructed. This was finished in the 1970s and all buildings were built of red brick. Two tower blocks were located in the middle of the estate and are flanked by numerous low rise blocks. These two tower blocks are Elizabeth and Margarets Court.

Tower blocks were built around the town in areas such as Pype Hayes, Lyndhurst and Castle Vale. Maybe the lack of tower blocks within Sutton Coldfield is due to the attitude of the council to tower blocks in Sutton Coldfield, as Sutton Coldfield was a separate entity to Birmingham in the 1960s. Sutton Coldfield has always aimed to retain the image of an affluent town steeped in royal and religious history which is reflected through the architecture on the streets and town centre.