Kingstanding
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 52°32′53″N 1°52′23″W / 52.548°N 1.873°W
| Kingstanding | |
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  Kingstanding shown within the West Midlands |
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| Population | 24,945 (2001 Population Census) |
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| - Density | 57.6 per ha |
| OS grid reference | |
| Metropolitan borough | Birmingham |
| Metropolitan county | West Midlands |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BIRMINGHAM |
| Postcode district | B44 |
| Dialling code | 0121 |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| European Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Birmingham Erdington |
| List of places: UK • England • West Midlands | |
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Kingstanding is an area in north Birmingham, England.
It gives its name to a ward in the Erdington formal district. Kingstanding ward includes the areas; Perry Common, St. Mary's College, Witton Lakes and parts of Kingstanding Circle, Wyrley Birch and New Oscott. The other part of Kingstanding falls under the Oscott ward.
Kingstanding houses a covered drinking water reservoir, Perry Barr Reservoir, on the site of the former Perry Barr Farm.
Kingstanding is served by two libraries; Kingstanding Library and Perry Common Library.
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[edit] History
The name of the area is supposedly derived from the occasion when the Stuart King Charles I reviewed his troops in the area on October 18, 1642 during the English Civil War, after his stay at nearby Aston Hall. The first references to Kingstanding were as King's Standing.
When the foundations for the water pumping station were being dug in 1884, a hoard of Roman coins was discovered indicating a Roman presence in the area.[1]
The area was largely rural until the 1928, when large-scale residential development commenced in the area.[1] The first of the estates was completed in 1934.[2] It was during the 1930s and 1940s that most of the current housing was built. Most of the houses in Kingstanding were built as council houses with the majority being located in the north of the area. In 1935, an Odeon cinema, designed by Cecil Clavering,[3] was opened in the area.[4] On June 6, 1964, Kingstanding Library opened. It had an area of 1,000 sq ft (93 m2) and was identified as being liable to mining subsidence.[5]
Kingstanding is featured in the novel The Last Viking by Dr Ron Dawson. The author grew up at number 79 Parkeston Crescent, and used the estate and its many characters as the backcloth to his Birmingham based novel.[6]
[edit] Politics
The Kingstanding ward was the scene of political controversy in May 2006 when it initially appeared its voters had elected a British National Party candidate, Sharon Ebanks, to Birmingham City Council - the first BNP candidate ever to be elected in Birmingham. However, it was announced by the Returning Officer shortly after the declaration that a counting error had taken place and, following a High Court recount, Ebanks was removed as Councillor on July 26, 2006 and replaced by Labour candidate Catherine Grundy.[7] The other councillors are Zoe Hopkins and Peter Kane, both of the Labour party. However since then the BNP have fallen away to such an extent that local Conservative Gary Sambrook, who was only 18 at the time of the election, fell only 80 votes short of defeating Labour in this once safe seat that regularly racked up 4 figure majorities.
Kingstanding has adopted a Ward Support Officer with the current holder of the title being John Mole.
Kingstanding is also the HQ of the 23 Special Air Service Regiment.
[edit] Population
Kingstanding had a population 25,702 at the time of the 2001 Population Census. It has a population density of 5,410 people per km² compared with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. It has a small ethnic minority population with ethnic minorities representing 10.6% (2,724) of the ward's population as opposed to 29.6% for Birmingham. White British is the largest ethnic population living in Kingstanding.
[edit] North Birmingham Academy
Situated in Kingstanding is the North Birmingham Academy – a Specialist Arts School. The school has been victim of low GCSE achievement rates and poor pupil behaviour, resulting in it gaining a negative reputation. Improvements were made upon the appointment of Mrs Kim Popratnjak as the new headteacher in 2005, however, an OFSTED report published in January 2007 proclaimed: "... that at this time, the school is making inadequate progress in addressing the issues for improvement". The school's difficulties were exacerbated with the publication of the 2007 GCSE results which showed that 84% of pupils failed to gain the benchmark 5 A*-C GCSEs including Maths and English. The school has since been included in the list of 638 schools which are considered to be failing. Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, has stated that these schools are likely to be closed and reopened under new management.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Raven, Michael (2005). A Guide to Staffordshire and the Black Country, the Potteries and the Peak. Michael Raven. pp. 151. ISBN 0906114330.
- ^ Helen Elizabeth Meller (1997). Towns, Plans and Society in Modern Britain. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 052157644X.
- ^ Jane Turner (1996). The Dictionary of Art. Grove. ISBN 1884446000.
- ^ Anne Massey (2000). Hollywood Beyond the Screen: Design and Material Culture. Berg Publishers. ISBN 1859733212.
- ^ Library Association (1964). The Library Association Record. Library Association.
- ^ The Last Viking
- ^ End of the road for BNP seat battle - Birmingham Mail (July 27 2006)
[edit] External links
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