Housing Conditions
One toilet shared between several households in a shed at the back. And there's no door! Several families in George Street and Homer Street forced the council to re-house them. These are the conditions ...
Housing Conditions
Another variation on internal plumbing. Toilet and tin bath that would have to be filled from jugs and, if there was no heated water, kettles. Several families in George Street and Homer Street forced ...
Lee Bank
The picture was taken at the corner of Rickman Drive and Grant Street in 1999. The foreground area, looking for all the world like a bombsite, is in fact a washing area. It was conditions such as this ...
Lee Bank
This image shows the rundown state of Lee Bank in 1999 just before the transfer of the area's housing to Optima Community Association. Since then the area has been, and still is being, substantially renovated. ...
Lee Bank
Conditions in Lee Bank in the nineties had become so bad that residents launched a campaign to get something done.
Lee Bank Graffiti - Help!
In 1999 tenant action in Lee Bank to get something done about their housing conditions reached a peak. Demonstrations and protests increased and pictures such as these were used to publicise the state ...
Meeting the locals
The Queen Mother taking time to talk to local residents during her tour of the Y Block development in 1957. So far none of these residents have been identified.
Meeting the Queen Mother
Local residents meeting the Queen Mother during her official vist to Nash House in 1957. Do you know anybody in the crowd?
New Hope Close off Rickman Drive
One of the first developments after the stock transfer which led to Optima COmmunity Association being formed. New Hope Close (a symbolic name) is located off Rickman Drive. Since it was built Rickman ...
New student block on the Benmore estate
Construction picture of the new student block on the edge of the Benmore estate at the junction of Bristol Road and Lee Bank Middleway. Students will be living there while studying at Birmingham University....
Optima offices under construction
This photograph shows the new offices under construction, next to the St Thomas Centre on Bell Barn Road. The building has a pale green sheen which is hard to see in the brilliant July sunshine. The view ...
Osler Street School demolition
Picture taken from Clark Street by Gloria Cornish.
Outside toilet in Handsworth
"Quite a lot of people thought that outside toilets had disappeared...yet there were still some about in the 80's. Urban regeneration in Handsworth saw an end to such (in)conveniences." Pogus Caesar, ...
Rickman Drive
Rising from the rubble of the old Rickman Drive, here we see construction of the new Rickman Drive. Since this picture was taken residents have moved in and the Great Colmore Street end of the Drive is ...
Rickman Drive development
The redevelopment of Rickman Drive is now complete. This view is taken from the top of the block at the Great Colmore Street end of the road looking down towards Haddon Tower (now demolished) which is ...
Taking a break
Workmen taking a break from preparing Haddon Tower on Bristol Street for demolition. They are removing fixtures and fittings; their progress down the tower was easy to spot by seeing if a floor had still ...
Tenant's Deposit- Wynn Street
Receipt for the deposit paid by Dorothy Blackford and her husband for their flat on Wynn Street. The Blackford family were paid a visit by the Queen Mother as part of her visit to the area. The Queen ...
The remains of Haddon Tower
The day after Haddon Tower was demolished this was all that remained of it. A pile of rubble, perhaps two storeys high, being cleared away by the bulldozers. To see the demolition itself, have a quick ...