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Redditch

Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately 15 miles (24 km) south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry, and 90% of the world's needles were manufactured in the town and its neighbourhoods. In the 1960s it became a model for modern new-town planning.

Geography

Redditch lies just south of the West Midlands urban area but is not part of it (being in Worcestershire), northwest of Studley on the A435, which skirts it to the East. The main route of access is the A441, a trunk road from Birmingham to Cookhill, via junction 2 of the M42 Motorway. The Roman Road known as Icknield Street is prominent, running North to South through the eastern side of the town.

Climate

Redditch experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar almost all of the United Kingdom.

History

The first recorded mention of Redditch ("Red-Dych", thought to be a reference to the red clay of the nearby River Arrow) is in 1348, the year of the outbreak of the Black Death. During the Middle Ages it became a centre of needle-making and later prominent industries were fish-hooks, fishing tackle, motorcycles and springs, the latter notably by Herbert Terry and Sons. It was designated a new town in 1964 and the population increased dramatically from 32,000 to around 77,000. Housing developments such as Church Hill, Matchborough, Winyates, Lodge Park and Woodrow were created to accommodate the large overspill from an industrially expanding Birmingham. Redditch was built as a 'flagship' town using new methods and new town planning; all the main roads in Redditch were banked to reduce noise to the new housing estates and the whole of Redditch was landscaped.

By the 21st century needle-making and other traditional industries had been replaced by modern light industry and services, with Redditch also functioning as a dormitory town for Birmingham. The automotive retailer Halfords and engineering giant GKN both have their headquarters in Redditch. Manufacturer of precious metal contacts Samuel Taylor Ltd has manufacturing plants within the town. Following the redevelopment of the flagship Kingfisher Shopping Centre in 2002 Redditch is undergoing an economic and cultural renaissance.

The town is home to several historical sites. The National Needle Museum and the ruins of Bordesley Abbey are located in the Abbey Ward district of Redditch), and the remains of a medieval moated settlement called Moons Moat is situated within the Church Hill estate.

Redditch is featured in a section heading in An Utterly Impartial History of Britain by John O'Farrell.^[2]

Politics

The constituency of Redditch is represented by Jacqui Smith of the Labour Party. The borough council became Conservative controlled in the 2008 local elections after being under either Labour control or no overall control for 26 years. From 2008-2009 Cllr Jack Field(C) was the mayor of the town and now Cllr Malcolm Hall(LD) is the newly chosen mayor for 2009-2010.

Redditch Borough Council

A by-election occurred in 2009, giving the Conservatives 15 seats, Labour 10 seats, Liberal Democrat 3 and the BNP 1 seat; and hence the Conservatives gained overall control.

Wards

Abbey - Diane Thomas (Liberal Democrat), Colin MacMillan (Conservative)

Astwood Bank & Feckenham - Michael Chalk (Conservative), Brandon Clayton Conservative)

Batchley & Brockhill - Jack Cookson (Labour), Jinny Pearce (Conservative), Brenda Quinney (Conservative)

Central - Greg Chance (Labour), Debbie Taylor (Labour)

Church Hill - Bill Harnett (Labour), David Hunt (Labour), Robin King (Labour)

Crabbs Cross - David Smith (Conservative), Jack Field (Conservative)

Greenlands - Wanda King (Labour), Phil Mould (Labour), William Norton (Conservative)

Headless Cross & Oakenshaw - Peter Anderson (Conservative), Carole Gandy (Leader of the Council) (Conservative, Gay Hopkins (Conservative)

Lodge Park - Andrew Fry (Labour), Mark Shurmer (Labour)

Matchborough - Juliet Brunner (Conservative), Anita Clayton (Conservative)

West - Kath Banks (Conservaive), Michael Braley (Conservative)

Winyates - David Enderby (British National Party), Malcolm Hall (Mayor 2009-2010) (Liberal Democrat), Nigel Hicks (Liberal Democrat)

Redditch Student Council

Redditch has its own Student Council, set up by the Borough Council in 1993 to help the Council to get in touch with young people. The Student Council is made up by representatives from the four main High Schools. They are democratically elected every year.

In the last year (November 2006 - February 2008) the Student Council won funding to deliver a series of multi-cultural events: two in Redditch and a further five across the County of Worcestershire.

HMP Hewell

Redditch was to be the new designation of reorganised prison HMP Hewell, due to be created from the merger of three prisons at Hewell Grange in nearby Tardebigge: Hewell Grange, Brockhill and Blakenhurst prisons. This is one of the first mergers along the Titan Prison concept. It was originally to be called 'HMP Redditch' but the name was changed due to a public outcry, especially as the prison was not to be located in the town. The prison will lie in the neighbouring town of Bromsgrove. The new name was announced in March 2008^[3].

Transport

Located in the heart of England, Redditch is an ideal point of departure for destinations in the surrounding region. The M42 motorway is a short drive away and it is linked by dual carriageways and A-class roads to surrounding towns such as Bromsgrove and Evesham. There are regular bus services to Studley, Bromsgrove, Catshill and Birmingham.

Railway

The Cross-City Line provides a regular train service via Birmingham New Street to Lichfield. Redditch railway station, the southern terminus of the line, was first opened as the terminus of the Redditch Railway on 19 September 1859, alongside what is now Clive Road. This first station stayed until 4 May 1868 when the last section from Alcester to Redditch of the Redditch and Evesham Railway was opened, at which point a second station was built alongside the junction of Bromsgrove Road and Plymouth Road. This station was provided with a standard Midland Railway design and two platforms. The current station, built in 1993, offers little more than a ticket office and a store.

Buses

There is an extensive network of local bus services run by Red Diamond, First and other operators (including Hardings Coaches, Johnsons Excel Bus). Many services run from the bus station in the town centre, a postcard of which was voted Britain's most boring postcard in a competition run by the photographer Martin Parr. The bus station was rebuilt as part of the 2002 shopping centre expansion.

Some areas of Redditch have dedicated bus routes; however, there have been issues with safety on these routes and 3 children have died over the past 15 years^[4]. A campaign group called The Redditch Foundation is being set up to campaign for better safety on the bus routes^[4].

Road system

Redditch is occasionally noted for its confusing road system dominated by a system of dual carriageways built when it became a New Town, including one of only two cloverleaf interchanges in England (the other being in Livingston) at the junction of the A441 and the Bromsgrove-bound A448. The system is designed to allow rapid flow of large volumes of traffic around the various districts and into the town centre, whilst keeping fast moving vehicles separated from residential streets. Due to the self-similar appearance of the road layout, some drivers find it disorientating, although the story of an elderly couple admitted to hospital with severe dehydration after spending more than sixty hours trying to navigate the highway system is an urban legend. Redditch was briefly famous for a tongue-in-cheek calendar featuring its "picturesque" roundabouts created by a local printing company. The calendar was called, unsurprisingly, 'Redditch Roundabouts,' and it proved so successful that it sparked a national series.

Education

Redditch schools operate a three-tier system, where students attend first school from the age of five, middle school from the age of nine, and secondary school at the age of 13. Other areas of Worcestershire adopted this system at the same time as Redditch (in the 1970s), but many have reverted back to the traditional 5-7 infant, 7-11 junior and 11-16/18 secondary schools.

Redditch currently has four secondary schools, Saint Augustine's High School, Kingsley College, Trinity High School and Arrow Vale High School.

North East Worcestershire College (often referred to locally as "NEW College") is a large general further education college: one of its two campuses is in central Redditch; the other is in Bromsgrove.

Places of Interest

Bordesley Abbey: remains of a former Cistercian abbey, later used as a Royal Swannery.

Forge Mill Needle Museum: exhibition of traditional needle making.

Morton Stanley Park: A public park in the village of Callow Hill with views of the Malvern Hills and wider Worcestershire.

Kingfisher Shopping Centre

The Kingfisher Shopping Centre was opened in 1976 by the then Prime Minister James Callaghan and now forms the town's primary retail centre. It is well known for its palm trees in the centre's Worcester Square. The original trees and their accompanying fountain were removed by the centre's management after health and safety fears relating to the age of the trees , which were nearly thirty years old. More appropriate palm trees were planted after the 2002 redevelopment, and remain as of 2009. The centre is also well known for its large mosaic panels designed by famous Scottish artist and sculptor, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi. The centre has over 1,100,000 square feet (102,000 m²) of retail space^[5], making it one of the largest covered shopping centres in the United Kingdom. In 2007, a cinema opened on the new upper floor.

Arrow Valley Country Park

Redditch benefits from 900 acres (3.6 km²) of public open space in Arrow Valley Country Park. This incorporates the 27 acre Arrow Valley Lake, fed from the River Arrow. It features a countryside centre, which was opened in 2000 and features countryside and wildlife displays and has a cafe and conferencing facilities.

Royal Enfield motorcycles

Redditch was the home of the Royal Enfield motorcycle. This is where the main factory of the original company was located and the business continued manufacturing through the sixties, the last model being the Interceptor. In the mid fifties the Company established a partner, Madras Motors in Madras, India, who manufactured the Bullet model. The Indian factory is still very successful, with new Indian models and has taken Royal Enfield into its third century of manufacturing. English Enfield manufacturing ended in 1970. Many of the original factory buildings still remain, most remain in a derelict state and can been seen at the beginning of Bromsgrove Road and opposite the town railway station. Some buildings have been taken over and now make the old part of Enfield Industrial Estate closest to the town centre on Hewell Road.

Notable residents

John Bonham (1948–1980) of Led Zeppelin was born in Redditch.^[6]

Lionel Britton (1887–1971) – Working-class novelist and writer of science fiction plays^[7]

Russell Brookes (born 1945) – British Rally Champion^[8]

Steff Caldicott – Contestant in Big Brother (UK) Series 4 (finished 4th)

Charles Dance (born 1946) (actor) was born in Redditch

Jimmy Davis (1982–2003) – Footballer who played for Manchester United, Swindon Town and Watford before his death in a car crash at the age of 21

Ruth England (born 1970) (TV presenter) was educated in Redditch.

Zoë Lister – Actress Hollyoaks

Jamie (James) Mackay – British Masters Record 800m Freestyle Swimming in the 2004 British Swimming Masters Championships ^[9]

Tony Martin (born 1957) – Singer for Black Sabbath 1987–1991, 1994–1997

Rik Mayall (born 1958) (comedian) spent his early life in Redditch.^[10]

Jim Moran – winner of a Gold medal in Heavyweight boxing in the 1986 Commonwealth Games

Tom Paddock (1822–1863) – also known as the "Redditch Needlepointer" – champion heavyweight bare-knuckle boxer of England in 1856^[11]

Jacqui Smith – First female Home Secretary for the UK Government.^[12]

John Taylor (born 1960) – Bassist in the group Duran Duran. He grew up in Hollywood, Birmingham and went to the Abbey High School in Redditch.

Raymond Thompson – scriptwriter and TV producer. He was born in Redditch.

Richard Timney - Husband of the town's MP, Jacqui Smith.

Town twinning

Auxerre, France

Mtwara, Tanzania

Friendship Links

St.Elizabeth, West Indies

Gruchet-Le-Valasse, France

Gujar Khan, Pakistan

Sport

Redditch United F.C. playing Football in the Conference North

Redditch Ravens RLFC playing Rugby League

Redditch Rockets Skater Hockey Club^[14]

Redditch Swimming Club Swimming^[15]

The Redditch Road and Path Cycling Club^[16]

Redditch Arrows American football Team