South Yardley


South Yardley is one of the 40 electoral wards in Birmingham, England. The name of the ward was changed from Acocks Green Ward and with the name change, the boundary changed with Acocks Green village and Acocks Green railway station being lost and the boundary being extended north to Bordesley Green East. The area was extended up to Golden Hillock Road. This included the Small Heath Park area and Greet.
South Yardley is one of the four wards that make up the council constituency of Yardley. It covers an area of 7.03 square kilometres.
Greet, Hay Mills, Small Heath Park, South Yardley, Tyseley and part of Yardley are covered by the ward. The area of Gilbertstone straddles the border of Yardley and South Yardley. Tyseley railway station and Small Heath railway station are both located within the ward boundaries. Acocks Green railway station is no longer within the ward.

Population

According to the 2001 UK Census, there were 27,620 people living in 10,907 households in South Yardley. 30.3% of the ward's population consists of ethnic minorities compared with 29.6% for Birmingham in general. The population of the ward had increased at the 2011 census to 30,786.

Notable natives and locals

Through Neighbourhood Renewal Funding, South Yardley has established the a scheme which involved street cleaning projects and training courses to improve the physical image of the area.

Places of interest

The Swan Shopping Centre was demolished in 2009 after a prolonged period of falling trade. It included an indoor market with a multi-storey car park. Proposals for a replacement shopping centre in a more modern architectural style have been approved. Planning permission was granted after Tesco agreed to pay a sum of money to the development as they are building a store on the site and in the immediate vicinity of the site. The replacement shopping centre will include a public piazza and petrol station. Councillor Jim Whorwood said the need to re-develop the Swan Centre was 'long overdue'.
The new Swan Shopping Centre opened in 2012.
is located within the ward. It re-opened on 6 May 2008 after extensive refurbishments and offers free internet access on 30 computers.