Billesley is a suburb of Birmingham, England. It is in the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Selly Oak, Birmingham, England. It is south east of the city centre and includes the area of Billesley itself as well as, parts of Moseley and Hall Green and much of Yardley Wood and a significant eastern portion of Kings Heath which includes one side of Wheelers Lane and Alcester Road South. It is contiguous with the Birmingham wards of Highter's Heath on the south-west, Brandwood and Kings Heath on the west, Moseley on the north and Hall Green South on the east. To the south-east is the Shirley West ward of Solihull.

The suburb of Billesley is the area bordered by Billesley Common, Chinn Brook Meadows, The Dingles and Swanshurst Park (although some streets within this area favour the broader B13 moniker of Moseley).

The expansion of this area began in 1921 with the commencement of construction of the Billesley Estates. Two districts began to form within Billesley; one on the former Ivy House Farm (north of Trittiford Rd) and the other on the former Billesley Farm (south of Trittiford Rd). By 1926, between 15 and 20 families were moving into Billesley each week and it became one of Birmingham's first council estates. Billesley has many local community groups such as Friends of Billesley Commons.

Etymology

The name derives from an Anglo-Saxon named Bill who established himself within the area.

The majority of housing is either inter-war or post-war build. 99% of residents live in households whilst 1% live in communal establishments. There was a total of 10,514 households that were occupied resulting in an average of 2.4 people per house, equal to that of the national average. 63.8% of occupied houses were occupied by the owner, above the city average of 60.4%. 26.3% of occupied houses were rented from Birmingham City Council. 354 were stated as being vacant. The majority of the housing in the ward was stated as being semi-detached (42.9%) whilst terraced houses were the second most common (32.4%).

References

  • 2001 Population Census Information: Ward profiles
  • Birmingham City Council: Billesley Ward