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Longbridge is an area of Birmingham, England. For local government purposes it is a ward within the district of Northfield. Since 1905, the area has been dominated by the Longbridge plant, which produced Austin, Nash Metropolitan, Morris, British Leyland, and most recently MG Rover cars. The factory became dormant, and later partially demolished on MG Rover's bankruptcy in April 2005, but was taken over by Chinese carmaker Nanjing Automobile, who resumed full MG TF sports car production at the factory in August 2008. The area is served by Frankley Library.
SituationTo the immediate south-west lie the Lickey Hills, a favourite recreation spot for the people of southern Birmingham. From the south-east the railway line from Barnt Green divides Longbridge off from the Bittell Reservoirs. The Longbridge railway station on the Cross-City Line stands opposite the Longbridge plant, near the Bristol Road (A38). The Austin Sports and Social Club is one of the many social clubs in the area. Surrounding areas include Rubery, Kings Norton, Rednal and West Heath. DevelopmentThe famous service tunnel/bridge (pictured), used to carry vehicle bodyshells across the Bristol Road, was demolished on the night of 4 August 2006. Other parts of the huge MG Rover factories on the site were demolished during that night and later in 2006 and the land to be used for future redevelopment. At the moment much of the original site still lies unused awaiting development Less than half of the original Longbridge site has been retained for carmaking. Longbridge to Frankley RailwayFor many years in the plans for Birmingham to be opened as a passenger route, the first section of the railway from Longbridge (new station) carried car components to the sidings near Rubery Lane. The section beyond Rubery Lane was in theory safeguarded by the planners for reopening. In 2007, the opportunity arose to help, through rail access, to regenerate the area. The railway infrastructure owner, Network Rail, although they should not have been involved, were interested. They sent non-engineer reps to meetings. Having train capacity issues to worry about and lacking the expertise to address these, Network Rail's reps squashed any thoughts of regeneration through local rail. The local MP worked hard to raise the issue and volunteers from community campaign group 'Friends of the Earth' made ineffectual noises about the matter in 2008. Longbridge Technology ParkSituated where the Bristol Road meets Longbridge Lane, the Longbridge Technology Park was completed in late 2007. And in 2008 one of the two buildings is occupied but the other is still vacant. Great ParkA major development aimed to improve the Longbridge ward was the Great Park development in Rubery[1] by Corporate Land Developments Ltd. The 200-acre (0.81 km2) site just off junction 4 on the M5 Motorway has been developed into a community with offices, houses, industrial units, Empire Cinemas, Hollywood Bowl, Premier Inn, Brewers Fayre, Morrisons, Gala Bingo, Greens Fitness and an area of public open space. The housing developments were undertaken by Crest Nicholson, Bellway, Barratt Developments and David Wilson Homes and provided a variety of homes. This was completed in 2002. Leisure facilities provided include a cinema, bowling complex, restaurants, health and fitness centre, social and bingo club, a day nursery and a 60 bedroom hotel. An all weather pitch, funded by the developers, was also created and is in the possession of Birmingham City Council. In June 2000, a 52,000-square-foot (4,800 m2) manufacturing unit was completed for Draexlmaier Automotive UK. A further four industrial units are to be constructed to individual occupiers requirements. In March 2007, Mark Kent was employed as Town Centre Manager to oversee the redevelopment of Longbridge as a community following the closure of the MG Rover factory. Kent's role is to implement the integration of the new factory units being constructed with the existing Longbridge town centre and suburbs. The 13 acres (53,000 m2) of land which has been freed up following the demolition of more than half of the former MG Rover factory floorspace (now owned by Nanjing Automobile) has been allocated for a new town centre for the once bustling and soon to be redeveloped area. As a result of the development, 1,500 jobs have been created at a total cost of over £400 million. PoliticsRichard Burden (Labour) is the area's Member of Parliament, and the councillors elected to represent the ward of Longbridge are Ken Wood, Keith Barton and Sue Barton, all (Conservatives). Longbridge has adopted a Ward Support Officer with the current holder of the title being Veronica Coleman. PopulationThe 2001 Population Census recorded that there were 30,964 people living in Longbridge with a population density of 3,789 people per km² compared with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. Longbridge has a small ethnic minority population with only 6.8% (2,117) of the ward's population consisting of ethnic minorities, as ethnic communities are usually concentrated in more centralised areas such as Aston, Handsworth and Small Heath. ReferencesExternal links
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