Borough of Redditch
	Shown within Worcestershire
Geography
Status:	Non-metropolitan district and Borough
Region:	West Midlands
Admin. County:	Worcestershire
Area: - Total	Ranked 295th 54.25 km²
Admin. HQ:	Redditch
ONS code:	47UD
Geographic coordinates:	52°19′N, 1°56′W
Demographics
Population: - Total (2006 est.) - Density	Ranked 298th 79,500 / km²
Ethnicity:	94.8% White 2.7% S.Asian
Politics
Redditch Borough Council http://www.redditchbc.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive (2006):	Labour / Conservative / Liberal Democrat
MP(2006):	Jacqui Smith

Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005.

Geography

Redditch lies just south of (but is not part of) the West Midlands urban area, 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.

History

Commemorative pavement plaque in Alcester Street

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.

Today needle-making and other traditional industries have been replaced by modern light industry and services, with Redditch also functioning as a dormitory town for Birmingham.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. Leading expanded metal manufacturer Dramex also has a manufacturing plant within the town. With 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. Besides the National Needle Museum and the ruins of Bordesley Abbey (situated in the Abbey Ward district of Redditch), there are also the remains of a moated settlement called Moons Moat - a Mediaeval moated settlement situated within the Church Hill estate.

In 2007 the town enjoyed increased publicity after its MP Jacqui Smith was chosen to be the country's first female Home Secretary.

Politics

The constituency of Redditch is represented by Jacqui Smith of the Labour Party. With the resignation of Tony Blair and the succession of Gordon Brown, Jacqui Smith was chosen by the new Prime Minister to be Home Secretary, this making her the UK's first female Home Secretary.

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.

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 September 19, 1859, alongside what is now Clive Road. This first station stayed until May 4 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, little more than a ticket office and a store, is now a shadow of its former self.

The former Redditch Bus Station, circa 1996

There is an extensive network of local bus services run by First and other operators (including Go ahead West Midlands Diamond). 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.

Redditch is locally well known for its confusing road system dominated by a system of dual carriageways built when it became a New Town, including the only cloverleaf interchange in England at the junction of the A441 and the Bromsgrove-bound A448. Due to the similar appearance of the road layout, drivers easily become disorientated, 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, which proved so successful that it sparked a national series [1].

Church Green and St. Stephen's Church in central Redditch

Education

Redditch schools operate a three-tier system, where students progress from a 'First (or Primary) School', to a 'Middle School', and then to a High School (rather than the more common two-tier system). Although attempts have been made to change the system to two-tier, opposition from students and parents resulted in the plans being dropped, but not before several other schools were closed (including Bridley Moor High School)^{[citation needed]}.

Redditch currently has four high schools:

• Kingsley College, formerly The Leys High School, the sixth form of which gained Specialist Performing Arts status in September 2003
• St Augustine's Catholic High School in Hunt End, which receiving Specialist Science status in 2006
• Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, formerly The Abbey High School
• Arrow Vale High School in Eastern Redditch, which specialises as a Sports College

North East Worcestershire College (often referred to locally as "New College") is a large general Further Education college, has one of its two campuses in central Redditch (the other being 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

Kingfisher Shopping Centre

Worcester Square and its new palm trees

One of the mosaic panels

The Kingfisher Shopping Centre, opened in 1978, is the town's primary retail centre and 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. However, more appropriate palm trees were planted after the 2002 redevelopment. 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 1.1 million square feet of retail space, making it one of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom (11th in 2005.) In 2007 a new 7-screen cinema run by Apollo Cinemas was opened on the new upper floor and a Primark opened in September 2007 in the old Alders Store since the firm went into administration in 2005.

Arrow Valley Country Park

View across Arrow Valley Lake

Redditch benefits from 900 acres of public open space in Arrow Valley Country Park. This incorporates the 27 acre Arrow Valley Lake, fed from the River Arrow.

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 in India, who manufactured the Bullet model. The Indian factory is still very successful, with new Indian models. It has taken Royal Enfield into its third century of manufacturing. The English manufacturing ended in 1970. A few of the original factory buildings still remain and are part of the Enfield Industrial Estate.

Notable residents

• John Bonham (1948–1980) of Led Zeppelin was born in Redditch.
• Rik Mayall (1958–) (comedian) spent his early life in Redditch.
• Charles Dance (1946–) (actor) was born in Redditch
• Ruth England (1970–) (TV presenter) was educated in Redditch.
• Raymond Thompson (scriptwriter and TV producer) was born in Redditch.
• Craig Rogers - Four-time World Pinball Champion(1999,2001-2003).
• Zoë Lister - Actress Hollyoaks
• John Taylor - Bassist in the group Duran Duran. He grew up in Hollywood, Birmingham and went to the Abbey High School in Redditch.
• Russell Brookes (1945–) -British Rally Champion [2]
• Tony Martin (1957–) (musician) - Singer for Black Sabbath 1987-1991, 1994-1997
• Jacqui Smith - First and current female Home Secretary for the UK Government.
• Steff Caldicott - Contestant in Big Brother (UK) Series 4 (finished 4th) [3]

Local Dialect

Due to its geographical location Redditch was isolated from the Worcestershire vernacular, instead developing a distinguishable local mode of speech which owes more to the influence of nearby Warwickshire and Birmingham. The establishment of Redditch as a new town and the accompanying influx of migrants from the West Midlands area, along with the influence of national television, mean that particularly amongst the younger generation virtually all traces of a local dialect have been lost.

Town twinning

The first twinning of Redditch began in 1956, with a link formed to Auxerre in Burgundy, France. This twinning proved sufficiently popular to form an organisation named The Friends of Auxerre (FoA). At the beginning of June each year the coupling of these two towns is officially celebrated.

In 1986 the second twinning of Redditch was formed, connecting to Mtwara in Tanzania. Frequent events are organised with assistance from the community of Tanzanian students at Birmingham University and Selly Oak College.

• Auxerre, France
• Mtwara, Tanzania

Friendship Links

Redditch also has formal “Friendship” links with:

• St.Elizabeth, West Indies
• Gruchet-Le-Valasse, France
• Gujar Khan, Pakistan

• More Information

Sport

Redditch sport teams include

• Redditch United F.C. playing Football in the Conference North
• Redditch Ravens RLFC playing Rugby League

See also

• Radio Redditch

External links

• Redditch Standard Local Redditch weekly newspaper
• Redditch Advertiser Local Redditch weekly newspaper
• Bus service information
• Kingfisher Shopping Centre

References

• Bonham, Mick. Bonham by Bonham: My Brother John (Solihull: Icarus Publications, 2003). ISBN 0-9545717-0-3

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