Despite being steeped in aviation history, Castle Vale became infamous from the 1970s onwards as a large scale example of a failed postwar overspill estate, which suffered from poor construction and maintenance, social deprivation and high levels of crime.

[1] There are some strong symbolic links to these times in the shape of the Sentinel sculpture, a stained glass church window, and the names of tower blocks and streets on the estate.

Aerial photographs from the Second World War and afterwards clearly show a triangular runway layout typical of British military airfields of that era, with none of them aligned to the modern day roads.

[10] The council attempted to limit the damage caused to their reputation as a result of the scandal surrounding the resignation of Fidler by agreeing to embark on the major building project at Castle Bromwich with five new goals.

Castle Vale had six pubs, (Trade Winds, Albatross, Trees, Skylark, Artful Dodger and Lancaster), but all had closed by 1996, having been associated with drug dealing for a long time.

The design of individual buildings was also of concern, with a wide range of issues such as the ease of access for arsonists to the rubbish chutes of the maisonettes, which posed a safety hazard to residents.

Birmingham City Council was eventually depleted of funds for the maintenance of the blocks and lift breakdowns became common, and were further aggravated by repairers refusing to work without security enforcement.

[10] In 1991, a large concrete panel fell from one of the tower blocks and, although nobody was injured, it was reported locally and helped spark efforts for the regeneration of the estate to begin.

In 1992, Richard Temple Cox, a local architect, was appointed shadow chairman for the Housing Action Trust and was given the job of persuading residents on the estate to vote in favour of establishing the HAT.

[10] Castle Vale Housing Action Trust was formally established on 30 June 1993 and Angus Kennedy was appointed as Chief executive and the first permanent board member on 23 November 1993.

The master planners conducted an in-depth survey and public consultations with residents and local businesses over a six-month period to establish the issues within the estate and their causes.

[61] All but one of the Farnborough Road tower blocks had been demolished by the end of 2000, with Vulcan House initially being retained as accommodation for doctors and nurses while improvements took place at NHS staff homes near to Heartlands Hospital.

[61] The demolition of these properties opened up vast tracts of land for the HAT and plans were drawn up with various architects and contractors to develop these sites, mainly for residential purposes to house the displaced families.

The children's home was part of a larger housing scheme by Lovell Partnerships and designed by Walker Troup Architects which proved to be the last large-scale residential construction project for the HAT.

[73] The demolition of the shopping centre and Concorde Tower resulted in 11,000 tonnes of concrete rubble, which was reused in the construction phase with the surplus being given to Project Wagtail.

[73] Schal consulted the community to distinguish how to minimise disruption on the estate, leading to the relocation of a bus-stop, the use of vibro-piling over rapid piling and also improvements to footpaths in the general area.

Associated Architects were appointed for the design of buildings on the site including an educational complex named C3, a West Midlands Police sector base, and a new retail and office block.

The first phase of the scheme regarded implementation of infrastructural improvements for the area, such as the construction of Castle Vale High Street and a public square around St. Cuthberts Church.

The establishment of ValeWatch in June 1997, a partnership between West Midlands Police and CVHAT which organised monthly meetings where intelligence on offenders was shared, brought about a more co-ordinated approach to tackling crime.

Working groups, which consisted of residents, CVHAT staff and agency representatives, were set up as a result of the forums to tackle specific issues affecting the estate.

While the physical changes to the profile of Castle Vale were the most noticeable, there were significant improvements to the overall health, economic situation, social lives and educational attainment of estate residents, as well as reductions in crime rates.

[80] Traffic calming strategies were put in place by the HAT, but it took the tragic death of Callum Henry in September 2011 before Castle Vale had its first zebra crossing constructed.

[97] Project Wagtail was the brainchild of resident Jez Lilley who received a £15,000 grant from Birmingham City Council in 1988 to help transform an area of wasteland to the south of the estate into a nature reserve.

Tolkien also worked with youth and community groups in Castle Vale to produce eleven "Dream Seats" which were artistically designed benches that were installed around the estate.

The piece was the result of a Public Consultation competition held by Castle Vale Housing Action Trust in conjunction with Sainsbury's for a large scale art feature at the estate's entrance.

The piece was fabricated totally in stainless steel and mirror polished for sculptural effect, it was entirely created at his studio in Worcestershire and was unveiled in October 2002.

[103] Other Birmingham City Council-operated facilities include Castle Vale Community Leisure Centre on Farnborough Road which hosts badminton courts, gymnasiums, a school hall with stage and grass pitches for football.

On the day the route started it was declared open by the Actor Stephen Lewis, famous for his role as inspector Blake (Blakey) in the situation comedy On The Buses.

[128] The community radio station originally started out in 1995 when young residents staged the first Vale FM temporary licence broadcast (RSL) from Topcliffe House with funding from the HAT.

[133] A landlord ballot in October 2003 found that 98% of residents wanted to be transferred to CVCHA following CVHAT's disestablishment, with the remaining 2% returning to Birmingham City Council's management.