Lee Bank

It was part of the Edgbaston and Ladywood wards, inside the Middle Ring Road or Middleway, which surrounds Central Birmingham.

Nearby is the former site of Matthew Boulton College before it moved to the Eastside, and a new development called Opal One consisting of student housing.

Famous people that have lived on the estate include the former pop duo Hot 'N' Juicy,[1] who achieved fame when their song, Horny, was remixed by Mousse T. Historically, the area consisted of Victorian back-to-back slum housing.

In the early 1930s, the notion of slum clearances had become popular in the country, however, clearing Lee Bank was delayed until after World War II.

It was named the Bath Row Redevelopment Area, and in 1948, the Birmingham Public Works Department produced a painting exhibiting their vision for the site.

[7] The area was constructed in the early to late 1960s into a large council estate with a mixture of housing and high and low rise flats.

George Wimpey were commissioned by the council to design and construct the 20-storey tower blocks, as negotiated as part of a contract with A.G. Sheppard Fidler, the city architect for Birmingham.

Lee Bank Primary School was opened in 1967 by Princess Alexandra, The Hon Mrs Angus Ogilvy.

The suicide rate was 5 times the average for Birmingham and there were health problems too with half of the children on the estate suffering from asthma.

[18][19] In the late 1990s, officials from Birmingham City Council contacted residents to gather opinions and ideas into how to produce economic and social benefits for the estate in the future.

[14] In 1999, the 2,800 properties and substantial land holdings were transferred from Birmingham City Council to Optima Community Housing Association.

[20] Optima began to work with Birmingham City Council to produce the best solution to redeveloping the Lee Bank estate.

A row of four overlooking the Middleway called Audleigh, Chiswick, Faraday and Hogarth House were refurbished early in the development.

[29] Optima won the 2005 Deputy Prime Minister's Award for Sustainable Communities for its work as a community-led housing operator, run by specialists, politicians and residents.