Soho, Birmingham

Infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Soho
latitude= 52.4991
longitude= -1.9288
map_type= West Midlands
population = 23,851 (2001 Population Census)
population_density = 48.6 per ha
metropolitan_borough= Birmingham
metropolitan_county= West Midlands
region= West Midlands
constituency_westminster= Birmingham Ladywood
post_town= BIRMINGHAM
postcode_district= B16
postcode_area= B
dial_code= 0121
os_grid_reference= SP048890
Ambulance= West Midlands Ambulance Service

Soho is an area in north west Birmingham, approximately 2 miles from the City Centre on the A41, which until 1911 formed part of Handsworth District. Soho is also a ward within the council constituency of Ladywood. The name is an abbreviation of South House, denoting that it was located to the South of Handsworth proper.

Demography

The 2001 Population Census found that 25,634 people were living in Soho with a population density of 5,369 people per km² compared with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. Soho covers an area of 4.8 km². The ward is a very ethnically diverse area with ethnic minorities consisting of 76.2% (19,522) of the ward's population, compared with 29.6% for Birmingham.

Ethnicity

*White British - 20.48%
*White Irish - 2.20%
*White Other - 1.17%
*Mixed: White and Black Caribbean - 2.80%
*Mixed: White and Black African - 0.22%
*Mixed: White and Asian - 0.81%
*Mixed: Other - 0.95%
*Indian - 26.77%
*Pakistani - 13.99%
*Bangladeshi - 3.88%
*Other Asian - 2.31%
*Afro-Caribbean - 18.13%
*African - 1.44%
*Other Black - 2.42%
*Chinese - 0.69%
*Other - 1.77%

Politics

Soho Ward is represented by three Labour councillors on Birmingham City Council; Sybil Spence, Chaman Lal and Dorothy Hargreaves.

Soho Ward has adopted a Ward Support Officer with the current holder of the title being Tariq M. Khan.

Places of interest

Industrialist Matthew Boulton opened his "Soho Manufactory" (an early factory) there in 1761. Boulton himself resided at Soho House, now a community museum of the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery run by Birmingham City Council.

The parish church is dedicated to St John Chrysostom. The area is served by [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/handsworthlibrary Handsworth Library] .

Winson Green Prison and City Hospital are located within the Winson Green area of the ward.

History

Soho expanded dramatically during the 19th century with the construction of numerous houses and factories, and immigration from the Commonwealth was centred in these homes during the 1950s and 1960s. Most of the immigrants who settled in Soho were of Asian origin.

Further housebuilding took place by the local council during the 1960s and 1970s.

Soho is now one of the most troubled parts of Birmingham, plagued by drugs, gun crime, gang culture and robberies.

Transport

Soho had stations on the LNWR's Stour Valley Line between Smethwick Rolfe Street and the also closed Winson Green railway station, and on the GWR between Handsworth and Smethwick (now Handsworth Booth Street) and Hockley (replaced by Jewellery Quarter). It is currently served by the Midland Metro on the former GWR line with a stop at Soho Benson Road tram stop.

External links

* [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/Soho Birmingham City Council Soho Ward]