Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in southwest Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. There are three councillors: Karen McCarthy, Brigid Jones, and Changese Khan. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harborne are to the north of the Bourn Brook, which was the former County Boundary, and to the south; Weoley, and Bournville. A district committee serves the four wards of Selly Oak, Billesley, Bournville and Brandwood. The same wards form the Birmingham Selly Oak (UK Parliament constituency) represented by Steve McCabe (Labour). Selly Oak is connected to Birmingham by the Pershore Road (A441) and the Bristol Road (A38). The Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the Birmingham Cross-City Railway Line run across the Local District Centre.

Coordinates: 52°26′19″N 1°56′28″W / 52.43866°N 1.94111°W / 52.43866; -1.94111

The Selly Oak local council ward is one of the 40 electoral wards for the City of Birmingham, England. It is also one of the four wards that make up the local council constituency of Selly Oak, the other three being the wards of Billesley, Bournville and Brandwood.

Description

The Selly Oak ward covers an area of south Birmingham, and includes not only the suburb of Selly Oak but also the adjoining districts of Bournbrook, Selly Park and Ten Acres, together with a small part of the Stirchley area.

Demographics (from the census of 2001)

The 2001 Population Census recorded that 25,792 people were living in the Selly Oak ward, with a population density of 4,236 people per km² compared with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. The ward has a below-average percentage of ethnic minorities, with only 15.9% of the population consisting of ethnic minorities compared with 29.6% for Birmingham in general.

History

The ward came into existence in 1911 when the boundaries of the City of Birmingham were extended as a result of the Greater Birmingham Act, and when the number of electoral wards in the City was extended from 18 to 30. At that stage three councillors were elected for the Ward, whereas in subsequent years there have been single elections. The area had previously been part of the Parish of Northfield, and originally in north Worcestershire. It was created by the union of two former electoral wards of the King's Norton and Northfield urban district, namely the Selly Oak (East) Ward, covering the districts of Bournbrook, Selly Park and Ten Acres, and the Selly Oak (West) Ward, covering Selly Oak itself and part of the district of Bournville).