A NEW exhibition charts life in Solihull during the last decade. The Silhillian takes a tour.Development is the common theme at the Farewell To The Noughties! exhibition at Solihull Library.
The fascinating collection of photographs, newspaper cuttings and artefacts shows how the face of the borough is changing through housing and retail schemes.
At the forefront, of course, is the completion and opening of the Touchwood shopping centre in September 2001.
Many might not know it takes its name from Touchwood Hall in Drury Lane – itself flattened after 250 years amid controversy in 1963 to make way for Mell Square.
A similar row hit headlines over the planned demolition of Fowgay Hall in Dingle Lane for flats – it again bit the dust in 2005.
Then there’s the proposed re-development of Shirley – said to be imminent in 2006, still stuck in the stalls in 2010.
Yet a successful re-birth is highlighted at the exhibition – on the second floor – with the opening of the Renewal Christian Centre in 2008 on the site of the former factory of Wilsdon and Co, closed in 1994.
Soden’s butchers in Knowle, meanwhile, was replaced with a dress shop while Woolworths, closed after the firm went under in late 2008, is now New Look.
Developments don’t come much bigger than starting a new neighbourhood from scratch but that is what happened when homes at Dickens Heath were finished in 2001. An aerial photograph shows the affect on the area.
The exhibition – which runs to April 17 – is well worth a look. Click here for more details.
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