Ladywood Redevelopment

The tattered wallpaper of part demolished housing contrasts with gleaming new tower blocks. Ladywood in Birmingham may be on the up but what about the forgotten people?

This 1965 news item made at the height of Birmingham's modernisation begins with silent views of Ladywood. Children play on demolition sights amongst the rubble of a city deep in renewal. The old back alleys and courtyards will also soon be under the wrecking ball. Canon Norman Power, the vicar of Ladywood, believes that the people have been forgotten amid all this scorched earth policy. Communities have been displaced - will the old districts be lost forever?

Canon Norman Power's book about the redevelopment of Ladywood was titled 'The Forgotten People' and was published in 1965.