The majority of Erdington B24 is very pleasant and is routinely overlooked by many people who seem to be obsessed with South Birmingham (most of which is expensive and, in my view, overrated).
There are many nice roads with a variety of houses in the B24 area, including beautiful Victorian and Edwardian properties, 1930s detached and semis, period terraced houses, and more modern properties. Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, desirable roads include:
- Grange Road (large predominantly 1930s detached / semis; leafy)
- Holly Lane (mixture including very desirable period properties; leafy)
- Cedar / Beeches / Chestnut Drive (1930s semis - lovely and quiet)
- Poppy Lane (large detached properties, leafy and quiet)
- Greanside Road (1930s detached, lovely quiet, tree-lined street)
- Orphanage Road (large 1920s/30s detached / semis)
- Orchard Road (large and very elegant period properties; leafy)
- Edwards / Hart / Holliday Road (period terraced houses)
- Moor End Lane (predominantly 1930s semis and detached)
- Spring Lane (predominantly 1930s semis and detached)
- Deakin Road (mixture of houses, quiet and tree-lined)
- Rollason Road (mixture of large detached/semis, quiet, tree-lined)
- Jaffray Road / Crescent (elegant mixture of properties, leafy)
- Wood End Lane (mixture, including Grade II listed cottages, leafy)
- Woodlea Drive (modern detached)
- Dunvegan Road (1930s semis, quiet and tree-lined)
- Blossom Hill / Sandon Grove (modern semis)
- Berkswell / Allman / Ayre / Ewell Road (1930s semis, quiet)
- Arthur Road (mixture of large period properties, quiet)
- Goodison Gardens (modern semis, quiet)
- Pype Hayes Estate (modern semis and detached, generally quiet)
- Woodcote / Springthorpe / Silverdale Road (1930s semis, quiet)
- Kingsbury Road (mixture of properties, long and busier road)
All of the above are within the catchment areas of some very good primary schools, in particular St Barnabas CoE (Ofsted 'Outstanding'), The Abbey RC (Ofsted 'Good') and St Peter & St Paul RC (Ofsted 'Good'). Highclare independent school also serves the area and has an excellent reputation.
The northern end of the High Street offers an unusually large Co-op store which has been recently refurbished and offers a range of quality foods. It has a delicatessen, travel shop, florist and large clothing concession. The High Street also offers WHSmith, Boots, Walter Smiths butchers, a number of independent greengrocers, coffee shops and market.
St Barnabas is the parish church and is the hub of the local community, having seen extensive restoration work which has culminated in the opening of the contemporary Harbour Café - it serves wonderful coffee and fresh produce, whilst the church offers many events and activities, particularly for families.
Erdington Leisure Centre opened at Orphanage Road in September 2017 and offers a range of health and fitness facilities, swimming pool classes and sauna rooms. The lovely Rookery Park includes tennis courts, children's play areas, Italianate gardens and playing pitches. Rookery House, a striking stucco Georgian building, is being converted into luxury apartments in 2018.
The area has excellent transport links; Birmingham city centre and Sutton Coldfield town centre are within 15 minutes via train or bus. You can also be on the motorway within 5 minutes, such is the area's accessibility to pretty much anywhere.
I must stress that the B24 area is generally very different to that of the B23 area (the latter includes a number of less desirable estates, higher crime levels and poor quality housing / schools). I think this, and the previous decline of parts of the High Street, is the reason for negative perceptions of the area amongst some people.
In essence, Erdington is a very large area and the nice parts offer excellent value for money compared with other areas of Birmingham. It is well worth considering.