Property in Shirley

There are many shops and businesses in the area, many along the Stratford Road. Shirley has a high proportion of independent retailers and charity stores. Pedestrianisation of the high street encouraged the local eateries to have outside dining.

Along the stratford road, there are may restaurants and other eateries, such as Cafe Shirley (german and english food), Toyk and Nandos to name a few.

Currently, the `New Heart for Shirley` plan to develop 1.43 acres (4%) of Shirley Park[1], to build a new shopping complex, with twenty new shops including an Asda supermarket as its flagship store, residential apartments, cafes, restaurants and new public areas. This plan came under much local criticism, but has now been given the go ahead by the local authority.

To the south of the high street (Stratford Road, A34) there are 2 retail parks; one of which is listed as `Solihull Gate Retail Park`, which has shops including retail outlets Argos, Boots and Toys R Us; DIY stores B & Q and Homebase; and electrical store Currys. Cranmore Retail/Business Park is mainly DIY (Such as ScrewFix) and tool hire.

Along the A34 there are many car dealerships such as Jaguar (close to Gate Retail Park, formally a Vauxhall dealer, and recently added are BMW, Audi, and Land Rover.

There are train services to Birmingham Moor Street station, Birmingham Snow Hill station and on to Stourbridge Junction in one direction and to Henley in Arden and Stratford Upon Avon in the other direction from Shirley railway station[2] which is located in Haslucks Green Road.[3]

The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal skirts the western edge of Shirley, and it is possible to walk along this to Kings Norton 4 miles away, or Stratford upon Avon, rather further in the other direction.

Shirley is also served by bus services S5, 6 and 49 of Travel West Midlands between Birmingham and Solihull. Buses that are also run or pass through Shirley or the area include the X20 towards Stratford and the S9 Travel West Midlands Business Park link service.
The earliest known settlement in the area was at Berry Mound in Solihull Lodge, part of West Shirley, which was the site of an Iron Age Hill Fort, a fortified village protected by earth banks, dating back to the first century BC and which covered approximately 12 acres. The earth works can still be seen from the North Worcestershire Path which commences in Aqueduct Road, Majors Green.

Shirley was part of the Manor of Ulverlei (now Olton) until the establishment of Solihull in the 12th or 13th centuries after which it became part of the parish of Solihull. Shirley developed slowly as a small village on the Stratford Road, called Shirley Street through the settlement. Between 1725 and 1872 Stratford Road was a turnpike road, and the ease of travel along this from Birmingham, and Shirley`s remoteness attracted sporting activity in the form of bull baiting, cock fighting (reputedly at the Plume of Feathers pub) and pugilism. These activities encouraged the church authorities to start building St James Church from 1832, and Shirley attained its own parish in 1843. Shirley School which was in School Road until 1970s was built in 1833.

Shirley grew rapidly in the late 19th century and early 20th century, as people moved out of Birmingham, helped by the opening of the railway in 1908 as a Great Western route from Snow Hill station to Stratford upon Avon and on to Cheltenham. For a hundred years from the mid-nineteenth century, Shirley had a racecourse, and this was supplemented by a public lido in Sansome Road, the Odeon Cinema on Stratford Road, and the public library in Church Road, all in the 1930s.

The expansion of Shirley resumed after the second world war and has continued apace in the recent time.

Shirley also had its own council and council house. However, with the rise of Solihull, it became managed underneath the Solihull Council, becoming two district wards: Shirley, and Shirley South; the council house has since been demolished.

Sorry, currently we don’t have any properties that match your criteria. Please revisit us later or contact us to discuss your requirements.