Kings Heath

Coordinates: 52°25′53″N 1°53′39″W / 52.43143°N 1.89406°W / 52.43143; -1.89406

Kings Heath (historically, and still occasionally King's Heath) is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, five miles south of the city centre. It is the next suburb south from Moseley on the A435, Alcester road.

History

Kings Heath came into being as a village in the 18th century with the improvements to the Alcester to Birmingham road acting as a catalyst for new houses and farms. Prior to this the area was largely uninhabited wasteland run by the Royal Borough of Kings Norton.

The streets running off High Street are dominated by pre-1919 terraced, owner occupied housing. Because of the desirability of the area and the quality of local schools, Kings Heath is steadily becoming gentrified, with houses becoming increasingly unaffordable for local people.

A number of independent shops have taken advantage of relatively cheaper rents in the side roads off High Street, and recently there has been an influx of boutiques and even the start of an (organic) cafe culture. In 2008, the businesses agreed to a Business Improvement District, which top-slices a proportion of their local business taxes to go directly into improvements and promotion of the area.