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Hateley Heath is a residential area of West Bromwich in the West Midlands of England. ==History== It was developed during the late 1940s and early 1950s to rehouse people from slum clearances across the Wednesbury urban district, with hundreds of new homes being built by the local council. The new homes initially very popular with their occupants, who appreciated modern facilities such as indoor toilets, bathrooms, running water, electricity and gardens. An infant school was built to serve the estate in 1950, replacing facilities at nearby Hill Top, followed by the junior school two years later. The infant and junior schools merged to form a single primary school in September 1999. The senior school at Hill Top remained open and was the most popular destination for the secondary school population of the estate until its closure in the early 1990s, since when nearby Wodensborough has been the main secondary school for pupils living in Hateley Heath.〔()〕 In 1966, Wednesbury urban district was absorbed into an expanded West Bromwich borough and was also incorporated into the township of West Bromwich, within which it has remained ever since. The opposite transfer of township took place with neighbouring Friar Park, which was now within the township of Wednesbury rather than West Bromwich. By the 1980s, Hateley Heath was plagued by high unemployment and crime, and the condition of the housing was declining, although subsequent refurbishment projects saw the standard of housing improve. A small section of the estate was demolished and new housing was built in its place. In January 1992, an ''Express & Star'' report on the estate revealed some shocking findings.〔(midlandsmemories.com )〕 It was estimated that six out of ten children living in Hateley Heath were involved in crime. Joyriding, burglaries, theft and vandalism were just some of the many problems that were supposedly plaguing the area. Several shopkeepers had closed their stores due to theft and vandalism. In 1991 alone, no less than 1,006 crimes were recorded on the estate - an average of once in just over eight hours. Car thefts and break-ins were the most common crime in the area, followed closely behind by burglaries and vandalism. During the year, 48 people on the estate were arrested on suspicion of criminal offences, though it is unknown how many of these arrests resulted in a conviction. What is known is that all but three of the people arrested were aged under 25. Unemployment and social deprivation were blamed for the decline of Hateley Heath, with an unemployment rate of 14.9% at a time when the national rate was below 10%. However, the nearby towns of Smethwick and Tipton had an even higher unemployment rate at this time, when the national economy was in recession. Over the last 20 years, Hateley Heath has improved with the aid of local community projects. One of the first phases of the area's regeneration came in 1992 when several blocks of unpopular council flats on the estate were demolished. Private housing was built on the site of the demolished flats. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hateley Heath」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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