Chelmsley Wood

Chelmsley Wood
The Royal Mail building in the town centre
Chelmsley Wood Location within the West Midlands
Population	12,453 (2011)
OS grid reference	SP1886
Civil parish	Chelmsley Wood
Metropolitan borough	Solihull
Shire county	Warwickshire
Metropolitan county	West Midlands
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BIRMINGHAM
Postcode district	B37
Dialling code	0121
Police	West Midlands
Fire	West Midlands
Ambulance	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Meriden
List of places UK England West Midlands 52°28′34″N 1°43′45″W / 52.47612°N 1.72906°W / 52.47612; -1.72906

Chelmsley Wood, sometimes called just Chelmsley, is a town^[1] and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England, with a population of 12,453.^[2][3] It is located near Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre. It lies about eight miles east of Birmingham City Centre and 5 miles to the north of Solihull. The town is also close to both Coleshill and Water Orton in Warwickshire, the county the area was historically part of.

In 1966 Birmingham City Council compulsorily purchased the ancient woodland and built the 15,590 dwelling council estate to rehouse families on its council house waiting list. With the rise in unemployment in the 1970s parts of the estate suffered from deprivation and anti-social behaviour. The area established a town council.

Local government re-organisation in 1974 transferred the town to Solihull Metropolitan Borough, though responsibility for the housing remained with Birmingham until September 1980.^[3]