Selly Oak through the eyes of its residents

Exploring Selly Oak's recent developments, safety concerns, and community integration efforts through the voices of its residents.​

Transcript

00:00Selly Oaks population is changing, still a hub for students.

00:07It's also becoming more attractive to families, first-time buyers and working professionals.

00:12The high street is busy, the university is just up the road

00:16and transport links into the city are some of the best around.

00:20Add to that decent broadband speeds, access to green space and a growing food scene

00:26and it's easy to see the draw.

00:28Even big-name retailers and small independents are rubbing shoulders on the high street now

00:33with new cafes and shops arriving regularly.

00:36But beyond the stats and developments, what does day-to-day life here actually feel like?

00:41We're out speaking to residents and visitors to hear their take on what it's like to live in Selly Oak,

00:46whether it's changed much over the years and what makes it worth staying for.

00:52I think it's the variety of people you get more down here than anything.

00:56I love people watching. That's why we come out more than anything.

01:00You're guaranteed to always see something or just see characters.

01:05I'm just chilling and stuff as well. It's just nice down here sometimes.

01:10I would say it's very lively and it's very, from my perspective as a student, it's very student-filled.

01:17So there's always stuff going on, there's always people around,

01:20there's loads of good food places, loads of good places to go eat, get coffee and eat out.

01:26I think it's very cosmopolitan, very mixture of cultures and there's a nice vibrancy to the area.

01:36From luxury flats at Florence Place to the massive student accommodation blocks springing up near the retail park,

01:43Selly Oak is changing fast, a new GP surgery, social housing projects and expanded rail services are all part of the picture.

01:52Big money is being invested and it's reshaping the area, not just physically but socially too.

01:58There's more choice in housing now and more reasons for different types of people to move here.

02:03But with the growth comes pressure on roads, green spaces, parking and public services.

02:09We ask people about the lightest developments, what they've noticed and what still needs attention as Selly Oak continues to grow.

02:17Um, again more, more supermarkets, more family places, do you know what I mean?

02:26Because there's pubs and stuff down here, but again not like, there's nothing big family based.

02:31And that's what I'd like to see earlier, more like that.

02:34It can do with a little bit of a tidy up, especially on the side of the road there's a lot of chewing gum and stuff on the floor.

02:39Maybe just, you know, some improvement to like, you know, it's very traffic around here, you know,

02:46all these temporary lights, all these improvements going on.

02:49It's making the area very congested and all the fumes in the area.

02:54That's not good, you know what I mean? For longer lasting, you know what I mean? It's not good.