Dickens Heath is situated in the north western end of the parish of Hockley Heath. Historically the area was within the old parish of Solihull adjacent to the parish of Tanworth. It straddled the ancient road to Worcester, called the Worcester of Hurdimen Way. This road was crossed by a stream flowing from Tottlemos Pool at a place called Blackford close to the Three Maypoles Farm. It was a part of the heathland within the Forest of Arden and developed into farm land and has remained a farming community until recent times.

The area was disrupted in the late 1790s when the navvies building the Stratford upon Avon Canal descended upon it. The canal has since that time weaved its way through Dickens Heath, being a major route for goods in and out of the City of Birmingham. A wharf was built at a point where the canal crosses Tythebarn Lane and became an important distribution point for the Shirley area and beyond. The wharf remained in use as a coal yard until recent times.

There was some expansion in the population of the area in the 1920/30s when plots were sold for building around Fisher Drive and Birchey Close, which over time has become an attractive part of the new village that has now replaced the original farmland.

For in 1989 Solihull decided to build a new settlement adjacent to the existing hamlet. By 1997 the planning of the new settlement was complete and the building of its planned 850 houses upon land of Wharf Farm and Dickens Heath Farm began. The new village was designed to have a high density core based on a number of individual public squares, surrounded by densities which diminished towards the outer edges, thus presenting a softer transition to the adjoining countryside.

The developers were obliged to make financial contribution and/or to provide land for:

* A two form entry Primary School
* Community Hall and Library
* A traditional Village Green, with cricket square and associated pavilion.
* Parkland close to Braggs Farm
* Nature Reserve
* Circular walkways
* Wharf linked to the Stratford upon Avon Canal
* Highways
* Medical Centre
* Church
* Public Houses
 

As the building of the village approaches its final stages not all the items on the original list have been achieved. The original planned number of houses has increased, the cricket square and pavilion have not materialised, and the wharf with berths which was to have linked to the Canal has turned into an elaborate water feature designed to appear to flow into the canal, but actually does not. But for all that Dickens Heath has become a popular place to live and has been fortunate to have been provided, at its start, with many fine facilities that the other communities in the parish struggled to acquire through their own efforts, over a considerable time or which in some cases still have not been able to achieve. Dickens Heath has a clearly defined centre, the focal point of the settlement it is the main village square, accommodating shops, businesses, library, medical centre, church and cafes and restaurants.

The water feature at Waterside Dickens Heath

Dickens Heath Centre



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