Shirley East
Solihull 018 · 6 sub-areas · 9,898 residents
Solihull 018 is a residential neighbourhood within Solihull, home to around 9,900 people. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,050 a month — noticeably below the UK average for a 2-bed — and nearly four in five households own their home outright or with a mortgage, giving it a distinctly settled, owner-occupier feel.
Shirley East is a mid-density neighbourhood of Solihull in the West Midlands region. It sits between busier and quieter parts of the local authority and isn't dominated by a single use — there's a mix of workplaces, housing and local services. Most homes are owner-occupied, so turnover is low and many residents have been here a long time.
Overview
What's it like to live in Shirley East?
2 parks are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; food and drink within walking distance is workable but not dense — around 11 restaurants and 1 pubs in five minutes; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,258 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 6 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Shirley East in Solihull
Living in Shirley East
Solihull 018 sits in one of the West Midlands' more comfortable corners — low deprivation, high home ownership, and a population that skews toward families and established households rather than young renters passing through. It doesn't have the buzz of central Birmingham, but that's largely the point. This is somewhere people choose when they want space, stability, and a short hop into the city rather than living inside it.
Rents here are genuinely affordable by regional standards. A two-bedroom home runs around £1,050 a month — close to the UK average, which is notable given Solihull's reputation as one of the more prosperous parts of the West Midlands. The median house price sits at just under £400,000, though, so buying is a longer-term project: you're looking at roughly five and a half years to save a deposit on a typical local salary.
The people who live here are mostly settled owner-occupiers — nearly 79% own their home — with a notable share of families and couples with children. Around a fifth of residents are under 18, and another fifth are over 65, which gives the area a multigenerational feel rather than the single-demographic character of many urban neighbourhoods. The degree-qualified share sits at around 40%, slightly above the national average, reflecting the area's professional resident base.
For day-to-day practicalities, the nearest mainline rail station is about 1.8 km away — roughly a 22-minute walk or a short drive — with Birmingham reachable in just over 30 minutes by public transport. Nearly half of residents commute by car, and a substantial 39% work from home, which explains why the area functions well despite limited public transport options. Greenspace is close at hand too, with the nearest accessible green space under 300 metres away on average. See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on specific pockets.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Solihull 018 a nice place to live?
- It's a settled, family-oriented neighbourhood with low deprivation and good green space access. Crime runs well below the national average, home ownership is high, and Birmingham is only about 33 minutes away by public transport. It's not the most exciting part of the West Midlands, but it's comfortable and practical.
- What is the rent in Solihull 018?
- A one-bedroom home runs around £843 a month, a two-bed around £1,047, and a three-bed around £1,240. These are estimates scaled from council-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose roughly 1% over the past year — modest by current UK standards.
- Is Solihull 018 safe?
- Yes, relatively. The area records around 65 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, which is noticeably below the UK national rate of roughly 80 per 1,000. Its low deprivation score — in the top 20% nationally — correlates with the lower crime rate.
- What's the commute from Solihull 018 to Birmingham city centre?
- By public transport it's around 33 minutes to Birmingham. Most residents drive, and nearly 40% work from home. The nearest mainline rail station is about 1.8 km away — roughly a 22-minute walk.
- Who lives in Solihull 018?
- Mostly settled owner-occupiers — nearly 79% own their home. The population is multigenerational, with roughly equal shares in each age bracket from under-18 to over-65. Around 40% hold a degree, and a significant share of residents work from home.
- What schools are near Solihull 018?
- There are 116 schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 38% are rated Good or Outstanding — below the national share of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding school is about 1.9 km away. It's worth checking individual school catchments before choosing a specific street.
- How does Solihull 018 compare to other Solihull neighbourhoods?
- It sits in the less deprived half of Solihull, with an IMD decile of 8 out of 10. Home ownership is high, rents are moderate, and crime is below average. It's more suburban and family-oriented than neighbourhoods closer to Birmingham's urban core.