Shirley Heath
Solihull 023 · 4 sub-areas · 6,154 residents
Solihull 023 is a settled, predominantly owner-occupied corner of Solihull, home to around 6,150 people. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for about £1,050 a month — noticeably below the UK median for a 2-bed — and Birmingham is reachable in under 30 minutes by public transport. The area skews older than most of Solihull, with more than a quarter of residents aged 65 or over.
Shirley Heath 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. The population skews older, with a long-settled feel and a high share of retirees; 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 Heath?
2 parks are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; 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 4 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Shirley Heath in Solihull
Living in Shirley Heath
This part of Solihull has the feel of an established suburban neighbourhood rather than somewhere in flux. The housing stock is largely owner-occupied — around 85% of households own their home — and the population is notably older than you'd find in the wider West Midlands. That shapes the pace of things: quieter streets, less transient population, fewer rental properties coming to market.
On cost, this neighbourhood sits below the national 2-bed benchmark. A two-bedroom property runs roughly £1,050 a month, and a three-bedroom comes in at around £1,240. Those figures are estimates — the official rent data only goes down to the council level, so we scale it using local sale prices to get a more accurate per-neighbourhood figure. Sale prices here reflect a more established market: the median price paid is just under £416,000, and at current rents it takes roughly 5.7 years to save a deposit.
The people who live here are largely settled households. Couples with children make up around a fifth of all households, single-person households just over a quarter. The degree-holding share sits at 35%, and the unemployment claimant rate is low at 3.7%. This is not a neighbourhood with a lot of churn — most residents are here for the long term.
Practically, the nearest rail station is about 1 km away — roughly a 13-minute walk — which keeps Birmingham within around 27 minutes by public transport. That said, most people here drive: over half of residents commute by car, and more than a third work from home. Broadband coverage is full gigabit across the whole area. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
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Frequently asked
- Is Solihull 023 a nice place to live?
- It's a quiet, settled suburban neighbourhood with low crime, good broadband, and straightforward access to Birmingham. The trade-off is that it skews older and owner-occupied, so it's less suited to younger renters looking for a lively local scene. Deprivation is low — it's in the top two deciles nationally — which tells you most of what you need to know about day-to-day quality of life.
- What is the rent in Solihull 023?
- A one-bedroom runs around £843 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,047, and a three-bedroom around £1,240. These are estimates based on local sale prices scaled from council-level data. Private rental supply is thin here — only around 7% of housing is privately rented — so availability can be limited regardless of price.
- Is Solihull 023 safe?
- Yes, by most measures. The crime rate is around 43.5 incidents per 1,000 residents annually, roughly half the UK national rate. The area is in the least-deprived 20% of neighbourhoods nationally, and the settled, older demographic profile tends to keep crime rates low.
- What's the commute from Solihull 023 to Birmingham city centre?
- Around 27 minutes by public transport. The nearest rail station is about 1 km away — roughly a 13-minute walk. That said, over half of residents drive to work and more than a third work from home, so the public transport route is less well-trodden than in more central areas.
- Who lives in Solihull 023?
- Predominantly older, settled owner-occupiers. Over a quarter of residents are 65 or older, and the 50–64 group adds another fifth. Couples with children make up around 21% of households. It's not a neighbourhood with much rental or transient population — around 85% own their home.
- What schools are near Solihull 023?
- There are 60 schools within 2 km, but only around 31% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national average of around 89%. The nearest Outstanding school is roughly 3.5 km away. Families should check individual Ofsted ratings and catchment boundaries carefully before committing to the area.
- How fast is the broadband in Solihull 023?
- Full gigabit coverage across the entire neighbourhood — 100% of premises can access gigabit-capable broadband, and none fall below the universal service obligation minimum. For remote workers, connectivity isn't a concern here.