Aston
Located immediately to the north-west of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority.Other industry that was located in Aston include the Premier Motor Works which produced cars during the early 20th century.[9] The area, was more commonly called simply "Newtown" and is a large estate consisting of sixteen tower blocks, five of which have since been demolished.Some of these houses were demolished in the late 1960s to make way for the Aston Expressway, which links Birmingham city centre to the M6 motorway.There was speculation that the homes would be demolished, but Birmingham City Council made money available to the homeowners for them to be brought up to modern standards.Many improvements were made, including reducing burglary, robbery and vehicle crime; spending £4 million on a health centre; and helping more than 1300 people find work (more than the target of 400).[citation needed] On 2 January 2003, gunmen shot at three innocent teenage girls who were celebrating the New Year in the Birchfield area near Aston.[19] In 2004, the ward saw a voter fraud scandal in which Labour councillors were accused of a systematic attempt to rig elections.They had set up a "vote-rigging factory" in a disused warehouse, stealing and intercepting hundreds and possibly thousands of ballot papers to achieve this.[23][full citation needed] Aston is a young ward, with 33.5% of the population under 18, compared to the Birmingham average of 25.5%.[23][full citation needed] The majority of employed residents (56%) work in lower skilled occupations, such as caring, leisure and sales.Birmingham City Council planned to permanently close Aston Library in 2017 to save money; however, the decision was reversed after public consultation, and it is now run by community organisations.The six-acre Aston site was purchased by developer Chancerygate in 2007 at £800,000 per acre, but they subsequently sold it for half that price and it now houses a distribution warehouse for East End Foods.
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