Aston Heritage Day

It was a splendid idea to declare the 21st of June Aston Heritage Day. Aston does not have an enviable reputation being rather associated with gangs and violence, so a move to put the neighbourhood in a positive light is only to be applauded. After all, gangs and violence cause anxiety once in a while but they are definitely not the order of the day.

The occasion was announced by banners and a lot of flyers in public spaces: "Take the Aston Challenge and let Aston amaze you". It is indeed amazing that a deprived, innercity neighbourhood lists no less than 12 sites of memorable distinction. Part of the explanation lies in the fact that up to 1911 Aston had a political standing of its own, not yet being incorporated in the expanding City of Birmingham. The old magistrates' court from that period is now a training centre for youth with emphasis on the arts and the old Council House, while continuing to be the home of the Aston Library, now contains the offices of Aston pride, the regeneration programme for the neighbourhood.

The Heritage Day lasted from 11:30am to 4:00pm, a total of 4 hours and 30 minutes or 270 minutes altogether. The flyer announced that all adults who visited all 12 venues on that day would be entered in a Prize Draw, the prize being a stadium tour of Aston Villa followed by a lunch for two at the nearby Holte Hotel. I wonder whether anyone went for that! They would have had only 22.5 minutes per venue including moving from one site to another. The only way to have a chance was by not lingering at places at all, just get your sticker and jump in your car again.

I myself went around on foot and saw half of the venues. What struck me was the big difference in historical awareness. At some of the places those receiving the visitors gave an overview of what went on in their particular building from the time of its construction up to now. Aston Hall was a good example of that. Others seemed only interested in the present, in the activities as they are going on today without any sense of how much has changed over the years.

One nice aspect of a heritage day is that you have access to parts of buildings which are normally closed to the public. One instance of this is that you are allowed below ground level and that you can see for yourself how much space is unused or used for so-called storage. There has been a proposal in Aston to convert part of Mansfield Green into a community centre. It seems to me that before any scarse green space is taken up by yet another building, refurbishing of underused parts of already existing buildings deserves to be looked into. It may turn out to be better for the heritage of Aston and better for the environment.

Ton